District
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Local government areas called districts are used, or have been used, in several countries.
[edit] Austria
In Austria, a district or Bezirk is an administrative subdivision normally encompassing several municipalities, roughly equivalent to the Landkreis in Germany. The administrative office of a district, the Bezirkshauptmannschaft is headed by the Bezirkshauptmann. It is in charge of the administration of all matters of federal and state administrative law and subject to orders from the higher instances, usually the Landeshauptmann (governor) in matters of federal law and the Landesregierung (state government) in state law. While there are matters of administrative law of which the municipalities themselves are in charge or where there are special bodies, the district is the basic unit of general administration in Austria. Officials on the district level are not elected, but appointed by the state government. There are also independent cities in Austria. They are called Statutarstadt in Austrian administrative law. These urban districts do have the same tasks as a normal district.
[edit] Vienna
The State of Vienna, which is at the same time a municipality, is also subdivided in twenty-three districts, which, however, have a somewhat different function than in the rest of the country. Legally, the Magistratisches Bezirksamt (district office) is a local offices of the municipality's administration. However, representatives (Bezirksräte) on the district level are elected, and they in turn elect the head of the district, the Bezirksvorsteher. Those representative bodies are supposed to serve as immediate contacts for the locals on the political and administrative level. In practice, they have some power, e.g. concerning matters of traffic.
[edit] Azerbaijan
[edit] Belgium
In Belgian municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, on 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 nine districts (Dutch: districten).
The Belgian arrondissements (also in French as well as in Dutch), an administrative level between province (or the capital region) and municipality, or the lowest judicial level, are in English sometimes called districts as well.
[edit] Bangladesh
Bangladeshi districts are local administrative units inherited from the British Raj. 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.
[edit] Canada
[edit] Alberta
In Alberta, the district (known as municipal districts) acts like a county or a city but not like the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and British Columbia, all districts and counties are part of census subdivisions of their respective census divisions.
[edit] British Columbia
In British Columbia has two types of districts. The first type of district is a municipality which the district acts like a city, town, or a village. Also British Columbia has some districts called Regional Districts, which the district acts like a county and like any counties in the U.S. (except in Connecticut and Rhode Island) and Canada (except in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Newfoundland), it compromise the district seat, the numbers of municipalities, and unincorporated areas.
[edit] Ontario
In Ontario, a district is a statutory subdivision of the province, but, unlike a county, a district is not incorporated. Most districts are comprised 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[1]. Districts continued to operation until 1849 when they were replaced by counties by the Province of Canada.
The current Ontario districts such as Algoma and Nipissing were first created by the Province of Canada in 1858 prior to Confederation for the delivery of judicial and provincial government services to sparsely populated areas from the district seat (e.g. Sault Ste. Marie). Some districts may have District Social Service Administration Boards, which are designed to provide certain social services. The boundaries of a federal census division may correspond to those of a district.
[edit] Northwest Territories
In western and northern Canada, the federal government created districts as subdivisions of the Northwest Territories 1870-1905, partly on the model of the districts created in the Province of Canada. The first district created was the District of Keewatin in 1876 followed by four more districts in 1882. Gradually, these districts became separate territories (such as Yukon Territory, separate provinces (such as Alberta and Saskatchewan) or were absorbed into other provinces.
[edit] China
In China, the district or qū (市辖区, pinyin: shì xiá qū) is a subdivision of any of various city administrative units, including municipalities, sub-provincial cities and prefecture-level cities. Districts have county level status.
Modern districts are a recent innovation. In the context of pre-modern China, the English translation "district" is typically associated with xian, another Chinese administrative division. The xian is translated as "county" in the context of modern China.
[edit] Germany
- In Germany, a district ("Kreis") is an administrative unit between the "Länder" (German federal states) and the local / municipal levels (Gemeinden). Most of the 439 German districts are "Landkreise", rural districts. 116 larger cities (usually with more than 100,000 inhabitants) do not belong to a district are considered as urban districts ("Kreisfreie Städte" or "Stadtkreise") themselves. See also: Districts of Germany.
- In some states, there is additional level of administration between the Länder and the Landkreise called Regierungsbezirk (government district).
- District (Bezirk) was also the name of administrative subdivisions of the German Democratic Republic since 1952. See Subdivisions of East Germany.
[edit] Hong Kong
Hong Kong is divided into eighteen districts, each with a district council.
[edit] India
- See also: Subdivisions of India
India's districts (Hindi: ज़िला or जनपद; /zilɑː/ or /ɟənpəd/) are local administrative units inherited from the British Raj. They generally form the tier of local government immediately below that of India's subnational States and Territories. Where warranted, Districts may further be grouped into administrative Divisions, which form an intermediate level between the District and the subnational State (or union territory).
