Province

A province is almost always an administrative demarcation within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman province, which was the main territorial and administrative unit of the territorial possessions of the Roman Empire outside of Italy. Since then, the term province has been adopted by many countries. In some countries without actual provinces, "the provinces" is a metaphorical term meaning "outside the capital city."

While some provinces were artificially created by colonial powers, others were formed around local groups with their own ethnic identities. Many have their own powers independent of central or federal authority, especially in Canada and Pakistan. In other countries, such as China or France, the provinces are the creation of the central government, with very little autonomy.

History

The word was introduced by the Romans, who divided the Roman Empire into provinces, and was designated to the territories conquered outside the Italian peninsula. In Latin, the word province was thought to be formed from the words pro ("for") and vincia ("victory")., but this etymology is not considered correct today.

In Romance-speaking countries, such as Spain, Italy, and France, the word province was applied to important administrative units only lower than kingdoms. In the Spanish Empire, it corresponded to territorial divisions, which also used to be called corregimientos, because they were jurisdictions of a corregidor. After the Bourbon reforms, the province corresponded to territorial divisions controlled by a governor-intendant. They also used to be called intendencies for being the jurisdiction of a governor-intendant in the case of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.

After the French Revolution the term province fell into disuse within France. In the middle of the XIX century, in some Ibero-American nations such as Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela it was called province i> to the constituent administrative units and due to the influence of the United States, these nations with reforms of their constitution came to be called states for being within a federal regime. For example, the word province, as it is in the use of the phrase "Mexican province" includes as meaning that of a territory within the country with the exception of its capital, but the term fell out of favour.

In the Netherlands and Belgium, the designation province is maintained for the main administrative units of such states. In Bulgaria the word oblast is usually synonymous with province.

In Argentina, the denomination province is maintained to mean any federated state that constitutes the Republic. In Canada, one of the most decentralized states in the world, the name province is still used in both English and French. In the case of Chile, an administrative unit that was subordinated by the central state was called a province and in the 1970s, given its small territorial dimensions, they were grouped into regions as a division of the first order and the provinces as a second order division.

In Bolivia and some departments of Colombia, the second-order administrative unit is called province. Different from what is called in Argentina, a country in which a province is the administrative unit of the first order.

By extension, although the name of province is not used, the main geographic-political divisions of countries are generally translated with this category, an example of this: the vilayas or vilayatos of countries with a preponderance of Muslim culture usually receive the name of provinces in Spanish.

