Municipalities of Slovenia facts for kids

Slovenia is a country in Europe, and like many countries, it's divided into smaller areas to help manage things better. These smaller areas are called municipalities (in Slovene, they are called občine). Think of them like local towns or districts that have their own local government.

Slovenia has 212 municipalities in total. Out of these, 12 are special because they are larger cities and are called urban (or metropolitan) municipalities. These municipalities help organize daily life for people, from schools to local services.

In Slovenia, the main official language is Slovene. But in some special areas, other languages are also official! For example, in three municipalities in a region called Prekmurje, Hungarian is also an official language. These are Dobrovnik, Hodoš, and Lendava. In another part of Slovenia, along the coast, Italian is also an official language in four municipalities: Ankaran, Izola, Koper, and Piran. This means you might see signs or hear people speaking these languages there!

Slovenia divided into municipalities (as of 2011)

What are Municipality Names Like?

When you see the name of a municipality in Slovenia, it usually starts with the word Občina, which means 'Municipality'. After that, you'll see the name of the main town or settlement in that area. For example, Občina Ajdovščina means 'Municipality of Ajdovščina'.

Sometimes, the word Občina is written with a capital 'O' (like Občina). This is when it's talking about the official name of that specific local government. If it's just used as a general word, like "a municipality," it might be written with a small 'o' (občina).

For the bigger cities, which are called urban municipalities, the term used is Mestna občina. Mestna means 'urban' or 'city'. So, Mestna občina Celje means 'Urban Municipality of Celje'.

Slovenia's Urban Municipalities

Slovenia has 12 special municipalities that are considered "urban" or city municipalities. These are the biggest and most important cities in the country. They have a larger population and often more services and facilities. Here's a list of these urban municipalities and their populations (as of 2021):

Urban municipalities in Slovenia
Ljubljana Ljubljana Maribor Maribor< Kranj Kranj Koper Koper Celje Celje Novo Mesto Novo Mesto	Rank	City	Population (as of 2021)	Velenje Velenje Nova Gorica Nova Gorica Krško Krško Ptuj Ptuj Murska Sobota Murska Sobota Slovenj Gradec Slovenj Gradec
	1	Ljubljana	294,464
	2	Maribor	113,778
	3	Kranj	57,185
	4	Koper	53,292
	5	Celje	49,007
	6	Novo Mesto	37,398
	7	Velenje	33,715
	8	Nova Gorica	31,845
	9	Krško	25,904
	10	Ptuj	23,611
	11	Murska Sobota	18,622
	12	Slovenj Gradec	16,595