A District is headed by a Deputy Commissioner/ Collector, who is responsible for the overall administration and the maintenance of law and order. The district collector may belong to IAS (Indian Administrative Service). Other key responsibilities include the collection of revenue, and criminal prosecution in the district and sessional courts. Usually, the Deputy Commissioner/ District Collector is conferred with Magisterial powers under section 20 of Criminal Procedure Code, and designated as the District Magistrate. The official designations are, "Collector and District Magistrate" or "Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate".
Districts are most frequently further sub-divided into smaller administrative units, called either tehsils or talukas, depending on the region. These units have specific local responsibilities, including in particular coordinating revenue collection.
An intermediate level (the Sub-Division) between District and tehsil/taluka may be formed by grouping these units under the oversight of Assistant Commissioners/ Sub-Collectors. Each district has well-defined boundaries, and includes one or two cities (or large towns), a few smaller towns and dozens of villages. Most of the Indian districts have the same name as the main town/city that it contains.
As of October 2005, a total of 602 Districts are defined in India.
[edit] Iraq
In Iraq, they use the word qadaa for districts. There are over a hundred districts, each district being within one of 18 Iraqi governorates, sometimes known as provinces. The district generally (but not always) bears the name of a city within that district which is usually the capital of that district.
[edit] Japan
A district (gun in Japanese) is a local administrative unit comprising towns and villages but not cities. See districts of Japan for more complete description. In 1923, its administrative role was abolished although it is still in use for addressing purposes. "District" is also a translation of chiku, defined by Japan's planning law.
[edit] Kenya
In Kenya, a district (wilayah) is a subdivision of a Province and is headed by a District Officer (DO).
[edit] Korea (South)
A district (gu) is a subdivision of larger cities in South Korea. Smaller cities have no districts, whereas districts in Seoul and six Metropolitan Cities are treated as a city in its own right.
[edit] Malaysia
A district is known as Daerah in Malay. A district governed directly by the federal government is known as a Federal Territory, and they are Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Labuan.
In Peninsular Malaysia, a district is a division of a state. A mukim is a subdivision of a district. The mukim is however of less importance with respect to the administration of local government.
In East Malaysia, a district is a subdivision within a division of a state. For example, Tuaran is a district within the West Coast Division of Sabah. A district is usually named after the main town or its administrative capital, for example, Sandakan town is the capital of the district of Sandakan, as well the capital of Sandakan Division. (Note: Sandakan district is a sub-division of Sandakan Division.)
In Malaysia, a district can be classified as a district itself (e.g: Jerantut in Pahang), a town or municipality (perbandaran) (e.g: Kulim, in Kedah), or a city (bandar raya) (e.g: Kota Kinabalu in Sabah). Each district will be headed by a district officer and administered by a local government either being a District Council, Municipal Council, or a City Council. In some highly urbanised 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 Kinta in Perak which has 3 subdivisions: Ipoh City Council, West Kinta District Council, and South Kinta District 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.
An administrative district border and an electoral district border (constituency) transcends each other and does not correspond with each other in most instances.
[edit] Nauru
The districts of Nauru are the only subdivisions of the whole state.
[edit] 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 urbanised, tend to cover more than one population centre 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 Territory is neither a district nor a city.
A district is not always a simple division of a region, some districts straddle regional boundaries.
[edit] Pakistan
Pakistan's districts are local administrative units inherited from the British Raj. Districts were generally grouped into administrative Divisions, which in turn formed Provinces. Pakistan has 130 districts (including seven in Azad Jammu and Kashmir). They comprise of villages, towns and cities. A District is headed by a District Nazim (Mayor), who is an elected official and the local controller of the district level officers of all the departments under provincial government. The District Nazim heads an elected District Council which is comprised to councilors, who represent various district level constituencies. The councils have a constitutional requirement to be comprised of a minimum of 33% women, there is no upper limit to that; so women can comprise 100% of these councils but men cannot.
[edit] Peru
[edit] Philippines
The usage of the term 'district' (distrito) in the Philippines has similarities to that in the United States.
[edit] Legislative
[edit] National
A constituency with a representative in the lower house of Congress is a congressional district. However, the term congressional district has become synonymous in local parlance as 'representative district,' because, just like in the US, the word 'congress' (konggreso) has come to refer especially just to the lower house (the House of Representatives).
