The territory of Poland is divided into 16 voivodeships (provinces); these are further divided into districts (powiaty), and these in turn are divided into communes or municipalities (gminy).

  Local authorities, unlike government administration, are not directly ruled by the government. Their main task boils down to satisfy local community's wants. The essence of decentralization is to be closer to citizens, to know their needs. That is why there is presumption of competence in aid of communes, as being the smallest principal unit of territorial division in Poland, hence the closest to citizens. 

The Podkarpackie Voivodeship was created on January 1, 1999 out of the former Rzeszów, Przemyśl, Krosno and partially Tarnów and Tarnobrzeg Voivodeships, pursuant to Art. 2 Paragraph 1 Subparagraph 9 of the Act on July 24, 1998 of three-tier territorial division of Poland (Dz. U. Nr 96, poz 603). 

  It covers an area of 17.844 square kilometers and has population of 2,098,000 (as at 2006).

 

The Podkarpackie Voivodeship is divided into 25 districts: 4 city districts (Rzeszów, Przemyśl, Tarnobrzeg, Krosno) and 21 land districts. Altogether, there are 159 communes: 16 municipal communes, 29 - municipal-rural communes and 114 rural ones. 45 localities have city rights. Of all the others 47 had city rights in the past, but lost them due to economical or historical problems. There are buildings and market squares preserved, serving as the central points of the cities.