Bełchatów County
# Bełchatów County

Bełchatów County (Polish: powiat bełchatowski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Bełchatów, which lies 47 kilometres (29 mi) south of the regional capital Łódź. The only other town in the county is Zelów, lying 16 km (10 mi) north-west of Bełchatów.

The county covers an area of 969.21 square kilometres (374.2 sq mi). As of 2006 its total population is 112,640, out of which the population of Bełchatów is 62,062, that of Zelów is 8,173, and the rural population is 42,405.

## Neighbouring counties

Bełchatów County is bordered by Pabianice County to the north, Piotrków County to the east, Radomsko County to the south, Pajęczno County to the south-west, Wieluń County to the west and Łask County to the north-west.

## Administrative division

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

| Gmina | Type | Area $(km^2)$ | Population (2006) | Seat |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Bełchatów | urban | 34.6 | 62,062 | |
| Gmina Zelów | urban-rural | 168.2 | 15,321 | Zelów |
| Gmina Bełchatów | rural | 179.9 | 9,306 | Bełchatów * |
| Gmina Szczerców | rural | 128.9 | 7,582 | Szczerców |
| Gmina Rusiec | rural | 99.7 | 5,389 | Rusiec |
| Gmina Drużbice | rural | 114.5 | 4,873 | Drużbice |
| Gmina Kleszczów | rural | 124.8 | 4,158 | Kleszczów |
| Gmina Kluki | rural | 118.5 | 3,949 | Kluki |
| * seat not part of the gmina |||||
