There are 408 regular municipalities (gemeenten) and 3 public bodies (special municipalities) in the Netherlands. Municipalities are the second-level administrative division in the Netherlands, they are subdivisions of their respective provinces. Their duties are delegated to them by the central government and they are ruled by a municipal council that is elected every four years. Municipal mergers have reduced the total number of municipalities over the last century. They span 6.92 km² (2.67 sq mi) to 813.14 km² (313.96 sq mi) in area and have populations ranging from 957 to 799,406 persons.