The administrative districts () of Serbia are deconcentrated coordination units of the central government, established under the 2005 Law on State Administration and implemented through government decrees. They are not administrative divisions, as the administrative divisions of Serbia are constitutionally defined units of self-governance or autonomy, but rather regional operational centers serving ministerial field offices (such as branches of inspection authorities). Each has a territorial remit matching a certain cluster of municipalities and cities (which are constitutionally and statutorily defined administrative divisions).

Originally instituted by a 1992 government decree, there are 29 administrative districts, with the City of Belgrade having similar status. Following the 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, the districts created by the UNMIK-Administration were adopted by Kosovo. The Serbian government does not recognize these districts.

Territorially, an administrative district is merely a designation of the territorial remit of a given regional centre of state administration, through which the central government exercises its power within a hierarchical structure. In practical and organizational terms, administrative districts are often small field offices coordinating deconcentrated state functions with no independent decision-making authority. Each is headed by a government-appointed functionary-level official titled Head of the Administrative District.

The administrative districts are generally named after historical and geographical regions, though some, such as the Pčinja District and the Nišava District, are named after local rivers. Their areas and populations vary, ranging from the relatively-small Podunavlje District to the much larger Zlatibor District. The term okrug (pl. okruzi) means "circuit" and corresponds (in literal meaning) to in the German language. Prior to a 2006 decree, the administrative districts were named simply districts.

Definition

Administrative districts were first defined by the decree of the Government of Serbia on 29 January 1992, which specified that ministries and other national-level agencies shall conduct their affairs outside their headquarters (i.e. outside the seat of government) via regional offices that they may establish per the designated clusters of municipalities (named only "districts"), also designating the administrative seat of each district ("regional centre of state administration"). The 2005 Law on Public Administration provided a legal definition of a district, under the term "administrative district".

In 2006, the Government enacted the Decree on Administrative Districts, which renamed the districts into administrative districts.

The territorial organisation of Serbia is regulated by the Law on Territorial Organisation, adopted by the National Assembly on 29 December 2007. According to the Law, the territorial organisation of Serbia comprises municipalities and cities, the City of Belgrade with special status, and autonomous provinces. subject to this law, or even mentioned in it, administrative districts are not territorial organization units. Serbia's territory is not politically subdivided into them, and rather than being further divisible into municipalities, each overlaps with its corresponding cluster of municipalities. As such, administrative districts are not articulations of local governance or autonomy and are purely a mechanism of deconcentration (the weakest form of decentralization), remaining dependent on the central executive branch.

As extensions of the central government that lack standalone institutional personality, administrative districts do not possess flags or coats of arms.

List of districts

Under the Law on Public Administration, administrative districts are formed by the Government by its Decree on Administrative Districts, which also determines the territory and head office of each administrative district. There are 29 administrative districts in the Republic of Serbia.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|- bgcolor=#cccccc

! District !! Seat !! Area <br>in km<sup>2</sup> !! Population

! Population<br>per km<sup>2</sup> !! Municipalities and cities !! Settlements

|- align=center valign=top

|Bor District <br><small>(Borski okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Bor

|3,507

|101,100

|28.8

|

  • City of Bor
  • Kladovo
  • Majdanpek
  • Negotin

|90

|- align=center valign=top

|Braničevo District <br><small>(Braničevski okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Požarevac

|3,865

|156,367

|40.5

|

  • City of Požarevac
  • Golubac
  • Kučevo
  • Malo Crniće
  • Petrovac
  • Veliko Gradište
  • Žabari
  • Žagubica

|189

|- align=center valign=top

|Central Banat District <br><small>(Srednjobanatski okrug)</small> <br> 75px

|Zrenjanin

|3,256

|157,711

|48.4

|

  • City of Zrenjanin
  • Novi Bečej
  • Nova Crnja
  • Sečanj
  • Žitište

|55

|- align=center valign=top

|Jablanica District <br><small>(Jablanički okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Leskovac

|2,769

|184,502

|66.6

|

  • City of Leskovac
  • Bojnik
  • Crna Trava
  • Lebane
  • Medveđa
  • Vlasotince

|336

|- align=center valign=top

| Kolubara District <br><small>(Kolubarski okrug)</small><br> 75px

| Valjevo

| 2,474

| 154,497

| 62.4

| align=left|

  • City of Valjevo
  • Lajkovac
  • Ljig
  • Mionica
  • Osečina
  • Ub

|218

|- align=center valign=top

| Mačva District <br><small>(Mačvanski okrug)</small><br> 75px

| Šabac

| 3,268

| 265,377

| 81.2

| align=left|

  • Bogatić
  • City of Šabac
  • City of Loznica
  • Vladimirci
  • Koceljeva
  • Krupanj
  • Ljubovija
  • Mali Zvornik

|228

|- align=center valign=top

| Moravica District <br><small>(Moravički okrug)</small><br> 75px

| Čačak

| 3,016

| 189,281

| 62.8

| align=left|

  • City of Čačak
  • Gornji Milanovac
  • Ivanjica
  • Lučani

|206

|- align=center valign=top

|Nišava District <br><small>(Nišavski okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Niš

