The current administrative division of Latvia came into force on 1 July 2021. Previous municipal reforms after the restoration of Latvian independence were enacted in and 1990 (when parishes, which had been abolished during the Soviet occupation, were restored).
On 10 June 2020, the Saeima approved a municipal reform that would reduce the 110 municipalities and nine republic cities to 42 local government units consisting of 35 municipalities (, novads) and seven state cities (valstspilsētas, valstspilsēta). The municipalities are also further divided into 71 cities/towns (pilsētas, pilsēta) and 512 parishes (pagasti, pagasts; also rural territories).
These are not to be confused with the Historical Latvian Lands, which are classified as historical and cultural regions.
Legislation and history The main law regulating the administrative division of Latvia and local governance is the Law on Administrative Territories and Populated Areas of 2020 ().
The main legislature of the municipalities and state cities with independent governments is the Municipal Council or the dome (also 'Council of the Local Government'), which is elected every 5 years and elects the head of the municipality - the Council Chair ( / priekšsēdētāja, also 'Chairperson of the Council') from its ranks.
On 1 June 2021, the Constitutional Court of Latvia ruled that the annexation of Varakļāni Municipality to Rēzekne Municipality was unconstitutional. In response, the Saeima decided to preserve the existence of Varakļāni Municipality as a 43rd local government unit until 2025. On 30 June 2024 the Saeima decreed that Varakļāni Municipality will be merged into Madona Municipality immediately after the 2025 Latvian local elections. Varakļāni Municipality officially ceased to exist on 1 July 2025 with the first session of the new Madona Municipality Council.
State cities with independent governments as of 2025
The 2020 law on administrative territories and populated areas designated Ogre and the previous nine republic cities as state cities. It also provided for the promotion of Iecava and Koknese to state city status on 1 July 2021. However, under the same law, only the seven state cities listed in the following table will have local governments which are independent of any municipality.
Of the remaining three state cities, Jēkabpils and Valmiera became part of Jēkabpils Municipality and Valmiera Municipality respectively on 1 July 2021, while Ogre is similarly a part of the Ogre Municipality. City name Population(2025)GDP (mil. €), 2022GDP per capita (€), 2022 Daugavpils 78,112 940 11,863 Jelgava 54,821 817 14,862 Jūrmala 51,933 477 9,341 Liepāja 67,398 1,174 17,403 Rēzekne 26,425 409 15,411 Riga 591,882 19,261 31,583 Ventspils 32,719 489 14,773
Municipalities as of 2025 As of 7 June 2025, there are 35 municipalities in Latvia: