(Redirected from Country subdivisions)
World administrative divisions
'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". Unlike
geographical or
geomorphological areas such as
basins,
deserts,
valleys and the like, country subdivisions are abstract creations.
The most common types of country subdivision are
administrative divisions, viz. divisions such as
provinces,
districts and
municipalities. A few countries have administrative divisions that are themselves called "
divisions" or "
subdivisions"; these are listed in the articles linked.
The second most common types of country subdivision are
electoral and census divisions, viz. divisions such as
constituencies,
wards and
census regions. Some countries, however, use these terms (or their native equivalents) to identify types of administrative division, viz.
Namibia's
constituencies or those countries listed in
Ward (administrative division). In North America, "Census division" and "census subdivision" are themselves types of census divisions.
Other types of country subdivision include
statistical divisions,
judicial divisions,
planning or developmental regions,
time zones and
transport regions.
ISO 3166-2
According to the
ISO's website,
ISO 3166-2 (''Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions - Part 2: Country subdivision code'') uses the term "country subdivision" to indicate a "principal subdivisions (e.g. provinces or states)"
[1].
See also
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Administrative division
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Supranationalism
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Trade bloc
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Table of administrative country subdivisions by country
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Gallery of current first-level administrative country subdivisions maps