The Masovian Voivodship (in Polishwojewództwo mazowieckie) is the largest and most populous of the sixteen Polish administrative regions or voivodships created in 1999. It covers an area of 35,598 km² in
eastern-central Poland and contains nearly 5.1 million inhabitants. Its principal cities are Warsaw (population 1.6 million) in the
centre, Radom (230,000) in the south, Plock (130,000) in the west, Siedlce (75,000) in the east, and Ostroleka (55,000) in the north.
It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Warsaw, Plock, Ciechanow, Ostroleka, Siedlce and Radom voivodships as a result of Local Government Reorganization Act of 1998. The voivodship's name recalls the region's traditional name of Mazovia (Mazowsze) with which it more or less corresponds.
Masovian Voivodship is divided onto 42 counties (powiat): 4 city counties (miasto na prawach powiatu) and 38 land counties (powiat ziemski), which are composed of 325 communes (gmina) which include 85 urban communes or cities.
