__NOTOC__ Kościan County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Kościan, which lies south-west of the regional capital Poznań. The county contains three other towns: Śmigiel, south-west of Kościan, Czempiń, north-east of Kościan, and Krzywiń, south-east of Kościan.
The county covers an area of . As of 2006 its total population is 77,760, out of which the population of Kościan is 24,102, that of Śmigiel is 5,452, that of Czempiń is 5,135, that of Krzywiń is 1,547, and the rural population is 41,524.
Neighbouring counties Kościan County is bordered by Poznań County to the north, Śrem County to the east, Gostyń County to the south-east, Leszno County to the south, Wolsztyn County to the west and Grodzisk County to the north-west.
Administrative division The county is subdivided into five gminas (one urban, three urban-rural and one rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.
Gmina Type Area(km2) Population(2006) SeatKościanurban8.824,102 Gmina Śmigielurban-rural189.917,465ŚmigielGmina Kościanrural202.315,042Kościan *Gmina Czempińurban-rural142.511,259CzempińGmina Krzywińurban-rural179.29,892Krzywiń* seat not part of the gmina
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