Poland is divided into three administrative divisions: provinces, counties and townships. Poland has 16 provinces, 380 counties and 2,477 communes. Major cities in Poland usually have the status of both counties and townships. Most provinces are based on historical regions or are named after major cities in the province. The executive power of the provinces is shared between the provincial governors appointed by the central government, the elected provincial councils and the provincial governors elected by the provincial councils.
1. Mazowieckie Province (Polish: Województwo mazowieckie) is one of the provinces of Poland, located in the east-central part of the country, named after the historical region of Mazovia in Poland. It covers an area of 35,579 square kilometers and has a population of 5,384,617, both of which rank first in the country. The capital, Warsaw, is also the capital of Poland.
2. Lesser Poland Province (Polish: Województwo Małopolskie) is a province in southeastern Poland with its capital in Krakow, with an area of 15,108 square kilometers and a population of 3,253,000 people. Its name comes from the historical region of Poland – Little Poland. Well-known universities include the University of Giaquillonia (in Krakow), AGH University of Science and Technology, etc. The province is home to many ancient capitals and tourist attractions, and there are several World Heritage sites on the territory, such as the Bochnia Salt Mine, the world's longest salt mine.
3. Łódź Province (Polish: województwo łódzkie) is a province in central Poland with its capital at Łódź, which is now under its jurisdiction on January 1, 1999, and consists of the old Łódź provinces, the Šeraz provinces, the Petrokuv-Trebnarski provinces, the Skelnevice provinces and part of the PłoĂsk provinces, with an area of 18,219 square kilometers and the current population of 2,597,000 people.
4. Lublin Province (Polish: Województwo lubelskie), also translated as Lubelski Province, is a province in eastern Poland, with the capital of Lublin, covering an area of 25,155 square kilometers and a population of 2,199,100 people.
5. Województwo podlaskie is a Polish province located in the northeast of the country, bordered by Lithuania and Belarus to the east. It covers an area of 20,180 square kilometers. It has a population of 1,221,000. The capital is Bialystok. It was formed in 1999 by the merger of the former provinces of Bialystok, Vomza and Suwałki.
6. Carpathian Province (Polish: Województwo Podkarpackie) is a province located in southern Poland, with the capital Rzeszow, with an area of 17,844 square kilometers and a population of 2,098,000 people. The Carpathian Voivodeship was established on 1 January 1999 and was formed by the merger of the former provinces of Rzeszow, Przemyśl and Krosno, as well as parts of the provinces of Tarnow and Tarnobrzeg. The province takes its name from the nearby Carpathian Mountains.
7. The Province of the Holy Cross (Polish: Województwo Świętokrzyskie) is a province in central Poland. In Polish, "Święty Krzyż" means "Holy Cross". The province of Santa Croce is made up of the former province of Kielce and half of Tarnobrzeg, which was created on 1 January 1999 by the 1998 Act on the Restructuring of Local Government, and is named after Góry Świętokrzyskie. The capital is Kielce, with an area of 11,672 km² and a population of 1,254,505.
8. Greater Poland Province (Polish: Województwo Wielkopolskie) is a province located in the central and western part of Poland, with the capital of Poznan, in addition to the main cities of Lešný, Kališ and Gniezno, the current jurisdiction was divided on January 1, 1999, and the Greater Poland Province is a combination of the former Poznan Province, Kališ Province, Konin Province, Piva Province and Lešno Province. The area of the Great Poland Province is similar to the geographical name of ancient Poland, Greater Poland. It is known as the "Cradle of Poland". Greater Poland is the second largest province in Poland by area and the third most populous. The current Greater Poland Voivodeship covers an area of 29,826 km² and has a population of 3,372,417 people.
9. Warmińsko-mazurskie is a Polish province located in the northeast of the country, bordering Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast to the north. It covers an area of 24,192 square kilometers. It has a population of 1,432,505. The capital is Olsztyn. It was formed in 1999 by the merger of the former Olsztyn Province and part of the Suwałki and Elblunga provinces.
10. Lubusska Province (Polish: Województwo lubuskie) is a province of Poland located in the western part of the country and bordered by Germany to the west. It covers an area of 13,985 square kilometers. It has a population of 1,009,198. The capital is Gozów and the Green Mountain City in Greater Poland. It was formed in 1999 by the merger of the former provinces of Gozów and Green Hill.
11. Primorsky Province, also translated as Pomeranian Province or Pomorski Province (Polish: Województwo Pomorskie), is a province in northern Poland, including the historical territory of Eastern Pomerania, with its capital at Gdansk. On 1 January 1999, the current province of Pomerania was established on 1 January 1999 in accordance with the 1998 programme of reorganization of the local government structure, which included the former provinces of Gdansk, Elblungge and Svupsk, after the traditional geographical name Pomerania. It has an area of 18,293 square kilometers and a population of 2,337,769.
12. Województwo zachodniopomorskie is a province of Poland located in the northwest of the country, bordered by Germany to the west and the Baltic Sea to the north. It covers an area of 22,896 square kilometers. It has a population of 1,694,865. The capital is Szczecin. Historically, it belonged to Germany. After the demarcation of the Odenis Line, it belonged to Poland. It was formed in 1999 by the merger of parts of the former Szczecin, Koszalin and other provinces.
13. Kujaw-Primorsky Province (Polish: Województwo kujawsko-pomorskie) is a province of Poland located in the north of the country. It covers an area of 17,969 square kilometers. It has a population of 2,068,000 people. The capital is Bydgoszcz and Toruń. It was formed in 1999 by the merger of the former provinces of Bydgoszc, Toruń and Vłocławik.
14. Silesian Province or Shilonsk Province (Polish: Województwo śląskie) is a province in southern Poland with its capital at Katowice, the current administrative division was established on January 1, 1999, and was integrated from the provinces of Katowice, Częstochowa and Beersko-Białava. The name "Silesia" derives from the Duchy of Silesia in the 13th century. The duchy was later divided into two parts, the upper and the lower. It has an area of 12,294 square kilometers and a population of 4,524,091.
15. Opole Province (Polish: Województwo opolskie) is a Polish province located in the south of the country and bordered by the Czech Republic to the south. It covers an area of 9,412 square kilometers. It has a population of 1,055,667. The capital is Opole. It is the smallest province in Poland in terms of area. It is part of the Silesian region and has a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises. It was formed in 1999 by the merger of the former provinces of Opole and Częstochowa.
16. Lower Silesia, or Lower Shilonsk (Polish: Województwo dolnośląskie) is a province of Poland with the capital of Wroclaw, the largest city in the province, through which the Oder River flows, and the current administrative division of the province was established on January 1, 1999, and was formed by the union of Wrocław, Legnica, Waubrzych and Jeleniagula. It has an area of 19,946 square kilometers and a population of 2,987,000 people.