A legislative district, which has a 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), (c.) a single city, (d.) a single independent municipality (currently the only example is the legislative district of San Juan), (e.) a group of geographically adjacent independent cities and independent municipalities, or (f.) a group of barangays within a city.
Each province is guaranteed at least one representative to the lower house, even though it may not come close to having the same population as that of other more populated legislative districts. Only voters within each district are allowed to vote in the election for the member of the House of Representatives from that district.
From 1916 to 1935, the Philippines was divided into 12 senatorial districts, of which 11 elected two members each, for a total of 22 out of the 24 members of the upper house of Congress (the Senate). Since 1935 senators have been elected at large. For more information, see Legislative districts of the Philippines.
[edit] Regional
In addition, each congressional district that falls under the jurisdiction of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (a total of 8) elects three members each to the country's only subnational legislative assembly.
[edit] Provincial
There are provincial districts for the purpose of electing Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Council) members, which follow the congressional district arrangement, except that independent and highly urbanized cities whose charters prevent them from electing provincial officials are excluded. Also, provinces that comprise a lone congressional district are divided into at least two provincial districts.
[edit] Independent Component City and Highly-Urbanized City
There are also city councilor districts for the purpose of electing Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) members, which follow the congressional district arrangement. In cases where the independent city or highly urbanized city does not form two or more congressional districts by itself, it is divided into at least two city council districts.
[edit] Executive
[edit] Current
Districts only exist as an administrative entity in local government, with limited powers. Certain cities, such as Manila and Davao, for administrative purposes, formally divide their jurisdictions into city districts which are composed of several barangays, but the extent of these districts' executive 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.
[edit] Historical
During Spanish and early American colonial rule, certain areas of the Philippines were designated as 'districts,' mainly those which have not been formally organized into provinces or incorporated into existing ones. In the American era, cities and municipalities were divided into city and municipal districts, which served as the lowest level of government before the creation of the barangay.
[edit] Special-purpose districts
Special-purpose districts also exist in the Philippines, created for government departments and agencies. Examples are school districts for the Department of Education (DepEd), engineering districts for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and coast guard districts for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
[edit] Informal districts
Some cities and municipalities also extend the usage of the word 'district' to refer to certain areas, even without having any formal administrative purposes. Examples are the central business districts in Naga City and Makati City.
[edit] Portugal
Districts (distritos) are administrative divisions of Portugal. They do not have an elected government; they are governed by a "civil governor" appointed by the central government. See Districts of Portugal.
[edit] Scotland
In Scotland, local government districts were use from 1975 to 1996.
[edit] Serbia
Serbia is divided into twenty-nine districts (okrug) and the city of Belgrade, each of which is further divided into municipalities (opština)
[edit] Slovakia
In Slovakia, a district (okres) is a local administrative unit.
[edit] South Africa
In South Africa, the district municipality forms the layer of government below the provinces. A district municipality is in turn divided into several local municipalities. This structure varies in the six largest urban areas (Cape Town, Durban, East Rand, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria), where a metropolitan municipality is both a district and a local municipality.
[edit] Sri Lanka
For purposes of local government, the country of Sri Lanka is divided into nine provinces: Western, Central, Southern, Northern, Eastern, North Western, North Central, Uva and Sabaragamuwa. (The Northern and Eastern Provinces have however, technically been jointly administered since 1988.)
The provinces are subdivided into a total of twenty-five administrative districts [2]. The administrative districts are Colombo 642 km², Gampaha 1,393 km² and Kalutara 1,606 km² in the Western Province, Kandy 2,365 km², Matale 1,987 km² and Nuwara Eliya 1,228 km² in the Central Province, Galle 1,673 km², Matara 1,246 km², and Hambantota 2,593 km² in the Southern Province, Jaffna 1,114 km², Mannar 1,963 km², Mullaitivu 1,580 km², Vavuniya 2,642 km². and Kilinochchi 1,171 km² in the Northern Province, Batticaloa 2,463 km², Trincomalee 2,616 km² and Ampara 2,984 km² in the Eastern Province, Kurunegala 4,771 km² and Puttalam 2,976 km² in the North Western Province, Anuradhapura 7,128 km² and Polonnaruwa 3,403 km² in the North Central Province, Badulla 2,818 km² and Moneragala 7,133 km² in the Uva Province, and Ratnapura 3,237 km² and Kegalle 1,663 km² in the Sabaragamuwa Province. [3]
Each of the districts is divided into administrative sub-units known as 'Divisions. These were originally based on the feudal counties, the korales and ratas. 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.
The Districts are known in Sinhala as Disa. Originally a Disa (usually rendered into English as Dissavony) was a duchy, notably Matale and Uva. The Government Agent, who administers a district, is known as a disaapathi - District Governor. The A.G.A. used to be known as the Upa Disaapathi (vice-governor).
