Federation

A federation is a union of a number of self-governing states or regions, which are joined together under a central government. The central government is not able to do a lot of things that central government in more centralized states can. These things are done by the states (or regions) in a federalized state.

The United States of America is a federation. The federal (central) government has the highest executive role. However, state governments can exercise any powers as long as those powers are not assigned to the federal government (by the United States Constitution) and if those powers are not prohibited by the states themselves.

Australia became a Federation in 1901.

After the 1971 civil war, Pakistan became a Federation adopted in the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan.

Other examples of federal states are Austria, Belgium (since 1993), Canada, Germany, Russia and Switzerland.

List of constituents by federation

The federated units in the table below have inherent governmental authority in the federation's constitutional system, while the "other units" are delegated authority by the federal government or are administered directly by it.

Federation

Federated units

Other units

Argentina^[1]

23 provinces:

1 autonomous city:

Template:Country data Buenos Aires^{[upper-alpha 1]}

Australia^[2]

6 states:

3 internal territories:

7 external territories:

Austria^[3]

9 states:

Belgium^[4]

3 regions:^{[upper-alpha 2]}

3 communities:^{[upper-alpha 3]}

Bosnia and Herzegovina

2 entities:^{[upper-alpha 4]}

Republika Srpska
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

1 self-governing district:

Brčko (officially condominium of both constituents)

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is itself a federation of 10 cantons:

Brazil^[6]

26 states:

1 federal district:

Distrito Federal^{[upper-alpha 1]}^{[upper-alpha 5]}

Canada^[7]

10 provinces:

3 territories:

Ethiopia^[8]

12 regions:

2 chartered cities:

Germany^[9]

16 states:

India^[10]

28 states:

8 union territories:

Iraq^[11]

18 (official) governorates:

[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Al Anbar
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Erbil
Babylon
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Baghdad^{[upper-alpha 1]}
Basra
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Dhi Qar
Diyala
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Dohuk
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Halabja (unofficial)
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Karbala
Kirkuk
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Maysan
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Muthanna
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Najaf
Nineveh
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Al-Qādisiyyah
Saladin
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Sulaymaniyah
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Wasit

1 federal region:

Template:Country data Kurdistan Region^{[upper-alpha 7]} (overlaps the area of Duhok, Erbil, and Sulaymaniyah—including Halabja—governorates)

Malaysia^[12]

13 states:

3 federal territories:

Mexico^[13]

31 states:

1 autonomous city:

Template:Country data Mexico City^{[upper-alpha 1]}

Micronesia^[14]

4 states:

Nepal

7 provinces:

Nigeria^[15]

36 states:

Abia
Adamawa
Akwa Ibom
Anambra
Bauchi
Bayelsa
Benue
Borno
Cross River
Delta
Ebonyi
Edo
Ekiti
Enugu
Gombe
Imo
File:Jigawa State Flag.png Jigawa
Kaduna
Kano
Katsina
Kebbi
Kogi
Kwara
Lagos
Nasarawa
[[Image:|22x20px|border |]] Niger
Ogun
Ondo
Osun
Oyo
Plateau
Rivers
Sokoto
File:Taraba State Coat of Arms.png Taraba
Yobe
Zamfara

1 territory:

Federal Capital Territory^{[upper-alpha 1]}

Pakistan^[16]

4 provinces:

2 autonomous territories:^{[upper-alpha 4]}

1 federal territory:

Template:Country data Islamabad^{[upper-alpha 1]}

Russia^[17]^[18]

45 oblasts:

20 republics:^{[upper-alpha 4]}

9 krais:

4 autonomous okrugs:^{[upper-alpha 4]}

2 federal cities:

1 autonomous oblast:^{[upper-alpha 4]}

Jewish Autonomous Oblast

Saint Kitts and Nevis

1 autonomous island:

Template:Country data Nevis

Saint Kitts:

Saint Kitts

Somalia^[19]^[20]

6 federal member states:^{[upper-alpha 8]}

South Sudan

10 states:^[21]