Provinces and equivalents in different countries

Currently

As the first administrative level

Country	Local name(s)	Language	Amount
AfghanistanAfghanistan	Wilaya	Persian	34
AngolaAngola	Province	Portuguese	18
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia	Mintaqa	Arab	13
AlgeriaAlgeria	Wilaya	Arab	48
Argentina	Province	Spanish	23 + 1
ArmeniaArmenia	Marz	Armenian	11
BelarusBelarus	Voblast	Belarus	7
BelgiumBelgium	Provincie, Province	Dutch, French	10
BulgariaBulgaria	Oblast	Bulgarian	28
BurundiBurundi	Province	English	17
CambodiaCambodia	Khaet	Cambodian	20
CanadaCanada	Province	English, French	10
ChinaChina	Sheng	Chinese Mandarin	22 + 1
Costa RicaCosta Rica	Province	Spanish	7
North KoreaNorth Korea	Do or To	Korean	9
South KoreaSouth Korea	Do	Korean	9
CubaCuba	Province	Spanish	15 + 1
EcuadorEcuador	Province	Spanish	24
Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea	Province, Province, Província	English, French, Portuguese	7
FiyiFiyi	Yasana	Fiyiano	14
FinlandFinland	Maakunnat, Landskap	Fines, Swedish	19
GabonGabon	Province	French	9
GreeceGreece	Eparchia	Greek	73
IndonesiaIndonesia	Provinsi or Propinsi	Indonesian	33
IranIran	Ostān	Persian	30
Ireland	County	English	26
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan	Oblys	Kazajo	14
KenyaKenya	Province or Region	English, suajili	8
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan	Oblasty	Kirguís	7
LaosLaos	Kang	Lao	16
Mongolia	Aymag o Aimag	Mongol	21
MozambiqueMozambique	Province	Portuguese	10
NepalNepal	Pradesh	Nepali	7
Norway Norway	Fylke	Norwegian	19
NetherlandsNetherlands	Provincie	Dutch	12
PakistanPakistan	Suba	Urdu	4
Panama Panama	Province	Spanish	10
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea	Province	English	19
Dominican RepublicDominican Republic	Province	Spanish	31 + 1
Democratic Republic of the CongoDemocratic Republic of the Congo	Province	French	26
RwandaRwanda	Intara	Kiñaruanda	5
Russia Russia	Óblast	Russian	46
Sao Tome and Principe	Province	Portuguese	2
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Province	English	9
Sierra LeoneSierra Leone	Province	English	4
South Africa	Province	English	9
Sweden Sweden	län	Swedish	21
SwitzerlandSwitzerland	Canton, Kanton, Cantone, Chantun	French, German, Italian, Romance	26
Sri LankaSri Lanka	Palāta, Mānaam	Cingalés, Tamil	9
Tajikistan	Viloyat	Tayiko	4
Thailand	Changwat	Thai	76
TurkeyTurkey	Il	Turkish	81
Turkmenistan	Welayat	Turkish	5
Ukraine Ukraine	Óblast	Ukraine	24
UzbekistanUzbekistan	Wiloyat	Uzbeko	12
VanuatuVanuatu	Province	English, French	6
VietnamVietnam	t modificationnh	Vietnam	58
Zambia	Province	English	9
ZimbabweZimbabwe	Province	English	8 + 2

As a second administrative level

Country	Local name(s)	Language	Amount
BoliviaBolivia	Province	Spanish	112
Burkina FasoBurkina Faso	Province	French	45
ChileChile	Province	Spanish	56
ColombiaColombia	Province or subregion	Spanish	141
SpainSpain	Province	Spanish	50
PhilippinesPhilippines	Lalawigan or probinsya	Filipino	81
ItalyItaly	Province	Italian	110
MoroccoMorocco	Wilaya	Arab	45
OmanOman	Wilaya	Arab	62
Peru Peru	Province	Spanish	196
Republic of China	(Shěng)	Chinese	2

Historical

Medieval and Feudal

• The provinces (province) of the Roman Empire.
• The nomos of Pharaonic Egypt.
• The Exarched and Thems of the Byzantine Empire.
• The satrapies of the accumulating Persian Empire.
• The subahs of the Mogol Empire.
• The caliphates and subsequent sultanates: see Emirato.
• Kanato can mean both province and independent state, as anyone can be directed by a kan.
• The gau and counties of the Carolingian Empire and the Holy German Roman Empire.
• The länder of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
• The provinces of the Ottoman Empire.
• The provinces of the Republic of the Two Nations.

Colonial and Early Modern Period

• Spanish Empire, in several steps:
  • Rule.
  • Intendence.
  • Provinces of Spanish America.
  • Provinces of Spanish Africa.
• British Empire:
  • Provinces of India.
  • Provinces of New Zealand.
  • Provinces of Nigeria.
  • South Australia Province.
  • Provinces of British America.
• The old provinces of Bhutan.
• The old provinces of Korea.
• The old provinces of Ethiopia.
• The old provinces of France.
• The old provinces of Ireland.
• The old provinces of Madagascar.
• The old provinces of Japan.
• The old provinces of Venezuela.
• The provinces of Prussia, an ancient German state.
• The provinces of the Empire of Brazil.
• The provinces of the Republic of New Granada.
• The historic provinces of Finland.
• The historic provinces of Sweden.
• The former Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands.
• The former Republic of the United Provinces of the Centre of America.
• The former Republic of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata.
• The former Republic of the United Provinces of New Granada.
• The former Republic of the United Provinces of Venezuela.