Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, is divided into five national administrative districts (Slovak: okres: I, II, III, IV, V) and into 17 boroughs (Slovak: mestské časti; literally: city parts, also translated as (city) districts or wards). These boroughs vary in size and population, from the smallest Lamač and least populated Čunovo to the largest Podunajské Biskupice and most populated Petržalka.

Each of the boroughs has its own mayor and council. The number of councillors in each depends on the size and population of that borough. Mayor and the local council are elected in municipal election every four years. The boroughs are responsible for issues of local significance such as urban planning, local roads maintenance, budget, local ordinances, parks maintenance, safety and so on.^[1]

Cadastral areas coincide with boroughs, except in two cases: Nové Mesto is further divided into the Nové Mesto and Vinohrady cadastral areas and Ružinov is divided into Ružinov, Nivy and Trnávka. Further divisions often, but not always include various unofficial quarters and localities.

Until 1943, Bratislava consisted more or less of the boroughs Staré Mesto, Nové Mesto and a part of Ružinov. That year, the village of Karlova Ves was annexed to Bratislava.^[2] In 1946, the formerly independent villages of Devín, Dúbravka, Lamač, Petržalka, Prievoz (part of Ružinov), Rača and Vajnory were annexed to Bratislava, increasing the total area of the city to 193.6 km².^[2] The last territorial expansion of Bratislava to date occurred in 1972, with the villages of Devínska Nová Ves, Záhorska Bystrica, Vrakuňa, Podunajské Biskupice, Jarovce, Rusovce and Čunovo being annexed, creating the so-called Greater Bratislava (Veľká Bratislava) with an area of 367.5 km².^[2] This was done in order to gain more space for massive apartments construction, which resulted in population growth from 143,000 in 1946 to around 450,000 in 1989.^[2]

The following table gives an overview of the boroughs, along with the district, population, area, founding or annexation date (if applicable) and location within Bratislava.

Borough and district		Population[3][4] [5]	Area (km2)[6]	Annexed	Location
	Staré Mesto (I)	42,546 ()		n/a
	Ružinov (II)	74,408 ()	39.7	1946
	Vrakuňa (II)	20,107 ()	10.29	1972
	Podunajské Biskupice (II)	22,154 ()	42.49	1972
	Nové Mesto (III)	40,246 ()	37.48	n/a
	Rača (III)	24,419 ()	23.65	1946
	Vajnory (III)	5,976 ()	13.53	1946
	Karlova Ves (IV)	33,228 ()	10.95	1943
	Dúbravka (IV)	33,740 ()	8.64	1946
	Lamač (IV)	7,457 ()	6.54	1946
	Devín (IV)	1,734 ()	13.98	1946
	Devínska Nová Ves (IV)	15,817 ()	24.21	1972
	Záhorská Bystrica (IV)	6,428 ()	32.3	1972
	Petržalka (V)	104,376 ()	28.68	1946
	Jarovce (V)	2,580 ()	21.34	1972
	Rusovce (V)	4,175 ()	25.55	1972
	Čunovo (V)	1,557 ()	18.62	1972
Total		440,948 ()	367

The following table shows various quarters or localities in the boroughs.