Hromada

A hromada (територіальна громада) is a basic unit of administrative division in Ukraine, similar to a municipality. It was established by the Government of Ukraine on 12 June 2020. Similar terms exist in Poland (gromada) and in Belarus (hramada). The literal translation of this term is "community", similar to the terms used in western European states, such as Germany (Gemeinde), France (commune), Italy (comune), and Portugal (freguesia), or in several English-speaking countries (township).

A hromada is designated urban hromada if its administration is located in a city; settlement hromada if it is located in a settlement (selyshche), and rural hromada if it is located in a village (selo) or another rural settlement. Territories of hromadas (which, in turn, are divided into 7744 starosta okruhs (elderships)) form raions (districts) and several raions form oblasts (regions).

List of hromadas
In total, there are 1469 hromadas (as of October 1, 2023), including:


 * 409 urban hromadas (міська громада),
 * 435 settlement hromadas (селищна громада),
 * 625 rural hromadas (сільська громада).

History
Prior to 2020, the basic units of administrative division in Ukraine were rural councils, settlement councils and city councils, which were often referred to by the generic term hromada.

The Constitution of Ukraine and some other laws, including the "Law on local self-governance", delegate certain rights and obligations for hromadas. Types of hromadas include cities, urban-type settlements, rural settlements, and villages. In his draft constitutional amendments of June 2014, President Petro Poroshenko proposed changing the administrative divisions of Ukraine, which he felt should include oblasts, raions and hromadas.

On June 12, 2020, the Government of Ukraine approved the territories and administrative centers of the hromadas, which cover settlements in all regions of Ukraine except for Crimea. A total of 1470 hromadas were approved.

On August 12, 2020, the Sokoliv hromada of the Cherkasy Oblast became a part of the Zhashkiv hromada. Thus, there were 1469 hromadas.

Administrative tasks and objectives
Each hromada carries out two types of task: own and commissioned. Own tasks are public tasks exercised by self-government, which serve to satisfy the needs of the community. The tasks can be twofold:


 * compulsory – where the municipality cannot decline to carry out the tasks, and must set up a budget to carry them out in order to provide the inhabitants with the basic public benefits.
 * optional – where the municipality can carry them out in accordance with available budgetary means, set out only to specific local needs (on the hromada's own responsibility and budget).

Own objectives
Own high objectives include matters such as spatial harmony, real estate management, environmental protection and nature conservation, water management, country roads, public streets, bridges, squares and traffic systems, water supply systems and source, the sewage system, removal of urban waste, water treatment, maintenance of cleanliness and order, sanitary facilities, dumps and council waste, supply of electric and thermal energy and gas, public transport, health care, welfare, care homes, subsidised housing, public education, cultural facilities including public libraries and other cultural institutions, historic monuments conservation and protection, the sports facilities and tourism including recreational grounds and devices, marketplaces and covered markets, green spaces and public parks, communal graveyards, public order and safety, fire and flood protection with equipment maintenance and storage, maintaining objects and devices of the public utility and administrative buildings, pro-family policy including social support for pregnant women, medical and legal care, supporting and popularising the self-government initiatives and cooperation within the commune including with non-governmental organizations, interaction with regional communities from other countries, etc.

Commissioned tasks
Commissioned tasks cover the remaining public tasks resulting from legitimate needs of the state, commissioned by central government for the units of local government to implement. The tasks are handed over on the basis of statutory by-laws, charters and regulations, or by way of agreements between the self-government units and central-government administration.