State (country subdivision)

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Many countries are made up of a number of subnational entities called states (or related terms in languages other than English). These should not be confused with nation states or the state as a generic concept.

Countries with federal constitutions include several sovereign subnational states with rights and/or powers which cannot be over-ruled or vetoed by the national government or head of state. In these cases, such as the U.S. states, the national government arose from a union of subnational entities, which transferred some of their powers to the national government, while retaining the remainder of their sovereignty. These are sometimes called federal states. In some countries, English terms such as province or canton refers to a comparable entity, while in others, the local name is commonly translated into English as states.

In other cases, states are simply creations of the national government, or other administrative divisions.

Countries made up of states

Countries using the English term state

Australia consists of six states (and 10 territories); see States and territories of Australia.
The Federated States of Micronesia, a federal republic in free association with the United States, consists of four states.
India consists of 28 states (and seven territories); see States and territories of India.
Malaysia consists of 13 states (and three federal territories); see States of Malaysia.
Nigeria consists of 36 states (and one territory); see States of Nigeria.
Palau consists of 16 states; see States of Palau.
The United States consists of 50 states (as well as the District of Columbia and 14 territories and overseas possessions).

Countries using the Portuguese/Spanish term estado

Brazil consists of 26 states (as well as the Federal District); see States of Brazil.
Mexico consists of 31 states (as well as the Federal District); see States of Mexico.
Venezuela consists of 23 states (as well as the Capital District and the Federal Dependencies); see Subdivisions of Venezuela.

Countries using the German term Land

Austria consists of 9 Bundesländer (or Länder), a name which is commonly translated into English as "federal states". However, the Austrian Länder have no rights or powers that cannot be removed by the national government
Germany consists of 16 Länder, also commonly referred to as Bundesländer and commonly translated into English as "federal states". Unlike Austria, Germany has a strongly federal constitution, including some sovereignty for the Länder.

Other equivalent terms used in various countries

Belgium consists of 3 geographical regions and 3 cultural/linguistic communities. It has been argued that these have de facto sovereignty
Canada has a federal system which consists of 10 provinces and three territories; see Provinces and territories of Canada
Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas (literally, "autonomous communities") and two autonomous cities of now have varying degrees of autonomy. In some cases it is held that, even though the Spanish Constitution does not explicitly Spain a federation, it has a decentralized system in practice.
Switzerland has 26 cantons, and has arguably the most decentralized constitution in the world, with the most power devolved to the cantonal governments.

References

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Last updated on Friday February 15, 2008 at 08:59:06 PST (GMT -0800)
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