Voivodeships of Poland

A voivodeship (/ˈvɔɪvoʊdʃɪp/; Polish: województwo [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ]; plural: województwa) is the highest-level administrative subdivision of Poland, corresponding to a "province" in many other countries. The term has been in use since the 14th century, and is commonly translated in English as "province" or "state".[1]

Voivodeships of Poland
Województwa Polski (Polish)
Also known as:
province, state
CategoryUnitary local government states
LocationRepublic of Poland
Number16 Voivodeships
Populations986,506 (Opole) – 5,403,412 (Masovian)
Areas9,413 km2 (3,634.2 sq mi) (Opole) - 35,580 km2 (13,737 sq mi) (Masovian)
GovernmentVoivodeship government, National government
SubdivisionsPowiat (county)

The Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998, which went into effect on 1 January 1999, created 16 new voivodeships. These replaced the 49 former voivodeships that had existed from 1 July 1975, and bear greater resemblance (in territory but not in name) to the voivodeships that existed between 1950 and 1975.

Today's voivodeships are mostly named after historical and geographical regions, while those prior to 1998 generally took their names from the cities on which they were centered. The new units range in area from under 10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi) (Opole Voivodeship) to over 35,000 km2 (14,000 sq mi) (Masovian Voivodeship), and in population from one million (Lubusz Voivodeship) to over five million (Masovian Voivodeship).

Administrative authority at the voivodeship level is shared between a government-appointed governor called a voivode (wojewoda), an elected assembly called a sejmik, and an executive board (zarząd województwa) chosen by that assembly, headed by a voivodeship marshal (marszałek województwa). Voivodeships are further divided into powiats (counties) and gminas (communes or municipalities): see Administrative divisions of Poland.

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Etymology and use of "voivodeship"

Some English-language sources, in historic contexts, speak of "palatinates" rather than "voivodeships". The term "palatinate" traces back to the Latin palatinus ("palatine").

More commonly used now is "province" or "voivodeship". The latter is a loanword-calque hybrid formed on the Polish "województwo".

Some writers argue against rendering "województwo" in English as "province" on historic grounds. Before the Third and last Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which occurred in 1795, each of the main constituent Regions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth—Greater Poland, Lesser Poland, Lithuania, and Royal Prussia—was sometimes idiosyncratically referred to as a "Province" ("prowincja"). According to the argument, a "Province" (such as Greater Poland) cannot consist of a number of subdivisions ("województwa", the plural of "województwo") that are likewise called "provinces". However, this is an antiquarian consideration, since "province" has not been used in this sense in Poland for over two centuries, and in any case the former larger political units—all now obsolete—can be referred to in English as "Regions" (which, in English parlance, is what they were).

The Polish "województwo", designating a second-tier Polish or Polish–Lithuanian administrative unit, derives from "wojewoda" (etymologically, a "warlord", "war leader" or "leader of warriors", but now simply the governor of a województwo) and the suffix "-ztwo" (a "state or condition").

The English "voivodeship", which is a hybrid of the loanword "voivode" and "-ship" (the latter a suffix that calques the Polish suffix "-ztwo"), has never been much used and is absent from many dictionaries. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it first appeared in 1792, spelled "woiwodship", in the sense of "the district or province governed by a voivode." The word subsequently appeared in 1886 also in the sense of "the office or dignity of a voivode."[2]

Poland's Commission on Standardization of Geographic Names outside the Republic of Poland, recommends the spelling "voivodship", without the e.

Voivodeships since 1999
Map of Polish voivodeships since 1999 (abbreviations)

Administrative powers

Competences and powers at voivodeship level are shared between the voivode (governor), the sejmik (regional assembly) and the marshal. In most cases these institutions are all based in one city, but in Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Lubusz Voivodeship the voivode's offices are in a different city from those of the executive and the sejmik. Voivodeship capitals are listed in the table below.

The voivode is appointed by the Prime Minister and is the regional representative of the central government. The voivode acts as the head of central government institutions at regional level (such as the police and fire services, passport offices, and various inspectorates), manages central government property in the region, oversees the functioning of local government, coordinates actions in the field of public safety and environment protection, and exercises special powers in emergencies. The voivode's offices collectively are known as the urząd wojewódzki.