[edit] Switzerland
In Switzerland, some cantons organise themselves into districts, while others dispense with districts and govern themselves at the Wahlkreise (Constituency or electoral district) level.
[edit] Thailand
A district ("amphoe") is a subdivision of a Province ("changwat") in Thailand. Some provinces also contain sub-districts ("king amphoe"), which are smaller than the average district.
Districts are a form of local government in several countries.
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[edit] Turkey
In Turkey, a district (Turkish: ilçe) is an administrative subdivision of a province (Turkish: il). See also Districts of Turkey.
[edit] United Kingdom
[edit] England
Districts are the most recognisable form of local government in large parts of England. For those areas which retain two-tier local government, districts usually form the lower tier of that arrangement, with counties forming the upper tier. Districts tend to have responsibility for a number of areas including:
- tax collection (Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rates)
- Leisure Services
- Refuse collection
- Housing
- Planning
- Arts & Entertainment
- Environmental Health
Each district raises taxes from residents on behalf of itself, and the upper tier authority through the Council Tax. It also raises income from business through the Non-Domestic Rates system, which is co-ordinated nationally.
[edit] Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is divided into twenty-six districts for local government purposes. The councils do not carry out the same range of functions as those in the rest of the United Kingdom, e.g. they have no responsibility for education, for road building or for housing (though they do nominate members to the advisory Northern Ireland Housing Council).
Their functions do include waste and recycling services, leisure and community services, building control and local economic and cultural development. They are not planning authorities, but are consulted on some planning applications. Collection of rates (local tax) is handled by the Rate Collection Agency.
[edit] United States
There are several types of district in the United States.
A constituency with a representative in Congress is a congressional district. Each state is organized into one or more such districts; the exact number within each state is based on the most recent census. Only voters within each district are allowed to vote in the election for the member of the House from that district. Overall, there are 435 congressional districts in the United States; each has roughly 630,000 people, with some variance.
A constituency with a representative in a state legislature is a legislative district; the territory over which a federal court has jurisdiction is a federal judicial district.
The District of Columbia is the only part of the United States, excluding territories, that is not located within any of the fifty states.
The United States also has many types of special-purpose districts with limited powers of local government. School districts are the most common, but other types of districts include college districts, hospital districts, utility districts, irrigation districts, port districts, and public transit districts.
Many cities in the late 20th century adopted names for non-governmental districts as a way of increasing recognition and identity of these distinct areas. In New York City, for example, there is the theatre district, the garment district, and districts with names like SoHo and TriBeCa.
Until 1854, the pre-consolidation of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania had some districts acting like cities or towns.
[edit] Vietnam
A district (quận) is an administrative unit lying between a province (or lower province) and higher village.
[edit] See also
Contemporary
Arrondissement · Bailiwick · Banner · Autonomous banner · Barangay · Bairro · Barrio · Block · Borough · County borough · Metropolitan borough · Capital · Federal capital · Canton · Census division · Census geographic unit · Census metropolitan area · Census subdivision · Circle · Circuit · City · Autonomous city · Independent city · Co-Principality · Colony · Commonwealth · Commune · Community · Autonomous community · Residential community · Condiminium · Constituency · County · Administrative county · Autonomous county · Metropolitan county · Council · Croft · Department · Dependency · Federal dependency · District · Autonomous district · Capital district · City district · Federal district · Metropolitan district · Municipal district · Division · Duchy · Freguesia · Governorate · Hamlet · Insular area · Judeţ · Local administrative unit · Local government area · Municipality · District municipality · Regional municipality · Regional county municipality · Rural municipality · Neighbourhood · Oblast · Okrug · Parish · Civil parish · Periphery · Prefecture · Autonomous prefecture · Principality · Protectorate · Province · Autonomous province · Quarter · Regency · Region · Autonomous region · Capital region ·National capital region · Special administrative region · Republic · Autonomous republic · Ranchería · Reservation · Reserve · Shire · State · Subdistrict · Subprefecture · Suzerainty · Territory · Autonomous territorial unit · Capital territory · National territory · Town · Townland · Township · Civil township · Urban (urbanized) area · Village · Vingtaine · Voivodeship · Ward
Historical
Agency · Barony · Burgh · Cantref · Commote · Hundred · Imperial Circle · Imperial Free City · Imperial province · Presidency · Residency · Riding · Rural district · Sanitary district (rural · urban) · Urban district
Boldface indicates a type used by ten or more countries; loanwords in italics.
