Szamotuły County

Szamotuły County (powiat szamotulski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into existence on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Szamotuły, which lies 32 km north-west of the regional capital Poznań. The county contains four other towns: Wronki, 18 km north-west of Szamotuły, Pniewy, 24 km south-west of Szamotuły, Obrzycko, 13 km north of Szamotuły, and Ostroróg, 9 km north-west of Szamotuły.

The county covers an area of 1119.55 km2. As of 2006 its total population is 85,849, out of which the population of Szamotuły is 18,760, that of Wronki is 11,551, that of Pniewy is 7,464, that of Obrzycko is 2,170, that of Ostroróg is 1,995, and the rural population is 43,909.

Neighbouring counties
Szamotuły County is bordered by Czarnków-Trzcianka County to the north, Oborniki County to the east, Poznań County to the south-east, Nowy Tomyśl County to the south-west and Międzychód County to the west.

Administrative division
The county is subdivided into eight gminas (one urban, four urban-rural and three rural). These are listed in the following table, in descending order of population.