The sejmik is elected every five years (2018 was the start of the first 5-years term; previous terms lasted four years[3]), at the same time as the local authorities at powiat and gmina level. It passes bylaws, including the voivodeship's development strategies and budget. It also elects the marszałek and other members of the executive, and holds them to account.

The executive (zarząd województwa), headed by the marszałek drafts the budget and development strategies, implements the resolutions of the sejmik, manages the voivodeship's property, and deals with many aspects of regional policy, including management of European Union funding. The marshal's offices are collectively known as the urząd marszałkowski.

List of voivodeships
Polish voivodeships since 1999
Abbr. Flag Coat of
arms		 Teryt.
code		 Car
plates		 Voivodeship Polish name Capital cities Area
(km²)		 Population
(December 31, 2018)		 Pop.
per km²
DS 02 D Lower Silesian dolnośląskie Wrocław 19,947 2,901,225 145
KP 04 C Kuyavian-Pomeranian kujawsko-pomorskie Bydgoszcz1,
Toruń2		 17,972 2,077,775 116
LU 06 L Lublin lubelskie Lublin 25,122 2,117,619 84
LB 08 F Lubusz lubuskie Gorzów Wielkopolski1,
Zielona Góra2		 13,988 1,014,548 73
LD 10 E Łódź łódzkie Łódź 18,219 2,466,322 136
MA 12 K Lesser Poland małopolskie Kraków 15,183 3,400,577 224
MZ 14 W Masovian mazowieckie Warsaw 35,558 5,403,412 152
OP 16 O Opole opolskie Opole 9,412 986,506 105
PK 18 R Subcarpathian podkarpackie Rzeszów 17,846 2,129,015 119
PD 20 B Podlaskie podlaskie Białystok 20,187 1,181,533 59
PM 22 G Pomeranian pomorskie Gdańsk 18,310 2,333,523 127
SL 24 S Silesian śląskie Katowice 12,333 4,533,565 368
SK 26 T Holy Cross świętokrzyskie Kielce 11,711 1,241,546 106
WN 28 N Warmian-Masurian warmińsko-mazurskie Olsztyn 24,173 1,428,983 59
WP 30 P Greater Poland wielkopolskie Poznań 29,826 3,493,969 117
ZP 32 Z West Pomeranian zachodniopomorskie Szczecin 22,892 1,701,030 74
1 Seat of voivode. 2 Seat of sejmik and marszałek.

Economies of Voivodeships

(See: List of Polish voivodeships by GDP per capita)

According to 2017 Eurostat data, the GDP per capita of Polish voivodeships varies notably and there is a large gap between the richest per capita voivodeship (being the Masovian Voivodeship at 33,500 EUR) and the poorest per capita (being the Lublin Voivodeship at 14,400 EUR).[4]

Outline of Poland
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1619, around the time of Commonwealth's greatest extent
Voivodeships of Congress Poland
Poland's prewar and postwar borders, 1939–1945
Map of Polish voivodeships (1921–1939)
Map of Polish voivodeships (1957–1975)
Map of Polish voivodeships (1975–1998)

Historical development

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Further information: Administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Voivodes of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Greater Poland (Wielkopolska)

Lesser Poland (Małopolska)

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Duchy of Livonia
  • Wenden Voivodship (województwo wendeńskie, Wenden) since 1598 till the 1620s
  • Dorpat Voivodship (województwo dorpackie, Dorpat) since 1598 till the 1620s
  • Parnawa Voivodship (województwo parnawskie, Parnava) since 1598 till the 1620s
  • Inflanty Voivodeship (województwo inflanckie Dyneburg) since the 1620s
  • Duchy of Courland and Semigalia (księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii), Mitawa)

Congress Poland

From 1816 to 1837 there were 8 voivodeships in Congress Poland.

Second Polish Republic

The administrative division of Poland in the interwar period included 16 voivodeships and Warsaw (with voivodeship rights). The voivodeships that remained in Poland after World War II as a result of Polish–Soviet border agreement of August 1945 were very similar to the current voivodeships.

