Durango is a state in Northwest Mexico that is divided into 39 municipalities. According to the 2015 Mexican Intercensal Survey, Durango is the 23rd most populous state with inhabitants but the 4th largest by land area spanning. Durango has a population density of making it Mexico's second-lowest state by population density, after Baja California Sur. Municipalities in Durango are administratively autonomous of the state according to the 115th article of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico. Every three years, citizens elect a municipal president by a plurality voting system who heads a concurrently elected municipal council responsible for providing all the public services for their constituents. The municipal council consists of a variable number of trustees and councillors. Municipalities are responsible for public services, street lighting, public safety, traffic, supervision of slaughterhouses and the maintenance of public parks, gardens and cemeteries. They may also assist the state and federal governments in education, emergency fire and medical services, environmental protection and maintenance of monuments and historical landmarks. Since 1984, they have had the power to collect property taxes and user fees, although more funds are obtained from the state and federal governments than from their own income. The largest municipality by population is the state capital Durango, with 654,876 residents or approximately of the state population. The smallest municipality by population is San Pedro del Gallo with 1,478 residents. The largest municipality by land area is also Durango which spans, and the smallest is Vicente Guerrero which spans. Most municipalities were incorporated upon the division of the state of Durango into municipal units by the Constitución Política del Estado Libre de Durango on September 1, 1825, shortly after the state was admitted to the Union of Mexico. The most recent municipality to incorporate is Nuevo Ideal which incorporated January 1, 1989.
