Administrative division

Information about Administrative division

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World administrative divisions.
"Subnational entities" redirects here.
For other country subdivisions, see Country subdivisions, Political divisions
and Table of administrative country subdivisions by country.


Administrative division (also known as "Subnational entities") is a generic term for an administrative region within a country or Political division — on an arbitrary level below that of the sovereign state — typically with a local government encompassing multiple municipalities, counties, or provinces with a certain degree of autonomy. While division alone could also refer to military units, the qualifier "administrative" brings it into another context.


Administrative divisions in a narrow sense could also refer to administrative entities in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myamar and formerly Pakistan and British India as well as historic regions and devices in some northern European traditions. See Division (country subdivision) and Hundred (country subdivision).

In contexts of statistical ranking and comparability, the term statoid is sometimes used.

Administrative divisions are conceptually separate from dependent areas, in that the former are included in the core or mainland of the respective state.

Administrative divisions are distinguished from political divisions, as the former are entirely contained within a sovereign state.

Examples

Terms used in English-speaking countries

Native terms

See: List of terms for country subdivisions

Translation into English sometimes is difficult.

Compare:

  • Country (a national or supra-national entity)
  • Empire (a supra-national entity)
  • State (a national or supra-national entity)

See also

External links


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Types of country subdivision
Administrative division   Political division   Census division   Electoral division
Contemporary
Amt Arrondissement Bailiwick Bakhsh Baladiyah Banner Autonomous banner Barangay Bairro Barrio Bezirk / Regierungsbezirk Block Borough County borough Metropolitan borough Capital Federal capital Canton Census division Census geographic unit Census metropolitan area Census subdivision Circle Circuit City Autonomous city Independent city Co-Principality Colony Comarca Commonwealth Commune Comune Community Autonomous community Residential community Condominium Constituency County Administrative county Autonomous county Metropolitan county Council Croft Department Dependent territory Federal dependency District Autonomous district Capital district City district Federal district Metropolitan district Municipal district Division Dara Duchy Eldership Frazione Freguesia Governorate Hamlet Insular area Judeţ Local administrative unit Local government area Liwa Localit Municipality District municipality Regional municipality Regional county municipality Rural municipality Neighbourhood Oblast Okrug Ostān Parish Civil parish Periphery Prefecture Autonomous prefecture Principality Protectorate Province Autonomous province Quarter Regency Region Autonomous region Capital region Special administrative region Republic Autonomous republic Ranchera Reservation Indian reserve Shabiyah Shahr Shahrestān Shire State Subdistrict Subprefecture Suzerainty Taluka Tehsil Territory Autonomous territorial unit Capital territory Union territory National territory Town Townland Township Civil township Urban (urbanized) area Village Vingtaine Voivodeship Wilayah Ward
Historical
Agency Barony Burgh Cantref City-State Commote Free Imperial City Hundred Imperial Circle Imperial province March Pargana Presidency Residency Riding Rural district Sanitary district (rural urban) Urban district Viscounty Viscountcy Boldface indicates a type used by ten or more countries; loanwords in italics.
Country subdivision refers to the division of a country's territory for the sake of its administration, description or other such purpose. The resulting units of division are known generically as "country subdivisions".
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A political division is a geographic region accepted to be in the jurisdiction of a particular government entity. On the large scale, a political division is typically a country, while administrative divisions including states, counties, cities, and others can also be defined.
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The table below indicates the types and, where known, numbers of administrative country subdivisions currently (as of 2007) used by countries and their major dependent territories. It is ordered alphabetically by country name in English.
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Local governments are administrative offices that are smaller than a state or province. The term is used to contrast with offices that stand naked nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or (where appropriate) federal government.
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In political geography and international politics, a country is a political division of a geographical entity, a sovereign territory, most commonly associated with the notions of state or nation and government.
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A political division is a geographic region accepted to be in the jurisdiction of a particular government entity. On the large scale, a political division is typically a country, while administrative divisions including states, counties, cities, and others can also be defined.
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A state is a political association with effective dominion over a geographic area. It usually includes the set of institutions that claim the authority to make the rules that govern the people of the society in that territory, though its status as a state often depends in part on
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Local governments are administrative offices that are smaller than a state or province. The term is used to contrast with offices that stand naked nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or (where appropriate) federal government.
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municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly referring to a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them. A municipality is typically governed by a mayor and a city council or municipal council.
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Not to be confused with a country.
A county is generally a sub-unit of regional self-government within a sovereign jurisdiction. Originally, in continental Europe, a county was the land under the jurisdiction of a count.
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province is a territorial unit, almost always a country subdivision.

Roman provinces

The word is attested in English since c.1330, deriving from Old French province (13th c.
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autonomous area is an area of a country that has a degree of autonomy, or freedom from an external authority. Typically it is either geographically distinct from the country or is populated by a national minority. Countries that include autonomous areas are often federacies.
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Device may refer to:

Computing and electronics

  • Computer hardware
  • Peripheral device, any device attached to a computer that expands its functionality
  • Device file, an interface for a device driver

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A division is a type of country subdivision. This term is used in some Asian countries for country subdivisions. Currently they exist as
  • divisions of Bangladesh
  • divisions of Malaysia
  • divisions of Myanmar
  • divisions of India.

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A hundred is a geographic division used in England, Denmark, South Australia and some parts of the USA, Germany, Sweden (and today's Finland) and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative units.
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country, state, and nation can have various meanings. Therefore, diverse lists of these entities are possible. Wikipedia offers the following lists:

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A state is a political association with effective dominion over a geographic area. It usually includes the set of institutions that claim the authority to make the rules that govern the people of the society in that territory, though its status as a state often depends in part on
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A political division is a geographic region accepted to be in the jurisdiction of a particular government entity. On the large scale, a political division is typically a country, while administrative divisions including states, counties, cities, and others can also be defined.
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Area is a physical quantity expressing the size of a part of a surface. The term Surface area is the summation of the areas of the exposed sides of an object.

Units

Units for measuring surface area include:
square metre = SI derived unit

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A borough is an administrative division used in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
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A Burgh (pronounced: /ˡbʌʀə/) is an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland, usually a town. The term has been in use since the 12th century, when David I created the first Royal burghs.
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city is an urban settlement with a particularly important status which differentiates it from a town.

City is primarily used to designate an urban settlement with a large population. However, city may also indicate a special administrative, legal, or historical status.
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town is a community of people ranging from a few hundred to several thousands, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas. Usually, a "town" is thought of as larger than a village but smaller than a "city".
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township (or municipality) (in Ireland: townland) is a settlement which has the status and powers of a unit of local government. Specific use of the term to describe political subdivisions has varied by country.
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village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a town or city[1]. Though generally located in rural areas, the term urban village may be applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New York
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Not to be confused with a country.
A county is generally a sub-unit of regional self-government within a sovereign jurisdiction. Originally, in continental Europe, a county was the land under the jurisdiction of a count.
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Despotism is a form of government by a single authority, either an individual or tightly knit group, which rules with absolute political power. In its classical form, a despotism is a state where one single person, called a Despot
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districts are used, or have been used, in several countries.

Austria

Main article: Districts of Austria
In Austria, a district or Bezirk
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A division is a type of country subdivision. This term is used in some Asian countries for country subdivisions. Currently they exist as
  • divisions of Bangladesh
  • divisions of Malaysia
  • divisions of Myanmar
  • divisions of India.

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A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. Historically, some duchies in Continental Europe were sovereign, while others (especially in France and Britain) were subordinate districts of a kingdom.
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