District: Difference between revisions

{{More citations needed|date=June 2022}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}

{{World city population tables}}

 

 

 

===Afghanistan===

{{Main|Districts of Afghanistan}}

 

===Australia===

Electoral districts are used in state elections. Districts were also used in several states as [[cadastral]] units for land titles. Some were used as [[squatting]] districts. [[Cadastral divisions of New South Wales|New South Wales]] had several different types of districts used in the 21st century.

 

===Austria===

{{Main|District (Austria)}}

In [[Austria]], the word {{lang|de|Bezirk}} is used with different meanings in three different contexts:

* Some of the tasks of the administrative branch of the national and regional governments are fulfilled by the 95 [[district (Austria)|district administrative offices]] ({{lang|de|Bezirkshauptmannschaften}}). The area a district administrative office is responsible for is often, although informally, called a district ({{lang|de|Bezirk}}). A number of [[statutory city (Austria)|statutory cities]], currently 15, are not served by any district administrative office. Their respective municipal bureaucracies handle the tasks normally performed by the district administrative office.

* The cities of [[Vienna]] and [[Graz]] are divided into municipal districts ({{lang|de|Stadtbezirke}}), assisting the respective municipal governments. In Vienna, the constituents of each district elect a district council ({{lang|de|Bezirksvertretung}}); the district council in turn elects a district chairperson ({{lang|de|Bezirksvorsteher}}). Although the city vests its districts with a limited amount of budgetary autonomy, district councils and chairpersons have little real responsibility. In particular, they do not legislate. Most of the [[districts of Vienna]] were independent municipalities at some point; district councils and chairpersons symbolize the town councils and mayors they used to have.

* From the point of view of the [[judiciary of Austria]], the country is subdivided into 115 judicial districts ({{lang|de|Gerichtsbezirke}}), each corresponding to one of the country's 115 lowest-level trial courts.

 

 

[[Azerbaijan]] is administratively divided into the following subdivisions:

**7 districts

**1 city

The rayons are further divided into municipalities ({{lang|az|bələdiyyə}}).

 

 

===Bangladesh===

 

[[Bangladesh]]i districts are local administrative units. In all, there are 64 districts in Bangladesh. Originally, there were 21 greater districts with several subdivisions in each district. In 1984, the government made all these subdivisions into districts. Each district has several sub-districts called [[Upazila]] in Bengali with a total 493 Upzillas.

 

===Belgium===

In [[Belgium|Belgian]] municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, on the initiative of the local council, sub-municipal administrative entities with elected councils may be created. As such, only [[Antwerp]], having over 460,000 inhabitants, became subdivided into [[Districts of Antwerp|nine districts]] ({{lang-nl|districten}}).

 

===Brunei===

{{Main|Districts of Brunei}}

A district is known locally as {{lang|ms|daerah}} and it is the first-level administrative division of Brunei. There are four districts in the country, namely [[Brunei-Muara District|Brunei-Muara]], [[Tutong District|Tutong]], [[Belait District|Belait]] and [[Temburong District|Temburong]]. Each district is administered by a {{lang|ms|Jabatan Daerah}} (District Office), which is headed by a {{lang|ms|Pegawai Daerah}} (District Officer). All district offices are government departments under the Ministry of Home Affairs ({{Lang-ms|Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri}}).

 

===Canada{{anchor|Canada}}===

====Alberta====

 

 

Within the area of municipal powers, ''[[Regional districts of British Columbia|regional districts]]'' – which are somewhat analogous to counties in other jurisdictions, a number of municipalities, and unincorporated areas – are always referred to as "regional districts" to distinguish them from district municipalities and other kinds of district.

 

Other kinds of districts in British Columbia are:

* Electoral districts (some early ridings, as electoral districts are commonly known, included "district" in their title, e.g. [[New Westminster District]])

* Forest districts, which are a set of administrative regions of the [[British Columbia Ministry of Forests]]

* Other types of regional subdivision, according to the ministry or agency, are generally styled "region" or "area". These include as Ministry of Environment regions, [[Health regions of Canada#British Columbia|health regions]], and regional management planning areas such as the [[Muskwa-Kechika Management Planning Area]].