Collapsed list of car plates since 1937, please use table-sort buttons.

Car plates
(since 1937)		 Voivodeship[5] Polish name Capital city
modern name in parentheses		 Area in km² (1930) Population (1931)
20–24 Białystok białostockie Białystok 26,000 1,263,300
25–29 Kielce kieleckie Kielce 22,200 2,671,000
30–34 Kraków krakowskie Kraków 17,600 2,300,100
35–39 Lublin lubelskie Lublin 26,600 2,116,200
40–44 Lwów lwowskie Lwów (Lviv) 28,400 3,126,300
45–49 Łódź łódzkie Łódź 20,400 2,650,100
50–54 Nowogródek nowogródzkie Nowogródek (Navahrudak) 23,000 1,057,200
55–59 Polesie poleskie Brześć nad Bugiem (Brest) 36,700 1,132,200
60–64 Pomeranian pomorskie Toruń 25,700 1,884,400
65–69 Poznań poznańskie Poznań 28,100 2,339,600
70–74 Stanisławów stanisławowskie Stanisławów (Ivano-Frankivsk) 16,900 1,480,300
75–79? Silesian śląskie Katowice 5,100 1,533,500
80–84 Tarnopol tarnopolskie Tarnopol (Ternopil) 16,500 1,600,400
85–89 Warsaw (voivodeship) warszawskie Warsaw 31,700 2,460,900
00–19 Warsaw (city) Warszawa Warsaw 140 1,179,500
90–94 Wilno wileńskie Wilno (Vilnius) 29,000 1,276,000
95–99 Wołyń wołyńskie Łuck (Lutsk) 35,700 2,085,600

Polish People's Republic

After World War II, the new administrative division of the country within the new national borders was based on the prewar one and included 14 (+2) voivodeships, then 17 (+5). The voivodeships in the east that had not been annexed by the Soviet Union had their borders left almost unchanged. The newly acquired territories in the west and north were organized into the new voivodeships of Szczecin, Wrocław and Olsztyn, and partly joined to Gdańsk, Katowice and Poznań voivodeships. Two cities were granted voivodeship status: Warsaw and Łódź.

In 1950, new voivodeships were created: Koszalin (previously part of Szczecin), Opole (previously part of Katowice), and Zielona Góra (previously part of Poznań, Wrocław and Szczecin voivodeships). In 1957, three more cities were granted voivodeship status: Wrocław, Kraków and Poznań.

Collapsed list of car plates since 1956, please use table-sort buttons.

Car plates
(since 1956)		 Voivodeship(Polish name) Capital Area in km² (1965) Population (1965)
A białostockie Białystok 23,136 1,160,400
B bydgoskie Bydgoszcz 20,794 1,837,100
G gdańskie Gdańsk 10,984 1,352,800
S katowickie Katowice 9,518 3,524,300
C kieleckie Kielce 19,498 1,899,100
E koszalińskie1 Koszalin 17,974 755,100
K krakowskie Kraków 15,350 2,127,600
? Kraków (city)2 Kraków 230 520,100
F łódzkie Łódź 17,064 1,665,200
I Łódź (city) Łódź 214 744,100
L lubelskie Lublin 24,829 1,900,500
O olsztyńskie Olsztyn 20,994 956,600
H opolskie ¹ Opole 9,506 1,009,200
P poznańskie Poznań 26,723 2,126,300
? Poznań (city)2 Poznań 220 438,200
R rzeszowskie Rzeszów 18,658 1,692,800
M szczecińskie Szczecin 12,677 847,600
T warszawskie Warsaw 29,369 2,453,000
W Warszawa (city) Warsaw 446 1,252,600
X wrocławskie Wrocław 18,827 1,967,000
? Wrocław (city)2 Wrocław 225 474,200
Z zielonogórskie1 Zielona Góra 14,514 847,200
1 New voivodeships created in 1950. 2 Cities separated in 1957.

