The gmina (Polish pronunciation, plural gminy) is the principal unit (lowest uniform level) of territorial division in Poland. It is frequently translated as "commune" or "municipality." As of 2004 there were 2,478 gminas. The word gmina is derived from the German word Gemeinde, meaning "commune" or "community."
Since 1972, when it replaced the smaller gromada, the gmina has been the basic unit of administrative division. There are three types of gmina in Poland:
Some rural gminas have their seat in a town which is outside the gmina. For example, the rural Gmina Augustów is administered from the town of Augustów, but does not include this town, as Augustów is an urban gmina in its own right.
An urban gmina is normally referred to by the name of the city or town in question. Other types of gmina are called Gmina Xxx, where Xxx is (in the vast majority of cases) the town or village in which the gmina has its seat. Gmina Xxx is sometimes translated into English as "Xxx Commune".
The legislative and controlling body of each gmina is the elected municipal council (rada gminy, or in a town rada miasta). Executive power is held by the directly elected mayor of the municipality, called wójt in rural gminas, burmistrz in most urban and urban-rural gminas, or prezydent in towns with more than 100,000 inhabitants and some others which traditionally use the title.
A gmina may create auxiliary units (jednostki pomocnicze), which play a subordinate administrative role. In rural areas these are called sołectwos; in towns they may be dzielnicas or osiedles. In an urban-rural gmina, the town itself may be designated as an auxiliary unit.
For a complete listing of all the gminas in Poland, see List of Polish gminas.
| colspan=18 | Number of gminas by voivodeship | ||||||||||||||||
| Voivodeship | LS | KP | LBL | LBS | ŁD | LP | MS | OP | SK | PL | PM | SL | ŚWK | WM | GP | WP | Poland |
| Urban gminas | 36 | 17 | 20 | 9 | 18 | 15 | 35 | 3 | 16 | 13 | 25 | 49 | 5 | 16 | 19 | 11 | 307 |
| Urban-rural gminas | 55 | 35 | 21 | 33 | 25 | 42 | 50 | 32 | 29 | 23 | 17 | 22 | 26 | 33 | 90 | 51 | 582 |
| Rural gminas | 78 | 92 | 172 | 41 | 134 | 125 | 229 | 36 | 114 | 82 | 81 | 96 | 71 | 67 | 117 | 52 | 1,589 |
| Total gminas | 169 | 144 | 213 | 83 | 177 | 182 | 314 | 71 | 159 | 118 | 123 | 167 | 102 | 116 | 226 | 114 | 2,478 |
| of which: rural gminas with their seat outside the gmina | 14 | 13 | 17 | 5 | 15 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 160 |
Abbreviations used for voivodeships:
LS: Lower Silesian Voivodeship, KP: Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, LBL: Lublin Voivodeship, LBS: Lubusz Voivodeship,
ŁD: Łódź Voivodeship, LP: Lesser Poland Voivodeship, MS: Masovian Voivodeship, OP: Opole Voivodeship,
SK: Subcarpathian Voivodeship, PL: Podlaskie Voivodeship, PM: Pomeranian Voivodeship, SL: Silesian Voivodeship,
ŚWK: Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, WM: Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, GP: Greater Poland Voivodeship, WP: West Pomeranian Voivodeship.
| LARGEST | Population (2006 estimate) | Land area in km² | Population density per km² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | Warsaw (1,697,596) | Warsaw (517.22) | Świętochłowice (4,156.80) |
| Rural | Gmina Chełmiec (24,344) | Gmina Wałcz (574.89) | Gmina Buczkowice (542.70) |
| Urban-rural | Gmina Piaseczno (61,525) | Gmina Pisz (633.69) | Gmina Wołomin (801.69) |
| Town in urban-rural gmina | Gmina Nysa Nysa (47,545) | Gmina Szczytna Szczytna (80.38) | Gmina Swarzędz Swarzędz (3,469.23) |
| Rural part of urban-rural gmina | Gmina Wieliczka rural part (28,864) | Gmina Pisz rural part (623.61) | Gmina Świątniki Górne rural part (407.86) |
| SMALLEST | Population (2006 estimate) | Land area in km² | Population density per km² |
| Urban | Krynica Morska (1,364) | Górowo Iławeckie (3.32) | Krynica Morska (11.74) |
| Rural | Gmina Cisna (1,663) | Gmina Jejkowice (7.59) | Gmina Lutowiska (4.63) |
| Urban-rural | Gmina Nowe Warpno (1,559) | Gmina Świątniki Górne (20.35) | Gmina Nowe Warpno (7.88) |
| Town in urban-rural gmina | Gmina Wyśmierzyce Wyśmierzyce (892) | Gmina Stawiszyn Stawiszyn (0.99) | Gmina Suraż Suraż (28.94) |
| Rural part of urban-rural gmina | Gmina Nowe Warpno rural part (363) | Gmina Suchedniów rural part (15.54) | Gmina Nowe Warpno rural part (2.09) |