.png)
The 60 municipalities of Lithuania are sub-divided into over 500 smaller groups, known as elderships and are grouped into 10 counties. These municipalities, elderships, and counties make up the three layers of Lithuania's administrative divisions. At the end of its tenure as a Soviet Socialist Republic, Lithuania's administrative divisions consisted of 44 regions, 12 cities, 80 towns, 19 settlements, and 426 rural districts. The reform of this system was an immediate concern for the new government. The Constitution of Lithuania, ratified in 1992, delegated the power of establishing future administrative units to the Lithuanian Parliament. The current system of a set of municipalities under 10 counties was codified by 1995. Several changes were made in 2000, resulting in 60 municipalities, each of which has its own coat of arms (example pictured). Municipal councilors are directly elected every four years. The councilors then elect the municipality's mayor. (Full list...)