Powiats

Powiat (plural powiaty) is the second-level unit of territorial division in Poland, situated between the voivodeships (województwa) and the gminas (municipalities). A powiat encompasses several gminas and coordinates services that are too large for a single municipality but not large enough to require a voivodeship-wide approach. Powiats are categorized as urban (a city that functions as a county), rural (powiat ziemski), or urban-rural; the urban form is often described as miasto na prawach powiatu and is sometimes referred to as powiat grodzki in older sources.

Governance and administration: Each powiat has a two-part government: a rada powiatu (county council), elected by residents for four-year terms; and an executive headed by a starosta, who leads the zarząd powiatu (county executive board). The council sets budgets and local statutes, while the executive administers daily county operations and implements council decisions.

Responsibilities: Powiats handle tasks that require coordination across multiple gminas, such as secondary education, health care (county hospitals and specialist services), public transportation at the county level, maintenance of county roads, welfare and social services, and certain cultural and environmental programs. Primary education and most services at the level of the local gmina remain the responsibility of individual municipalities.

Financing and relationships: Powiats receive funding from the national government, local taxes, and European Union funds; they work in cooperation with gminas and voivodeship authorities to plan regional development.

History: The powiat level was reintroduced in Poland in 1999 as part of a major local government reform, establishing a three-tier structure (voivodeship, powiat, gmina). There are about 380 powiats nationwide, including 66 city counties (miasta na prawach powiatu).