State (administrative division)
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.[1] 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.
[edit] Countries made up of states
[edit] Countries using the English term state
[edit] Countries using the Portuguese/Spanish term estado
[edit] 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.
[edit] Other equivalent terms used in various countries
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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