 

 

 

 

====Ontario====

In [[Ontario]], a district is a statutory subdivision of the province, but, unlike a county, a district is not incorporated. Most districts are composed of unincorporated lands, mostly [[Crown land]]. Originally present-day [[Southern Ontario]] (then part of the [[Province of Quebec]] and after 1791, [[Upper Canada]]) was divided into districts in 1788 [https://web.archive.org/web/20051122164741/http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/maps/districts.htm]. Districts continued to operation until 1849 when they were replaced by counties by the [[Province of Canada]].

 

 

 

===Chile===

 

 

 

===Colombia===

In Colombia, a district is one of ten special administrative units:

{{flatlist|style=margin-left:1.0em;|1=

* [[Barranquilla]] {{small|(Special Industrial Port District)}}

* [[Bogotá]] {{small|(Capital District)}}

* [[Santa Marta]] {{small|(Historical, Tourism and Cultural District)}}

* Popayán {{small|(Special, Ecotouristic, Historical and [[University|Universitarian]] District)}}

* Buenaventura {{small|(Special Industrial, Port, Biodiverse and Ecotouristic District)}}

}}

 

 

===France===

 

===Germany===

* In [[Germany]], a district ({{lang|de|Kreis}}) is an administrative unit between the {{lang|de|Länder}} ([[States of Germany|German federal states]]) and the local / municipal levels ([[States of Germany#Subdivisions|Gemeinden]]). As of 2011, most of the 402 German districts are {{lang|de|Landkreise}}, rural districts. 107 larger cities (usually with more than 100,000 inhabitants) that do not belong to a district are considered as urban districts ({{lang|de|Kreisfreie Städte}} or {{lang|de|Stadtkreise}}).

** A local subdistrict is called a {{lang|de|[[Gemarkung]]}}, and is mostly a smaller rural area (with similar concepts in Austria and Switzerland). A {{lang|de|Gemarkung}} is usually associated with and named after a central town or village. Areas in such subdistricts and their usage are documented in central registries (German: {{lang|de|Kataster}}) and have been historically used for taxation.

* District ({{lang|de|Bezirk}}) was also an administrative subdivision of the [[East Germany|German Democratic Republic]] from 1952. ''See [[Administrative division of the German Democratic Republic]]''

* City district ({{lang|de|[[Stadtbezirk]]}} or {{lang|de|Ortsbezirk}}) is the primary subdivision category of many {{lang|de|Kreisfreie Städte}}.

 

===Hungary===

 

===India===

[[File:India district map (de-facto).svg|300px|thumb|Districts of India]]

[[List of Indian districts|India's districts]] are local administrative units inherited from the [[British Raj]]. They generally form the tier of local government immediately below that of [[India]]'s [[states and territories of India|subnational states and territories]]. Where warranted, districts may further be grouped into administrative divisions, which form an intermediate level between the district and the [[State (subnational)|subnational state]] (or [[union territory]]).

 

 

[[File:Kollamdistrict.png|right|thumb|A district in [[Kerala]]]]

As of April 2016, the [[National Informatics Centre]] of the [[Government of India]], lists a total of 664 districts in India, more than the number of parliamentary constituencies (545).<ref name=NIC1>{{cite web|url=http://districts.nic.in/dstats.aspx|title=list of districts of India by states|access-date=22 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407230445/http://districts.nic.in/dstats.aspx|archive-date=7 April 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> This number went up to a total of 723 districts in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.goidirectory.gov.in/district.php|title=Districts {{!}} Government of India Web Directory|website=www.goidirectory.gov.in|language=en|access-date=2018-08-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815131623/http://www.goidirectory.gov.in/district.php|archive-date=15 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

 

 

 

 