3 administrative areas:^[21]

Sudan^[22]

18 states:

1 special administrative status area:^[23]

Abyei^{[upper-alpha 6]}

Switzerland^[24]

26 cantons:

United Arab Emirates^[25]

7 emirates:

United States^[26]

50 states:

1 federal district:

District of Columbia^{[upper-alpha 1]}

1 incorporated territory:

Palmyra Atoll

13 unincorporated territories:

Venezuela^[27]

23 states:

Argentina

Salta

Argentina is divided into 23 provinces (provincias; singular: provincia), and 1 city (commonly known as capital federal):

Australia

States

Areas	Abbreviation	Capital
New South Wales	NSW	Sydney
Queensland	QLD	Brisbane
South Australia	SA	Adelaide
Tasmania	TAS	Hobart
Victoria	VIC	Melbourne
Western Australia	WA	Perth

Territories

Mainland

Territory	Abbreviation	Capital
Australian Capital Territory	ACT	Canberra
Jervis Bay Territory	JBT
Northern Territory	NT	Darwin

From 1926 to 1931, Central Australia existed as a separate territory between the 20th and 26th parallels of latitude, before being becoming a part of the Northern Territory again.

Overseas territories

Australian overseas territories

Former

Territory of North Australia (1927-31)
Territory of Central Australia (1927-31)
Territory of Papua (1902-49)
Territory of New Guinea (1920-49)
Territory of Papua and New Guinea (1949-72)

Austria

State (Bundesland)	German name	Population (2021)	Area (km²)	Density (p./km²)	Capital
Burgenland	Burgenland	296,000	3,965	75	Eisenstadt
Carinthia	Kärnten	562,000	9,537	59	Klagenfurt
Lower Austria	Niederösterreich	1,691,000	19,180	88	Sankt Pölten
Salzburg(erland)	Salzburg	561,000	7,155	78	Salzburg
Styria	Steiermark	1,247,000	16,399	76	Graz
Tyrol	Tirol	760,000	12,648	60	Innsbruck
Upper Austria	Oberösterreich	1,496,000	11,983	125	Linz
Vienna	Wien	1,921,000	415	4,629	Vienna (Wien)
Vorarlberg	Vorarlberg	399,000	2,602	153	Bregenz

Belgium

Province	Antwerp	Limburg	Flemish Brabant	East Flanders	West Flanders
Dutch name	Antwerpen	Limburg	Vlaams Brabant	Oost-Vlaanderen	West-Vlaanderen
French name	Anvers	Limbourg	Brabant flamand	Flandre orientale	Flandre occidentale
German name	Antwerpen	Limburg	Flämisch-Brabant	Ostflandern	Westflandern
Location
Flag
Coat of Arms
HASC^[28]	BE.AN	BE.LI	BE.VB	BE.OV	BE.WV
FIPS^[28]	BE01	BE05	BE12	BE08	BE09
ISO 3166-2	VAN	VLI	VBR	VOV	VWV
Postal codes	2000-2999	3500-3999	1500-1999, 3000-3499	9000-9999	8000-8999
Area	2860 km² 21.15% of Flanders 9.38% of Belgium	2414 km² 17.85% of Flanders 7.92% of Belgium	2106 km² 15.57% of Flanders 6.91% of Belgium	2982.24 km² 22.12% of Flanders 9.81% of Belgium	3151 km² 23.30% of Flanders 10.33% of Belgium
Highest point	Beerzelberg (55 m)	Remersdaal (288 m)	Walshoutem (137 m)	Hottondberg (150 m)^[29] Pottelberg (157 m)^[30]	Kemmelberg (156 m)
Subdivisions	3 Arrondissements 70 municipalities	3 Arrondissements 44 municipalities	2 Arrondissements 65 municipalities	6 Arrondissements 65 municipalities	8 Arrondissements 64 municipalities
Capital^[28]	Antwerpen	Hasselt	Leuven	Gent	Brugge
Population	1,682,683 28% of Flanders	805,786 13% of Flanders	1,037,786 17% of Flanders	1,389,199 23% of Flanders	1,130,040 19% of Flanders
Density	587 / km²	333 / km²	493 / km²	459 / km²	362 / km²
Governor	Cathy Berx	Herman Reynders	Lode De Witte	Jan Briers	Carl Decaluwé
Government	N-VA, CD&V, sp.a	CD&V, sp.a-Groen, Open Vld	CD&V, Open Vld, sp.a., Groen	CD&V, Open Vld, sp.a	CD&V, sp.a, Open Vld
Website	Official page	Official page Archived 1996-12-24 at the Wayback Machine	Official page Archived 2006-08-09 at the Wayback Machine	Official page	Official page

