__NOTOC__ Oświęcim County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern 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 Oświęcim, which lies west of the regional capital Kraków. The county contains four other towns: Kęty, south of Oświęcim, Brzeszcze, south-west of Oświęcim, Chełmek, north of Oświęcim, and Zator, east of Oświęcim.
The county covers an area of . As of 2006, its total population is 153,390, out of which the population of Oświęcim is 40,979, that of Kęty is 19,252, that of Brzeszcze is 11,730, that of Chełmek is 9,065, that of Zator is 3,726, and the rural population is 68,638.
The county contains the sites of the Auschwitz concentration camp complex (Auschwitz being the German name for Oświęcim).
Neighbouring counties Oświęcim County is bordered by the city of Jaworzno to the north, Chrzanów County to the north-east, Wadowice County to the south-east, Bielsko County to the south, Pszczyna County to the west and Bieruń-Lędziny County to the north-west.
Administrative division The county is subdivided into nine gminas (one urban, four urban-rural and four rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.
Gmina Type Area(km2) Population(2006) SeatOświęcimurban30.340,979 Gmina Kętyurban-rural75.833,598KętyGmina Brzeszczeurban-rural46.121,557BrzeszczeGmina Oświęcimrural74.516,708Oświęcim *Gmina Chełmekurban-rural27.212,827ChełmekGmina Zatorurban-rural51.49,049ZatorGmina Osiekrural41.27,857OsiekGmina Przeciszówrural35.46,679PrzeciszówGmina Polanka Wielkarural24.14,136Polanka Wielka* seat not part of the gmina
References Polish official population figures 2006