|2,729

|343,950

|126.0

|

  • City of Niš
  • Aleksinac
  • Doljevac
  • Gadžin Han
  • Merošina
  • Ražanj
  • Svrljig

|285

|- align=center valign=top

|North Bačka District <br><small>(Severnobački okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Subotica

|1,784

|160,163

|89.8

|

  • City of Subotica
  • Bačka Topola
  • Mali Iđoš

|45

|- align=center valign=top

|North Banat District <br><small>(Severnobanatski okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Kikinda

|2,329

|117,896

|50.6

|

  • City of Kikinda
  • Ada
  • Čoka
  • Kanjiža
  • Novi Kneževac
  • Senta

|50

|- align=center valign=top

|Pčinja District <br><small>(Pčinjski okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Vranje

|3,520

|193,802

|55.1

|

  • City of Vranje
  • Bosilegrad
  • Bujanovac
  • Preševo
  • Surdulica
  • Trgovište
  • Vladičin Han

|363

|- align=center valign=top

|Pirot District <br><small>(Pirotski okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Pirot

|2,761

|76,700

|27.8

|

  • City of Pirot
  • Babušnica
  • Bela Palanka
  • Dimitrovgrad

|214

|- align=center valign=top

|Podunavlje District <br><small>(Podunavski okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Smederevo

|1,248

|175,573

|140.7

|

  • City of Smederevo
  • Smederevska Palanka
  • Velika Plana

|58

|- align=center valign=top

| Pomoravlje District <br><small>(Pomoravski okrug)</small><br> 75px

| Jagodina

| 2,614

| 182,047

| 69.6

| align=left|

  • City of Jagodina
  • Ćuprija
  • Despotovac
  • Paraćin
  • Rekovac
  • Svilajnac

|191

|- align=center valign=top

| Rasina District <br><small>(Rasinski okrug)</small><br> 75px

| Kruševac

| 2,667

| 207,197

| 77.7

| align=left|

  • City of Kruševac
  • Aleksandrovac
  • Brus
  • Ćićevac
  • Trstenik
  • Varvarin

|296

|- align=center valign=top

| Raška District <br><small>(Raški okrug)</small><br> 75px

| Kraljevo

| 3,918

| 296,532

| 75.7

| align=left|

  • City of Kraljevo
  • City of Novi Pazar
  • Raška
  • Tutin
  • Vrnjačka Banja

|359

|- align=center valign=top

|South Bačka District <br><small>(Južnobački okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Novi Sad

|4,016

|607,178

|151.2

|

  • City of Novi Sad
  • Bač
  • Bačka Palanka
  • Bački Petrovac
  • Bečej
  • Beočin
  • Srbobran
  • Sremski Karlovci
  • Temerin
  • Titel
  • Vrbas
  • Žabalj

|77

|- align=center valign=top

|South Banat District <br><small>(Južnobanatski okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Pančevo

|4,245

|260,244

|61.3

|

  • City of Pančevo
  • City of Vršac
  • Alibunar
  • Bela Crkva
  • Kovin
  • Kovačica
  • Opovo
  • Plandište

|94

|- align=center valign=top

|Srem District <br><small>(Sremski okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Sremska Mitrovica

|3,486

|282,547

|81.1

|

  • City of Sremska Mitrovica
  • Inđija
  • Irig
  • Pećinci
  • Ruma
  • Stara Pazova
  • Šid

|109

|- align=center valign=top

| Šumadija District <br><small>(Šumadijski okrug)</small><br> 75px

| Kragujevac

| 2,387

| 269,728

| 113.0

| align=left|

  • City of Kragujevac
  • Aranđelovac
  • Batočina
  • Knić
  • Lapovo
  • Rača
  • Topola

|174

|- align=center valign=top

|Toplica District <br><small>(Toplički okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Prokuplje

|2,231

|77,341

|34.7

|

  • City of Prokuplje
  • Blace
  • Kuršumlija
  • Žitorađa

|267

|- align=center valign=top

|West Bačka District <br><small>(Zapadnobački okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Sombor

|2,420

|154,491

|63.8

|

  • City of Sombor
  • Apatin
  • Kula
  • Odžaci

|37

|- align=center valign=top

|Zaječar District <br><small>(Zaječarski okrug)</small><br> 75px

|Zaječar

|3,623

|96,715

|26.7

|

  • City of Zaječar
  • Boljevac
  • Knjaževac
  • Sokobanja

|173

|- align=center valign=top

| Zlatibor District <br><small>(Zlatiborski okrug)</small><br> 75px

| Užice

| 6,140

| 254,659

| 41.5

| align=left|

  • City of Užice
  • Arilje
  • Bajina Bašta
  • Čajetina
  • Kosjerić
  • Nova Varoš
  • Požega
  • Priboj
  • Prijepolje
  • Sjenica

|438

|-

|- align=center valign=top

|Kosovo District