In 1998 the number of voivodeships (województwa), the major territorial division in Poland, was reduced from 49 to 16, the powiat was instated as an intermediate unit between the gmina and the voivodeship, and some of the administrative duties and tasks devolved from central government to the territorial and/or local authorities. The major Polish cities are Warsaw, Lodz, Cracow (Krakow), Wroclaw, Poznan, Gdansk, Szczecin, Bydgoszcz, Katowice, and Lublin.

Administrative division

• The Voivodeship of Lower Silesia (wojewodztwo dolnoslaskie)
  Area: 19,948 sq km
  Population: 2,985,000
  Major cities: Wroclaw, Walbrzych, Legnica, Jelenia Gora, Klodzko
• The Voivodeship of Cuiavia and Pomerania
  (wojewodztwo kujawsko-pomorskie)
  Area: 17,970 sq km
  Population: 2,980,000
  Major cities: Bydgoszcz, Torun, Wloclawek, Grudziadz, Inowroclaw
• The Voivodeship of Lublin (wojewodztwo lubelskie)
  Area: 25,115 sq km
  Population: 2,233,000
  Major cities: Lublin, Chelm, Zamosc, Biala Podlaska
• The Voivodeship of Lubusz (wojewodztwo lubuskie)
  Area: 13,985 sq km
  Population: 1,019,000
  Major cities: Gorzow Wielkopolski, Zielona Gora
• The Voivodeship of Lodz (£ódŸ) (wojewodztwo lodzkie)
  Area: 18,223 sq km
  Population: 2,676,000
  Major cities: Lodz, Skierniewice, Sieradz, Piotrkow Trybunalski
• The Voivodeship of Lesser Poland (wojewodztwo malopolskie)
  Area: 15,141 sq km
  Population: 3,204,000
  Major cities: Cracow (Krakow), Tarnow, Nowy Sacz
• The Voivodeship of Mazovia (wojewodztwo mazowieckie)
  Area: 35,715 sq km
  Population: 5,068,000
  Major cities: Warsaw (Polish name: Warszawa), Plock, Radom, Siedlce, Ostroleka
• The Voivodeship of Opole (wojewodztwo opolskie)
  Area: 9,412 sq km
  Population: 1,092,000
  Major cities: Opole, Kedzierzyn-Kozle
• The Voivodeship of Sub-Carpathia (wojewodztwo podkarpackie)
  Area: 17,890 sq km
  Population: 2,100,000
  Major cities: Rzeszow, Przemysl, Tarnobrzeg, Krosno
• The Voivodeship of Podlassia (wojewodztwo podlaskie)
  Area: 20,180 sq km
  Population: 1,224,000
  Major cities: Bialystok, Lomza, Suwalki
• The Voivodeship of Pomerania (wojewodztwo pomorskie)
  Area: 18,293 sq km
  Population: 2,179,000
  Major cities: Gdansk, Gdynia, Slupsk
• The Voivodeship of Silesia (wojewodztwo slaskie)
  Area: 12,294 sq km
  Population: 4,894,000
  Major cities: Katowice, Czestochowa, Bielsko-Biala
• The Voivodeship of Kielce (wojewodztwo swietokrzyskie)
  Area: 11,672 sq km
  Population: 1,328,000
  Major cities: Kielce, Skarzysko-Kamienna, Starachowice, Sandomierz
• The Voivodeship of Varmia and Masuria
  (województwo warminsko-mazurskie)
  Area: 24,202 sq km
  Population: 1,460,000
  Major cities: Olsztyn, Elblag
• The Voivodeship of Greater Poland (województwo wielkopolskie)
  Area: 29,942 sq km
  Population: 3,345,000
  Major cities: Poznan, Leszno, Kalisz, Pila
• The Voivodeship of Western Pomerania (województwo zachodniopomorskie)
  Area: 23,032 sq km
  Population: 1,729,000
  Major cities: Szczecin, Koszalin