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.
Countries made up of states
Countries using the English term state
Countries using the Portuguese/Spanish term estado
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
See also
References
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