[[Iran]] is subdivided into thirty one [[Provinces of Iran|provinces]] ([[Persian Language|Persian]]: {{lang|fa|استان}} {{transliteration|fa|ostān}}), each governed from a local center, usually the largest local city, which is called the capital ([[Persian Language|Persian]]: {{transliteration|fa|[[Markaz (country subdivision){{!}}Markaz]]}}) of that province. The provinces of Iran further subdivided into [[Counties of Iran|counties]] called ({{lang-fa|شهرستان}} {{transliteration|fa|shahrestān}}), an area inside an {{transliteration|fa|ostān}}, and consists of a city center, few {{transliteration|fa|[[bakhsh]]}} ({{lang-fa|بخش}}) and many villages around them. There are usually a few cities ({{lang-fa|شهر}} {{transliteration|fa|shahr}}) and rural agglomerations ({{lang-fa|دهستان}} {{transliteration|fa|dehestān}}) in each county. Rural agglomerations are a collection of a number of villages. One of the cities of the county is appointed as the capital of the county. The word {{transliteration|fa|shahrestān}} comes from the Persian words {{transliteration|fa|[[shahr]]}} and {{transliteration|fa|ostān}}, which mean ''city'' (or ''town'') and ''province'', respectively. The nearest equivalent of {{transliteration|fa|shahrestān}} in English would be sub-province or county. Each {{transliteration|fa|shahrestān}} has a governmental office known as {{transliteration|fa|[[farmandari]]}} which coordinates different events and governmental offices. The {{transliteration|fa|[[farmandar]]}}, or the head of {{transliteration|fa|farmandari}}, is the governor of the {{transliteration|fa|shahrestān}} which is the highest governmental authority in the division.

 

===Iraq===

In Iraq, they use the word {{transliteration|ar|[[qadaa]]}} for districts. There are over a hundred districts, each district being within one of 18 [[Governorates of Iraq|Iraqi governorates]], sometimes known as provinces. The district generally (but not always) bears the name of a city within that district, usually the capital of that district.

 

In [[Kenya]], a district ({{lang|sw|[[wilayah]]}}) is a subdivision of a [[Provinces of Kenya|Province]] and is headed by a [[District Officer]] (DO).

 

 

[[Malawi]] is divided into 28 districts within three regions. Each district is headed by a District Commissioner.

 

===Malaysia===

 

 

 

In Malaysia, each district will have a District Office, headed by a district officer, and is administered by a local government either being a District Council, Municipal Council, or a City Council. In some highly urbanized districts, there may be further subdivisions. For example, the district of [[Petaling]] in [[Selangor]] is administered by 3 local governments: [[Shah Alam City Council]], [[Petaling Jaya City Council]], and [[Subang Jaya Municipal Council]]. Another example is the district of [[Johor Bahru District|Johor Bahru]] in [[Johor]], which has 3 subdivisions: [[Johor Bahru City Council]], [[Iskandar Puteri City Council]], and [[Pasir Gudang Municipal Council]]. Conversely, there may be one local government administering more than one district, for example, [[Seberang Perai Municipal Council]] administers the districts of [[Central Seberang Perai]], [[North Seberang Perai]], and [[South Seberang Perai]]; as well as [[Kuala Terengganu City Council]], which administers the districts of [[Kuala Terengganu District|Kuala Terengganu]] and [[Kuala Nerus District|Kuala Nerus]].

 

===Malta===

Malta holds 13 Electoral Divisions for the unicameral (single-assembly) parliament. Each consists of a number of [[Local councils of Malta|localities]] (although there is no requirement that electoral boundaries follow the boundaries of localities).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gauci|first1=Salv.|title=Constitution of Malta. Article 61 &ndash; Electoral Divisions|url=http://3c3dbeaf6f6c49f4b9f4-a655c0f6dcd98e765a68760c407565ae.r86.cf3.rackcdn.com/3ea7e6341863b9bf3ccbddebe2b205953345630881.pdf|access-date=26 August 2014|work=The Malta Government Gazette|issue=18904|date=23 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://electoral.gov.mt/ElectoralDivisions|title=Electoral Divisions|website=Electoral Commission Malta|access-date=30 January 2019}}</ref>

 

===Nauru===

 

===Nepal===

[[Nepal]] is divided into 77 districts. Each district acts as an independent administrative unit. A district consists of two types of units like [[Rural Municipality|Rural Municipalities]] and Municipalities. Official documents like citizenship cards and passports are issued by the Chief of District Office (CDO). Constituencies for elections are also constructed according to the population distribution within the district.

 

===New Zealand===

A district in New Zealand is a territorial authority (second-tier local government unit) that has not gained the distinction of being proclaimed a city. Districts tend to be less urbanized, tend to cover more than one population center and a larger amount of rural area, and tend to have a smaller population than cities. While cities and districts are generally considered to be two different types of territorial authority, the area covered by a city is often known as its district—for example the term ''district plan'' is used equally in districts and cities. The [[Chatham Islands|Chatham Islands Territory]] is neither a district nor a city.

 

 

===Northern Cyprus===

 

===Norway===

 

===Pakistan===

Districts of [[Pakistan]] are local administrative units inherited from the [[British Raj]]. They form third-level Administrative Division in Pakistan after Provinces and Divisions. Districts were generally grouped into administrative divisions, which in turn formed [[Provinces and territories of Pakistan|provinces]]. Pakistan has 160 districts (including ten in [[Azad Jammu and Kashmir]]). They are known as {{transliteration|ur|zillas}} in [[Urdu]]. They comprise villages, towns, and cities. A district is headed by a district {{transliteration|ur|nazim}} (mayor), who is an elected official (in local body elections) and the local controller of the district level officers of all the departments under provincial government, while [[Deputy Commissioner]] is the executive head of the District usually Grade-18 officer from [[Pakistan Administrative Service]]. Deputy Commissioner is entrusted with overall responsibility of law & order, implementation of government schemes and is also authorized to hear revenue cases pertaining to the district. The district mayor ({{transliteration|ur|nazim}}) heads an elected district council composed of councilors, who represent various district-level constituencies. The councils have a constitutional requirement to be composed of a minimum of 33% women or more than that.

 

===Peru===

 

===Philippines===

The usage of the term 'district' ({{lang|fil|distrito}}) in the Philippines has similarities to that in the United States.

 

=====National=====

A constituency with a representative in the lower house of [[Congress of the Philippines|Congress]] is a [[congressional district]]. However, the term [[congressional district]] has become synonymous in local parlance with 'representative district,' because, just like in the US, the word 'congress' ({{lang|fil|konggreso}}) has come to refer specifically to the lower house (the [[House of Representatives of the Philippines|House of Representatives]]).

 

A legislative district, which has an average population of about 250,000 to 500,000, may be composed of:

(a.) an entire province,

(b.) within a province, a group of municipalities and cities (sometimes even including independent and highly urbanized cities geographically located in the province),

 

====[[Administration (government)|Administrative]]====

=====Current=====

Districts exist as administrative entities only in local government, with limited powers or responsibilities. Certain cities, such as [[Manila#Barangays and districts|Manila]], [[Iloilo City#Subdivisions|Iloilo]] and [[Districts of Davao City|Davao]], for administrative purposes, formally divide their jurisdictions into city districts composed of several [[barangay]]s, but the extent of these district-level administrative powers vary. Several barangays (the lowest level of government) also have the word 'district' in their names – examples are those in [[Jala-jala]] and [[Zamboanga City]]. However, this is solely for the purpose of nomenclature, and does not imply a higher level of local government.

 

===Poland===

The second-level unit of local government and administration in Poland, equivalent to a county, district or prefecture ([[Local administrative unit|LAU-1]]) in other countries is called a {{lang|pl|[[powiat]]}}. As of 2008, there are 379 powiat-level entities in Poland: 314 land counties and 65 city counties. For a complete alphabetical listing, see [[list of counties in Poland]].

 

===Portugal===

Districts ({{lang|pt|distritos}}) are administrative divisions of [[Portugal]]. They were mainly used as the jurisdiction areas for the civil governors, the government officials that represented locally the [[Government of Portugal|Central Government]]. However, in 2011, the role of the civil governor was ''de facto'' extinct (although not ''de jure''), with the decision taken by the Government not to appoint new civil governors and to transfer its functions to other bodies. The district areas are now only used as the regional jurisdiction areas of some public bodies (like the [[Public Security Police]] district commands) and some private entities (like the district associations and championships of football).

 

===Russia===

In [[Russia]], districts are administrative and municipal divisions of the [[federal subjects of Russia|federal subjects]], as well as administrative divisions of larger cities ("city districts") which are commonly referenced as {{transliteration|ru|[[raion]]}} ({{lang-ru|links=no|Районы}}) and {{transliteration|ru|[[okrug]]}} ({{lang-ru|links=no|Округа}}) respectively.

The term "district" is also used to refer to the type of administrative division of the [[Sakha Republic]]—{{transliteration|ru|ulus}} ({{lang-ru|links=no|улус}}; {{lang-sah|улуус}}). The Sakha Republic is administratively divided into five cities under the Republic's jurisdiction and 33&nbsp;''uluses''. The law of the Sakha Republic establishes that the terms {{transliteration|ru|ulus}} and "district" are equivalent.<ref name="SakhaATS">Law Z#77-I of 6 July 1995 "On Administrative and Territorial Structure of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic", with amendments</ref>

 

===Serbia===

[[Serbia]] is divided into twenty-nine [[Districts of Serbia|districts]] ({{transliteration|sr|[[okrug]]}}) and the city of [[Belgrade]], each of which is further divided into municipalities ({{transliteration|sr|[[opstina{{!}}opština]]}})

 

===Slovakia===

In Slovakia, a district ({{lang|sk|[[okres]]}}) is a local administrative unit.

 

===Slovenia===

 

===South Africa===

[[File:Map of South Africa with district borders (2009).svg|thumb|right|Districts of South Africa]]

In South Africa, the [[district municipality (South Africa)|district municipality]] forms the layer of government below the [[Provinces of South Africa|provinces]]. A district municipality is in turn divided into several [[local municipality (South Africa)|local municipalities]].

 

This structure varies in the eight largest urban areas:

# [[Bloemfontein]] (seat of the [[Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality]]),

# [[Cape Town]] ([[City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality]]),

# [[Pretoria]] (seat of the [[City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality]]),

where a [[metropolitan municipality (South Africa)|metropolitan municipality]] replaces both a district and a local municipality.

 

===Sri Lanka===

For purposes of local government, the country of [[Sri Lanka]] is divided into nine [[Provinces of Sri Lanka|provinces]]: [[Western Province, Sri Lanka|Western]], [[Central Province, Sri Lanka|Central]], [[Southern Province, Sri Lanka|Southern]], [[Northern Province, Sri Lanka|Northern]], [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|Eastern]], [[North Western Province, Sri Lanka|North Western]], [[North Central Province, Sri Lanka|North Central]], [[Uva Province|Uva]], and [[Sabaragamuwa Province|Sabaragamuwa]]. (The Northern and Eastern Provinces have however, technically been jointly administered since 1988.)

 

Each of the districts is divided into divisions. These were originally based on the feudal counties, the {{transliteration|mis|korale}} and {{transliteration|mis|rata}}. They were formerly known as 'D.R.O. Divisions' after the 'Divisional Revenue Officer'. Later the D.R.O.s became 'Assistant Government Agents' and the Divisions were known as 'A.G.A. Divisions'. Currently, the Divisions are administered by a 'Divisional Secretary', and are known as a 'D.S. Divisions'. Rural D.S. Divisions are also administered by a '[[Pradeshiya Sabha]]' (Sinhala for 'Regional Council'), which is elected.

 

===Sweden===

Some municipalities in the [[Kingdom of Sweden]] have divided their territory into smaller areas, which often are assigned an administrative board responsible for certain elements of municipal governance within their district. These areas take a variety of different Swedish names; however, "district" is usually the official English term for them. The term "borough" is sometimes used in unofficial contexts.

 

===Taiwan===

In the [[Government of the Republic of China|Republic of China]] on [[Taiwan]], the district ({{zh|t={{linktext|區}}|p=Qū}}) is the 3rd level of the administrative division. It is a division of [[Special municipality (Taiwan)|special municipality]] and [[Provincial city (Taiwan)|provincial city]] of [[Taiwan Province]]. Currently, there are 157 districts in total from 5 special municipalities and 3 provincial cities.

 

 

===Uganda===

 

===Ukraine===

In [[Ukraine]], districts ([[raion]]s) second level of administrative division of Ukraine and are primarily the most common division of Ukrainian regions, as well as administrative divisions of larger cities ("city districts").

 

===United Kingdom===

 

*Leisure services

*Refuse collection

*Environmental health

 

 

 

Districts of [[Scotland]] were local government areas between 1975 and 1996.

 

 

Scotland has had other kinds of administrative areas which might be described as districts:

* [[Shires of Scotland]], until 1975

* [[Subdivisions of Scotland]], councils or unitary authorities, from 1996, pursuant to the [[Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994]]

 

 

{{Cleanup rewrite|2=section|date=January 2017}}

There are several types of districts in the United States.

 

====Federal District====

 

====Legislative constituencies====

 

 

 

 

 

 

====Municipalities====

 

 

{{anchor|Public utility district}}

<!-- [[Public Utility District]] redirects here. -->

 

 

===Vietnam===

 

 

 

== See also ==

* [[Utility cooperative]]

 

{{reflist}}