Poland's voivodeships 1975–1998

Administrative division of Poland between 1979 and 1998 included 49 voivodeships upheld after the establishment of the Third Polish Republic in 1989 for another decade. This reorganization of administrative division of Poland was mainly a result of local government reform acts of 1973–1975. In place of the three-level administrative division (voivodeship, county, commune), a new two-level administrative division was introduced (49 small voivodeships, and communes). The three smallest voivodeships – Warsaw, Kraków and Łódź – had the special status of municipal voivodeship; the city president (mayor) was also provincial governor.

Collapsed list of Voivodeships: 1975–1998, please use table-sort buttons.

Abbr. Voivodeship Polish name Capital Area km² (1998) Population (1980) No. of cities No. of communes
bp Biała Podlaska Voivodeship bialskopodlaskie Biała Podlaska 5,348 286,400 6 35
bk Białystok Voivodeship białostockie Białystok 10,055 641,100 17 49
bb Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship bielskie Bielsko-Biała 3,704 829,900 18 47
by Bydgoszcz Voivodeship bydgoskie Bydgoszcz 10,349 1,036,000 27 55
ch Chełm Voivodeship chełmskie Chełm 3,865 230,900 4 25
ci Ciechanów Voivodeship ciechanowskie Ciechanów 6,362 405,400 9 45
cz Częstochowa Voivodeship częstochowskie Częstochowa 6,182 747,900 17 49
el Elbląg Voivodeship elbląskie Elbląg 6,103 441,500 15 37
gd Gdańsk Voivodeship gdańskie Gdańsk 7,394 1,333,800 19 43
go Gorzów Voivodeship gorzowskie Gorzów Wielkopolski 8,484 455,400 21 38
jg Jelenia Góra Voivodeship jeleniogórskie Jelenia Góra 4,378 492,600 24 28
kl Kalisz Voivodeship kaliskie Kalisz 6,512 668,000 20 53
ka Katowice Voivodeship katowickie Katowice 6,650 3,733,900 43 46
ki Kielce Voivodeship kieleckie Kielce 9,211 1,068,700 17 69
kn Konin Voivodeship konińskie Konin 5,139 441,200 18 43
ko Koszalin Voivodeship koszalińskie Koszalin 8,470 462,200 17 35
kr Kraków Voivodeship krakowskie Kraków 3,254 1,167,500 10 38
ks Krosno Voivodeship krośnieńskie Krosno 5,702 448,200 12 37
lg Legnica Voivodeship legnickie Legnica 4,037 458,900 11 31
le Leszno Voivodeship leszczyńskie Leszno 4,254 357,600 19 28
lu Lublin Voivodeship lubelskie Lublin 6,793 935,200 16 62
lo Łomża Voivodeship łomżyńskie Łomża 6,684 325,800 12 39
ld Łódź Voivodeship łódzkie Łódź 1523 1,127,800 8 11
ns Nowy Sącz Voivodeship nowosądeckie Nowy Sącz 5,576 628,800 14 41
ol Olsztyn Voivodeship olsztyńskie Olsztyn 12,327 681,400 21 48
op Opole Voivodeship opolskie Opole 8,535 975,000 29 61
os Ostrołęka Voivodeship ostrołęckie Ostrołęka 6,498 371,400 9 38
pi Piła Voivodeship pilskie Piła 8,205 437,100 24 35
pt Piotrków Voivodeship piotrkowskie Piotrków Trybunalski 6,266 604,200 10 51
pl Płock Voivodeship płockie Płock 5,117 496,100 9 44
po Poznań Voivodeship poznańskie Poznań 8,151 1,237,800 33 57
pr Przemyśl Voivodeship przemyskie Przemyśl 4,437 380,000 9 35
ra Radom Voivodeship radomskie Radom 7,295 702,300 15 61
rz Rzeszów Voivodeship rzeszowskie Rzeszów 4,397 648,900 13 41
se Siedlce Voivodeship siedleckie Siedlce 8,499 616,300 12 66
si Sieradz Voivodeship sieradzkie Sieradz 4,869 392,300 9 40
sk Skierniewice Voivodeship skierniewickie Skierniewice 3,959 396,900 8 36
sl Słupsk Voivodeship słupskie Słupsk 7,453 369,800 11 31
su Suwałki Voivodeship suwalskie Suwałki 10,490 422,600 14 42
sz Szczecin Voivodeship szczecińskie Szczecin 9,981 897,900 29 50
tg Tarnobrzeg Voivodeship tarnobrzeskie Tarnobrzeg 6,283 556,300 14 46
ta Tarnów Voivodeship tarnowskie Tarnów 4,151 607,000 9 41
to Toruń Voivodeship toruńskie Toruń 5,348 610,800 13 41
wb Wałbrzych Voivodeship wałbrzyskie Wałbrzych 4,168 716,100 31 30
wa Warsaw Voivodeship warszawskie Warsaw
(Warszawa)		 3,788 2,319,100 27 32
wl Włocławek Voivodeship włocławskie Włocławek 4,402 413,400 14 30
wr Wrocław Voivodeship wrocławskie Wrocław 6,287 1,076,200 16 33
za Zamość Voivodeship zamojskie Zamość 6,980 472,100 5 47
zg Zielona Góra Voivodeship zielonogórskie Zielona Góra 8,868 609,200 26 50


