Districts of Kosovo

A District (Rreth, Serbian: Дистрикт, transliterated Distrikt) is the higher-level administrative division of both the Kosovo (UNMIK) protectorate and the partially recognized Republic of Kosovo, over the earlier territory (1990 to 1999) of the Serbian Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. It was also an administrative unit in the latter. The districts of Kosovo are based on the Districts of Kosovo and Metohija.

In Albanian they are also called Komuna or Distrikt, as in Komuna e Mitrovicës or Distrikti i Mitrovicës.

UNMIK reform of 2000


The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) introduced the following changes to the districts and municipalities of Kosovo (UNMIK) in 2000:
 * on the territory of the Kosovska Mitrovica District it made new District of Kosovska Mitrovica.
 * on the territory of the Peć District it made new District of Peć and District of Đakovica and additionally:
 * it transferred the municipality of Orahovac to the District of Đakovica.
 * it split the Kosovo District in two - the new District of Pristina and District of Uroševac.
 * it renamed the Kosovo-Pomoravlje District as the District of Gnjilane.
 * it transferred the municipality of Novo Brdo to the District of Pristina.
 * it reformed the Prizren District into District of Prizren by the following:
 * it merged the municipalities of Gora and Opolje into the new municipality of Dragaš
 * it formed new municipality Mališevo by taking territories from the municipalities of Orahovac (Prizren District/District of Đakovica), Suva Reka (District of Prizren), Klina (District of Peć) and Glogovac (Kosovo District/District of Priština).
 * it transferred the bigger part of Orahovac municipality that is outside of the new municipality of Mališevo to the District of Đakovica.

Serbia protested about the new territorial division and does not see it as legitimate, but by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo administration implemented it regardless of Serbia's protests, because it has such authority established by virtue of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244. Similarly the local authorities of Kosovo objected the Serbia nominal sovereignty over Kosovo (also confirmed by the UNSCR 1244) and in 2008 declared unilateral independence, but it is not yet recognized by the UN and thus the Kosovo (UNMIK) protectorate continues to function according to UNSCR 1244.

The UNMIK administration (established in 1999), replaced the Districts of Kosovo and Metohia with new districts of Kosovo (UNMIK). The new districts are: