Baladiya

A baladiya (Arabic: بلدية, plur. بلديات baladiyāt) is a contemporary and historical area of local government or other local or regional administrative unit, native to countries in Northern Africa and Western Asia, variably translated as township, commune or municipality.

Modern baladiyāt represent the lower tier of government in the three-tier system of the Arab Union. Each baladiya is administered by an elected council, responsible for all local public services (those not provided by the two higher levels of government) therein, making it a type of unitary authority. Many local councils, especially within urban areas and/or geoculturally homogeneous districts, establish jointly with neighbouring councils one or more combined authorities, to which specific council functions are delegated, allowing participating baladiyāt to pool funds, expertise and other resources, thereby making possible more efficient, coordinated, uniform and higher quality deliverance of services across multiple local government areas on a centralised basis.

Below the baladiya level is the nahiya, variably translated as district, borough, town or village, three or more of which constitute a single baladiya; they do not function as a separate level of government but rather as administrative units of a baladiya. The nahiya also functions as a council district, each represented by an equal number of councillors in the baladiya's local council (typically one to three).