Province	Hainaut	Walloon Brabant	Namur	Liège	Luxembourg
French name	Hainaut	Brabant wallon	Namur	Liège	Luxembourg
German name	Hennegau	Wallonisch-Brabant	Namur	Lüttich	Luxemburg
Dutch name	Henegouwen	Waals Brabant	Namen	Luik	Luxemburg
Location
Flag
Coat of Arms
HASC^[28]	BE.HT	BE.BW	BE.NA	BE.LG	BE.LX
FIPS^[28]	BE03	BE10	BE07	BE04	BE06
Area	3800 km² 22.56% of Wallonia 12.44% of Belgium	1093 km² 6.49% of Wallonia 3.58% of Belgium	3664 km² 21.75% of Wallonia 11.99% of Belgium	3844 km² 22.82% of Wallonia 12.58% of Belgium	4443 km² 26.38% of Wallonia 14.54% of Belgium
Subdivisions	7 Arrondissements 69 municipalities	1 Arrondissement 27 municipalities	3 Arrondissements 38 municipalities	4 Arrondissements 84 municipalities	5 Arrondissements 44 municipalities
Capital^[28]	Mons	Wavre	Namur	Liège	Arlon
Population	1,309,880 37% of Wallonia	379,515 11% of Wallonia	472,281 13% of Wallonia	1,067,685 31% of Wallonia	269,023 8% of Wallonia
Density	345 / km²	347 / km²	129 / km²	277 / km²	60 / km²
Governor	Tommy Leclercq	Gilles Mahieu	Denis Mathen	Hervé Jamar	Olivier Schmitz
Government	PS, MR	MR, PS	MR, cdH	PS, MR	cdH, PS
Website	Official page	Official page	Official page	Official page	Official page Archived 2011-02-16 at the Wayback Machine Because the German-speaking Community is found in the Province of Liège, people want a third province: the Province of Eupen-Sankt Vith, which would be made up of the 9 municipalities of the German-speaking Community. Brazil Center-West Region Main page: Center-West Region of Brazil Federal District (capital Brasília) Goiás (capital Goiânia) Mato Grosso (capital Cuiabá) Mato Grosso do Sul (capital Campo Grande) Federation Media Federal states* Unitary states The pathway of regional integration or separation A map of the Russian Federation, showing its eighty-three federal subjects before the annexation of Crimea in 2014 A map of the Federative Republic of Brazil, showing its twenty-six constituent states and the Federal District A map of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, showing its regions A map of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, showing its 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory A map of the United Mexican States, showing its thirty-one constituent states and Mexico City A map of the United States of America showing its fifty constituent states and the District of Columbia A map of Canada showing its ten provinces and three territories A map of the Commonwealth of Australia showing its six states and ten territories References ↑ Daniel, Kate; Special Broadcasting Service Corporation (2008). SBS World Guide: The Complete Fact File on Every Country, 16th ed. Prahran, Victoria, Australia: Hardie Grant Books. p. 827. ISBN 978-1-74066-648-0. p26. Archived from the original on 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2020-11-11. ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p38 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p46 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p74 ↑ "Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Canton 10". Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020. ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p101 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p132 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p239 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p275 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p328 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p346 ↑ "CONSTITUTION (AMENDMENT) ACT 2022" (PDF). Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia. January 25, 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2024. ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p481 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p486 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p537 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p549 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p600 ↑ "Chapter 3. The Federal Structure: Article 65". The Constitution of the Russian Federation. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2010-07-11. ↑ "The Federal Republic of Somalia – Harmonized Draft Constitution" (PDF). Federal Republic of Somalia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2012. ↑ "Guidebook to the Somali Draft Provisional Constitution". Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2012. ↑ ^21.0 ^21.1 Mednick, Sam (2020-02-23). "After 6 years of war, will peace finally come to South Sudan? \| News". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2021-12-07. ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p687 ↑ "Sudan: Protocol on the resolution of Abyei conflict – Sudan". ReliefWeb. 26 May 2004. Archived from the original on 2021-10-21. Retrieved 2021-10-21. ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p700 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p760 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p774 ↑ SBS World Guide 2008, p798 ↑ ^28.0 ^28.1 ^28.2 ^28.3 ^28.4 ^28.5 "Province of Belgium". statoids.com. ↑ "Hottondberg". peakbagger.com. ↑ "Oost-Vlaanderen". vakantielandbelgie.nl. Archived from the original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2008-11-23.

Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}} template or a <references group="upper-alpha"/> tag.

[sbswg2008-1] Daniel, Kate; Special Broadcasting Service Corporation (2008). SBS World Guide: The Complete Fact File on Every Country, 16th ed. Prahran, Victoria, Australia: Hardie Grant Books. p. 827. ISBN 978-1-74066-648-0. p26. Archived from the original on 2021-07-27. Retrieved 2020-11-11.

[3] SBS World Guide 2008, p38

[4] SBS World Guide 2008, p46

[5] SBS World Guide 2008, p74

[9] "Decision of the Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Canton 10". Constitutional Court of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.

[10] SBS World Guide 2008, p101

[12] SBS World Guide 2008, p132

[13] SBS World Guide 2008, p239

[14] SBS World Guide 2008, p275

[15] SBS World Guide 2008, p328

[17] SBS World Guide 2008, p346

[19] "CONSTITUTION (AMENDMENT) ACT 2022" (PDF). Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia. January 25, 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2023. Retrieved April 24, 2024.

[20] SBS World Guide 2008, p481

[21] SBS World Guide 2008, p486

[22] SBS World Guide 2008, p537

[23] SBS World Guide 2008, p549

[24] SBS World Guide 2008, p600

[25] "Chapter 3. The Federal Structure: Article 65". The Constitution of the Russian Federation. Archived from the original on 2018-12-25. Retrieved 2010-07-11.

[FRSom-26] "The Federal Republic of Somalia – Harmonized Draft Constitution" (PDF). Federal Republic of Somalia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2012.

[Gttsdpc-27] "Guidebook to the Somali Draft Provisional Constitution". Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2012.

[auto-29] 21.0 ^21.1 Mednick, Sam (2020-02-23). "After 6 years of war, will peace finally come to South Sudan? | News". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2021-12-07.

[30] SBS World Guide 2008, p687

[31] "Sudan: Protocol on the resolution of Abyei conflict – Sudan". ReliefWeb. 26 May 2004. Archived from the original on 2021-10-21. Retrieved 2021-10-21.

[32] SBS World Guide 2008, p700

[33] SBS World Guide 2008, p760

[34] SBS World Guide 2008, p774

[35] SBS World Guide 2008, p798

[statoids-36] 28.0 ^28.1 ^28.2 ^28.3 ^28.4 ^28.5 "Province of Belgium". statoids.com.

[peakbagger_VOV-37] "Hottondberg". peakbagger.com.

[vakantieland_VOV-38] "Oost-Vlaanderen". vakantielandbelgie.nl. Archived from the original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2008-11-23.

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Federation

List of constituents by federation

Argentina

Australia

States

Territories

Mainland

Overseas territories

Former

Austria

Belgium

Brazil

Center-West Region

Federation Media

References