State (subnational)
Most countries with a
federal constitution are made up of a number of
subnational entities called
states or
provinces. In many cases, these are creations of the national government, rather than
sovereign states. They are sometimes called
federal states.
As well as the usage of the term in English-speaking countries, a similar term that can be directly translated into English as
state or
province is found in countries using other languages.
Countries using the English term state
*The
United States consists of 50 states (as well as the
District of Columbia).
*
India consists of 28 states (and 7 territories); see
States and territories of India.
*
Australia consists of 6 states (and 2 territories); see
States and territories of Australia.
*
Malaysia consists of 13 states (and 3 federal territories); see
States of Malaysia.
*
Nigeria consists of 36 states (and 1 territory); see
States of Nigeria.
*
Palau consists of 16 states; see
States of Palau.
*The
Federated States of Micronesia, a federal republic in free association with the United States, consists of 4 states.
Countries using the Portuguese term estado
*
Brazil consists of 26 states (as well as the
Federal District); see
States of Brazil.
Countries using the Spanish term estado
*
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 Bundesland
*
Austria consists of 9
Länder, commonly referred to as
Bundesländer; see
States of Austria.
*
Germany consists of 16
Länder, commonly referred to as
Bundesländer; see
States of Germany.
*Both
Canada and
South Africa use the term
province for the equivalent of a state in other countries; see
Provinces and territories of Canada and
Provinces of South Africa respectively.
*Similarly,
Argentina and
Cuba use the
Spanish term
provincia (literally, "province"); see
Provinces of Argentina.
*
Switzerland uses the term
canton; see
Cantons of Switzerland.
*
Russia consists of a complex range of different types of
federal subject; see
Federal subjects of Russia.
*
Belgium consists of two formally separate layers of federal entity (
regions and
communities); see
Communities, regions and provinces of Belgium.
*
Ethiopia consists of a number of entities conventionally translated into English as
regions; see
Subdivisions of Ethiopia.
*The
comunidades autónomas (literally, "autonomous communities") of
Spain are also arguably equivalent to states in other countries; see
Autonomous communities of Spain.
