Since 1949 (except 1990–1996), Slovakia has been divided into a number of kraje (singular kraj; usually translated as "Regions" with capital R).[1] Their number, borders and functions have been changed several times. There are eight regions of Slovakia and they correspond to the EU's NUTS 3 level of local administrative units. Each kraj consists of okresy (counties or districts). There are 79 districts.
List
After a period without kraje and without any equivalent (1990–1996), the kraje were reintroduced in 1996. As for administrative division, Slovakia has been subdivided into 8 kraje since 24 July 1996:
Since 2002, Slovakia is divided into 8 samosprávne kraje (self-governing regions), which are called by the Constitution vyššie územné celky (Higher Territorial Units), abbr. VÚC. The territory and borders of the self-governing regions are identical with the territory and borders of the kraje. Therefore, the word "kraj" can be replaced by "VÚC" or "samosprávny kraj" in each case in the above list. The main difference is that organs of samosprávne kraje are self-governing, with an elected chairperson and
assembly, while the organs of kraje are appointed by the government.
Name
The term "Region" (Slovak: kraj) should not be confused with:
the 4 "regions" (Slovak: regióny or oblasti or zoskupenia krajov) that correspond to the NUTS 2 level, i.e. groups of several kraje, used by the Eurostat for statistical purposes. These are:
Bratislava SK 01 (Bratislava Region) – comprises only this single region
Historically, Slovakia was not divided into kraje, but into counties (Slovak: župy or stolice). This was the case when present-day Slovakia was part of: