:''For the geographical division in the LDS Church, see
District (LDS Church).''
Local government areas called 'districts' are used, or have been used, in several countries.
Austria
Main articles: Districts of 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.
Vienna
Main articles: Districts of 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.
Australia
:''Main articles:
State Electoral Districts,
Cadastral divisions of 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.
New South Wales had several different types of districts used in the nineteenth century.
Azerbaijan
Main articles: Subdivisions of Azerbaijan
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.
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.
Canada
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.
British Columbia
The province of
British Columbia is subdivided into ''
regional districts'', which are more or less analogous to counties in other jurisdictions, each comprising a district seat, a number of municipalities, and unincorporated areas.
Some municipalities in British Columbia are also incorporated as ''
district municipalities'', which essentially function as a city, town, or village.
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[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.
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.
China
Main articles: Districts of 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.
Colombia
★ In Colombia a 'district' is a special administrative unit. 10 areas within Colombia are designated as districts.
Barranquilla have Special Industrial Port District,
Cartagena Tourism and Cultural District;
Bogotá Capital District and
Santa Marta Historical, Tourims and Cultural District, Historial and Cultural District of Tunja, Special, Ecoturistic, Historical and Universitarian District of Popayán, Special Portuarial District of Turbo, Special Industrial, Portuarial, Biodiverse and Ecoturistic, District of Tumaco, Special Border and Turistic District of Cúcuta and Special Industrial, Portuarial, Biodiverse and Ecoturistic, District of Buenaventura
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
Administrative division of the German Democratic Republic.
Hong Kong
Main articles: Districts of Hong Kong
Hong Kong is divided into eighteen districts, each with a district council.
India
Main articles: Districts of India
India's districts (; /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.
Iraq
Main articles: Districts of 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.
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.
Kenya
In
Kenya, a district (''
wilayah'') is a subdivision of a
Province and is headed by a District Officer (DO).
Korea (South)
Main articles: Subdivisions of South Korea
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.
Malaysia
Main articles: Districts of 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.
Nauru
The
districts of Nauru are the only subdivisions of the whole state.
New Zealand
Main articles: Territorial Authorities of 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.
Pakistan
Main articles: Districts of 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 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 composed of councilors, who represent various district-level constituencies. The councils have a constitutional requirement to be composed of a minimum of 33% women, there is no upper limit to that; so women can comprise 100% of these councils but men cannot.
Peru
See
Districts of Peru
Philippines
The usage of the term 'district' (''distrito'') in the Philippines has similarities to that in the United States.
Legislative
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 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),
(c.) a single city,
(d.) a group of geographically adjacent independent cities and independent municipalities (currently the only example is the
Pateros-Taguig, or
(e.) 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.
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.
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.
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 city does not form two or more congressional districts by itself, it is divided into at least two city council districts.
Executive
Current
Districts exist as an administrative entity only in local government, with limited powers. Certain cities, such as
Manila,
Iloilo and
Davao, for administrative purposes, formally divide their jurisdictions into city districts which are composed of several
barangays, but the extent of these districts' 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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Scotland
Main articles: Regions and districts of Scotland
In
Scotland, local government districts were use from 1975 to 1996.
Serbia
Main articles: Districts of Serbia
Serbia is divided into twenty-nine
districts (''
okrug'') and the city of
Belgrade, each of which is further divided into
municipalities (''
opština'')
Slovakia
Main articles: Districts of Slovakia
In Slovakia, a district (''
okres'') is a local administrative unit.
South Africa
Districts of 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.
Sri Lanka
Main articles: Districts of 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.)
Each of the districts is divided into administrative sub-units known as 'Divisions. These were originally based on the feudal
counties, the ''korale''s and ''rata''s. 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.
Switzerland
Main articles: Districts of 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.
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.
Turkey
In
Turkey, a district () is an administrative subdivision of a province (). See also
Districts of Turkey.
United Kingdom
England
Main articles: Districts of 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.
Northern Ireland
Main articles: Districts of 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.
United States
Satellite photograph of the District of Columbia.
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. Perhaps most apparently in Los Angeles, various areas and neighborhoods within the city are specified as districts. For instance, Hollywood is a district of Los Angeles, whereas Beverly Hills is an independent city, with its own government and police department. This can often lead to confusion among foreigners and natives alike, as the difference between districts, suburbs and neighboring cities is often quite ambiguous, for they all make up the greater LA area. As with any city, the important distinction is that areas classified as districts are still part of the parent city.
Various federal, regional and local agencies such as the
National Register of Historic Places recognize
historic districts.
Until 1854, the pre-consolidation of
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania had some districts acting like cities or towns.
Vietnam
A district (''quận'') is an administrative unit lying between a province (or lower province) and higher village.
See also
★
Lists of unofficial regions by country
★
Municipality
★
Traditional districts of Norway
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