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 &mdash; 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]]