- published: 31 Jan 2016
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A municipiu (from Latin municipium) is a level of administrative subdivision in Romania, roughly equivalent to city in some English-speaking countries. This status is given to towns that are quite large and urbanized. There is no clear benchmark regarding the status of municipiu, even though it applies to localities which have a sizeable population, usually above 15,000, and extensive urban infrastructure. Localities which do not meet these loose guidelines are classified only as towns (oraşe), or if they are not urban areas, as communes (comune). Cities are governed by a mayor. There are no official administrative subdivisions of cities, even though, unofficially, municipalities may be divided into quarters/districts (cartiere in Romanian). The exception to this is Bucharest, which has a status similar to that of a county, and is officially subdivided into six administrative sectors.
Here is a list of the largest cities in Romania:
The status was not used between 1950 and 1968, so that cities granted it prior to 1950 had it reassigned in 1968.