Autonomous provinces The
Constitution of Serbia recognizes two autonomous provinces (
аутономне покрајине / autonomne pokrajine)
Vojvodina in the north, and the disputed territory of
Kosovo and Metohija in the south, while the remaining area of
Central Serbia never had its own regional authority. The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija has been transferred to the administration of the
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since 1999, following the
Kosovo War and entrance of
NATO-led peacekeepers and after the adoption of
UNSC Resolution 1244. In 2008, the
Government of Kosovo unilaterally
declared independence from Serbia, a move recognized by countries (including most of the
European Union and the United States) but not recognized by Serbia, Russia, China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia, and other 87
United Nations (UN) member states, including 5 EU member states. Although the Serbian laws treat Kosovo as every other part of Serbia, and divide it into 5 districts, 28 municipalities and 1 city, the
UNMIK administration adopted new territorial organisation of Kosovo in 2000. This move is not recognized by Serbia, but is recognized by the self-proclaimed
Republic of Kosovo.
Municipalities and cities {{Location map+|Serbia|float=right|width=240|caption=Cities|relief=1|places= Serbia is divided into 145
municipalities and 29
cities, which form the basic units of
local government. The municipality (
општинa / opština) has its own assembly (elected every four years in local elections), a municipal president, its property and a budget. Municipalities usually have from 5,000 to 40,000 inhabitants. Municipalities comprise
local communities, which mostly correspond to settlements (villages) in the rural areas (several small villages can comprise one local community, and large villages can contain several communities). Urban areas are also divided into local communities (
месне заједнице / mesne zajednice). Their roles include communication of elected municipal representatives with citizens, organization of
citizen initiatives related with public service and communal issues. They are presided over by
councils, elected in semi-formal elections, whose members are basically volunteers. The role of local communities is far more important in rural areas; due to proximity to municipal centers, many urban local communities are defunct. The city (
град / grad) is another type of local government. Territories with the status of "city" usually have more than 40,000 inhabitants, but are otherwise very similar to municipalities. There are 29 cities, each having an assembly and budget of its own. Only cities have
mayors, although the presidents of the municipalities are often referred to as "mayors" in everyday usage. The city may or may not be divided into "city municipalities" (
градске општине / gradske opštine). Six cities,
Belgrade,
Niš,
Požarevac,
Užice, and
Vranje comprise several municipalities, divided into urban and suburban areas. Competences of cities and their municipalities are divided. == Administrative divisions ==