 Croatian law defines municipalities as local self-government units which are established, in an area where several inhabited settlements represent a natural, economic and social entity, related to one other by the common interests of the area's population.As of 2017, the 21 counties of Croatia are subdivided into 128 towns and 428 municipalities.Municipalities, within their self-governing scope of activities, perform the tasks of local significance, which directly fulfil the citizens’ needs, and which were not assigned to the state bodies by the Constitution or law, and in particular affairs related to the organization of localities and housing, zoning and planning, public utilities, child care, social welfare, primary health services, education and primary schools, culture, physical education and sports, customer protection, protection and improvement of the environment, fire protection and civil defence, local transport.