The municipalities of Iceland are local administrative areas that provide a number of services to their inhabitants such as kindergartens, elementary schools, waste management, social services, public housing, public transportation, services to senior citizens and handicapped people etc. They also govern zoning and can voluntarily take on additional functions if they have the budget for it. The autonomy of municipalities over their own matters is guaranteed by the constitution of Iceland. A municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly referring to a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them. ... A kindergarten classroom in Afghanistan. ... Primary or elementary education is the first years of formal, structured education that occurs during childhood. ... For the company, see Waste Management, Inc. ... A social worker is a person employed in the administration of charity, social service, welfare, and poverty agencies, advocacy, or religious outreach programs. ... A local authority tower block in Cwmbrân, South Wales Public housing or project homes is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. ... A taxi serving as a bus Public transport comprises all transport systems in which the passengers do not travel in their own vehicles. ... Old age consists of ages nearing the average lifespan of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle. ... See also: Handicap (competition) Handicapped is an adjective used to refer to a person or animal who is partially disabled or unable to use a limb or limbs. ... A typical zoning map; this one identifies the zones, or development districts, in the city of Ontario, California Zoning is a North American term for a system of land-use regulation. ... The present Constitution of Iceland was first made in 1944, on 17th of June. ...

The municipalities are governed by municipal councils which are directly elected every four years, municipal elections were last held on May 27, 2006. The sizes of these councils vary from 3 members in the smallest municipalities to 15 in the largest one. Most municipalities except for the very small ones hire an executive manager who may or may not be a member of the municipal council, these managers are usually referred to as mayors (bæjarstjóri / borgarstjóri) in the mostly urban municipalities but "commune manager" (sveitarstjóri) in the rural or mixed municipalities. May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ...

The origin of the municipalities can be traced back to the commonwealth period in the 10th century when rural communities were organized into communes (hreppar) with the main purpose of providing help for the poorest induviduals in society. When urbanization began up in Iceland durin the 18th and 19th century, several independent townships (kaupstaðir) were created. The role of municipalities was further formalized during the 20th century and by the end of the century there was no longer any distinction made between urban and rural municipalities. The trend in recent years has been to transfer more functions and power from the state to the municipalities, this has called for larger municipalities. The government encourages municipalities to merge but has taken a different approach to the issue than governments in other Nordic countries where forced amalgamation is regularly carried out (such as the municipal reform in Denmark that will take effect in 2007). Instead the process is voluntary, municipalities negotiate possible mergers between themselves and the merger has to be agreed upon by the people of each municipality in a referendum. A similar approach is used by the Faroese government. Municipalities with fewer than 50 people may be merged with others by force though. The Icelandic Commonwealth refers to the state existing in Iceland between 930 (the establishment of the Althing) and 1262 (the pledge of fealty to the Norwegian king). ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The term township is used to denote a lower level territorial subdivision. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Political map of the Nordic countries and associated territories. ... Denmark is divided into 13 counties (amter), and 271 municipalities (kommuner). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD (or CE) era. ...

The number of municipalities peaked in the mid-20th century, there were 229 of them in 1950. In 1995 their number had reduced to 170. Presently there are 79. In population, they range from 50 to 114,800 and by area they range from 2 km² to 8884 km². The current average population is about 3790. 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ...

Following is a list of Icelandic municipalities ranked by population.

The municipalities of Iceland

Image File history File links Sveitarfélög-landsvæði. ... Image File history File links Sveitarfélög-landsvæði. ... Location in Iceland Coordinates: Constituency Reykjavík North Reykjavík South Area    - City 274. ... Location in Iceland Coordinates: Constituency Southwest Area    - City 83. ... Location Location in Iceland Coordinates , Government Constituency Southwest Geographical characteristics Area     City 147 km²  (56. ... Nickname: Höfuðstaður Norðurlands (Capital of North Iceland) Location in Iceland Coordinates: Constituency Northeast Area    - City 125 km²  (48. ... Reykjanesbær is a municipality on the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland, it is made up of the towns Keflavík, Njarðvík and Hafnir. ... Garðabær is a municipality in the Greater Reykjavík area of Iceland. ... Mosfellsær is small city in Southwestern Iceland. ... Árborg is the largest city in Southern Iceland. ... City nickname: Skaginn Location in Iceland County Borgarfjarðarsýsla Constituency Northwest Area 8. ... Seltjarnarnes is a township located within the Greater Reykjavík area. ... Cliffs on Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar Vestmannaeyjar (The Westman Islands) is a small archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. ... Skagafjörður outlined on a map of Iceland Skagafjörður is a fjord in Northern Iceland, situated between Tröllaskagi and Skagi. ... Ísafjarðarbær () is a municipality of Iceland in the Westfjords region, created in 1996 from Flateyrarhreppur, Ísafjarðarkaupstaður, Mosvallahreppur, Mýrahreppur, Suðureyrarhreppur and Þingeyrarhreppur. ... Location of Grindavík Grindavík is a fishing town at the peninsula of Reykjanes at the south-western coast of Iceland. ... Höfn in Hornafjörður is an icelandic fishery town in the southeastern part of the country. ... Álftanes is a low-lying peninsula which extrudes from the eastern part of Reykjanes. ... Hveragerði Hveragerði is a small town in the south of Iceland at about 40 km to the east of Reykjavík on the river Varmá. It has around 1,700 residents. ... Location of Dalvík Dalvík is a small fishing village in Eyjafjörður, Iceland. ... The fishing town of Stykkishólmur is situated in the western part of Iceland, to the north of the Snæfellsnes peninsula. ... Position Bolungarvík in Iceland Bolungarvík is a village in the North-West of Iceland, located at the Vestfirðir peninsula, approximately 15 kilometers from the village of Ísafjörður and 473 km from the capital city Reykjavík. ... Blönduós is a small settlement in northwestern Iceland, 245 km from Reykjavík. ... Image:Seyðisfjörður pos. ... Grímsnes- og Grafningshreppur is a municipality in the south-western part of Iceland, in the region of Suðurland (Árnessýsla county). ... Grímsey north of Iceland Grímsey is a small island 40 km north off the northern coast of Iceland, situated directly on the arctic circle, at 66°3317N, 018°0103W, with a highest elevation of 105 meters. ...

See also

• List of cities in Iceland
• Counties of Iceland
• Constituencies of Iceland