According to the Moldovan law on territorial administrative organisation, Moldova is divided administratively into the following administrative territorial units: districts (Romanian: raioane; see also raions), cities/towns (Romanian: orașe) and villages (Romanian: sate). The administrative territorial organization of Moldova is made on 2 levels:
Two or more villages can form together a commune (Romanian: comună).
Currently, Moldova is divided into the following first-tier units, which include 32 districts:
three municipalities:
two autonomous territorial units:
The final status of the latter has not been settled yet, as the region, such as defined administratively, in fact is not under the control of Moldovan authorities. The cities of Comrat and Tiraspol also have municipality status, but are not among first-tier units of Moldova; they are the seats of Gagauzia and Transnistria, respectively. Besides Chișinău, Bălți, Bender, Comrat, and Tiraspol, on 13 April 2017 eight more became municipalities: Cahul, Ceadîr-Lunga, Edineț, Hîncești, Orhei, Soroca, Strășeni, and Ungheni.
Moldova has a total of 1,682 localities; from these 982 are incorporated (de jure with 982 mayors and 982 local councils), including 53 cities/towns, other 13 cities with municipality status (see municipiu), and 916 rural localities. They cover the entire area of the country. A number of villages are self-governed, while others 700 villages are too small to have a separate administration, and are part of either cities/towns/municipalities (41 of them) or communes (659). Few localities are inhabited.