Administrative division
27052
221951061
2008-06-26T20:55:57Z
194.145.96.51
{{dablink|"Subnational entity", "administrative unit", "administrative area" and "regional government" redirect here.<br/>This article is about the [[country subdivision]]s generally used in regional and [[local government]]. For "administrative division" in the sense of a company department, see [[Administration (business)]] and [[Administration]].}}
{| align="right" style="background:transparent;"
| [[Image:World administrative levels.png|thumb|right|270px|World administrative divisions]]</tr>
|align="right"| __TOC__
|}
'''Administrative divisions''' are divisions of a [[political division]]. In other words, they are designated portions of a country. They are also called '''subnational entities'''. They are each granted a certain degree of [[Autonomous area|autonomy]], and are required to manage themselves through their own [[local government]]s. Countries are divided up into these smaller units to make managing their land and the affairs of their people easier. For example, a country may be divided into [[province]]s, which in turn are divided into [[County|counties]], which in turn may be divided in whole or in part into [[Municipality|municipalities]]. These are only a few of the names given to administrative subdivisions; more examples are provided below.
Administrative divisions are a type of [[country subdivision]], and can overlap with the other types. The other types of country subdivision generally don't have governments.
Administrative divisions are conceptually separate from ''[[dependent area]]s'', in that the former are included in the core or mainland of the respective [[state]].
== Examples of administrative divisions ==
=== English terms ===
*[[Area]]
*Urban
**[[Borough]]
**[[Burgh]]
**[[City]]
**[[Town]]
**[[Township]]
**[[Village]]
*[[County]]
* [[Constituency]] - usually refers to an [[electoral division]] (which is not an administrative division), but in Namibia and in [[Canton of St. Gallen]] in [[Switzerland]], "constituency" means "administrative division".
*[[Despotate]] (not subnational)
*[[District]]
*[[Division (country subdivision)|Division]]
*[[Duchy]] (partial subnational)
*[[Empire]] (not subnational)
*[[Monarchy|Kingdom]]
*[[Local council]]
*[[Municipality]]
** [[rural municipality]]
** [[regional municipality]]
** [[regional county municipality]]
*[[Parish (country subdivision)|Parish]]
*[[Prefecture]]
*[[Principality]] (partial subnational)
*[[Province]]
*[[Region]]
*[[Republic]] (partial subnational)
*Indigenous:
**[[Tribe]]
**[[Indian reservation]]
**[[Indian reserve]]
**[[Band society|Band]]
*[[State (administrative division)|State]]
*[[Territory (country subdivision)|Territory]]
*[[Voivodship]]
===Native terms===
See: [[List of terms for administrative divisions]]
Translation into English sometimes is difficult.
== Compare ==
* [[State]], a national or supra-national division.
* [[Country]], a national or supra-national division.
* [[Empire]], a supra-national division.
== See also ==
{{commonscat|Subnational entities}}
* [[Political division]]
* [[ISO 3166-2]] ''Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 2''
* [[List of terms for administrative divisions]]
* [[List of etymologies of country subdivision names]]
* [[List of country subdivisions by population]]
* [[List of the largest administrative divisions by area]]
* [[Lists of informal regions]], i.e. regions not identified or used as country subdivisions.
* [[Table of administrative country subdivisions by country]]
* [[List of administrative division name changes]]
==External links==
* [http://www3.who.int/whosis/gis/salb/salb_home.htm United Nations' Second Administrative Level Boundaries (SALB) dataset]
*[http://www.statoids.com/ygh.html "Statoids" - an international convention with standard two-letter, multi-level summaries (e.g. GH.AH.AE represents Adansi East in the Accra Home region in Ghana)]
<br/>{{Types of administrative country subdivision}}
<!--Categories-->
[[Category:Administrative divisions| ]]
[[Category:Country subdivisions]]
[[Category:Subdivisions by country| ]]
<!--Interwikis-->
[[bg:Административна единица]]
[[br:Melestradurezh tiriadel]]
[[ca:Circumscripció territorial]]
[[de:Verwaltungseinheit]]
[[es:Entidad subnacional]]
[[fr:Liste de divisions administratives]]
[[ht:Kolektivite tèritoryal]]
[[id:Pembagian administratif]]
[[is:Fylki]]
[[it:Circoscrizione]]
[[ja:行政区画]]
[[ko:행정 구역]]
[[lt:Administracinis vienetas]]
[[lv:Administratīvi teritoriālais iedalījums]]
[[pl:Podział administracyjny]]
[[pt:Entidade subnacional]]
[[ru:Административно-территориальное деление]]
[[simple:Administrative division]]
[[uk:Адміністративно-територіальний устрій]]
[[zh:行政区划]]