Notes
  1. The word "voivodeship", as an equivalent for "województwo", appears in some large English dictionaries such as the OED and Webster's Third New International Dictionary but is not in common English usage. Hence the word "province" is a recommended translation: "Jednostki podziału administracyjnego Polski tłumaczymy tak: województwo—province..." ("Polish administrative units are translated as follows: województwo—province..."). Arkadiusz Belczyk, "Tłumaczenie polskich nazw geograficznych na język angielski" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine ("Translation of Polish Geographical Names into English"), 2002-2006. Examples: New Provinces of Poland (1998) Archived 2011-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, Map of Poland, English names of Polish provinces. More examples:
    • "Following the reform of the administrative structure in 1973-1975, the number of provinces (województwa) was increased from 22 to 49... [I]ncreasing the number of provinces meant the reduction of each in size. In this way Warsaw was able to dilute the political importance of the provincial party chiefs." "Poland", The Encyclopedia Americana, 1986, volume 22, p. 312.
    • "Poland is divided into 49 provinces." "Poland", The Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth edition, edited by Paul Lagassé, Columbia University Press, 2000, p. 2256.
    • "Local government in Poland is organized on three levels. The largest units, at the regional level, are the województwa (provinces)..." "Poland", Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th edition, 2010, Macropaedia, volume 25, p. 937.
    • "GOVERNMENT... Administrative divisions: 16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular–wojewodztwo)..." "Poland," in Central Intelligence Agency, The CIA World Factbook 2010, New York, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2009, ISBN 9781602397279, p. 546. The same information appears in the current online CIA World Factbook --> "Poland --> Administrative divisions". Note that in this source, where "English translations" of province names are given, they are in the noun ("Silesia"), not the adjective ("Silesian"), form.
    • Professor Paul Best, of Southern Connecticut State University, writes: "[I]n standard dictionaries the Polish word [województwo] is translated as 'province.'" Paul Best, review of Bogdan Horbal, Lemko Studies: A Handbook (2010), in The Polish Review, vol. 58, no. 4 (2013), pp. 125–26.
  2. "Voivodeship," The Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, volume XIX, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1989, p. 739.
  3. "Samorządowcy dostali dodatkowy rok. Jak wykorzystają 5-letnią kadencję? - Prawo i finanse".
  4. "Eurostat - Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) map". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
  5. data as per April 1, 1937
gollark: I convert the time into... late afternoon.
gollark: ++roll d20
gollark: Fine, I convert the time into night.
gollark: In general, you cannot escape apioforms, see.
gollark: I can see you're very unfamiliar with bee science.

References
  • "Poland", Encyclopædia Britannica, 15th edition, 2010, Macropaedia, volume 25, p. 937.
  • "Poland", The Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth edition, edited by Paul Lagassé, Columbia University Press, 2000, p. 2256.
  • "Poland", The Encyclopedia Americana, 1986, volume 22, p. 312.
  • "Poland," in Central Intelligence Agency, The CIA World Factbook 2010, New York, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2009, ISBN 9781602397279, p. 546.
  • "Voivodeship," The Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, volume XIX, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1989, p. 739.

See also
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