Currently, Moldova is divided into 37 first-tier units:

32 districts,

3 municipalities (Chişinău, Bălţi, and Bender/Tighina),

one autonomous territorial unit (Gagauzia),

and one territorial unit (Transnistria)

Moldova has a total of 982 incorporated localities (de jure with 982 mayors and 982 local councils), of which 5 have municipality status, 60 have city status, and 917 are villages with commune status. They cover the entire area of the country. Another 699 villages are too small to have a separate administration, and are part of either cities (40 of them) or communes (659). This makes for a total of 1,681 localities of Moldova, all but two of which are inhabited.

The status of Chişinău, Bălţi, and Bender as municipalities and first-level territorial units of the country allows their suburb villages to have, when large enough, their own mayor and local council. By contrast, the villages that are administratively part of (some of) the other cities do not retain self-rule.