Canton (country subdivision)

For other uses, see Canton (disambiguation).

A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared to other administrative divisions such as counties, departments or provinces. Internationally the best-known cantons, and the most politically important, are those of Switzerland. As the constituents of the Swiss Confederation, theoretically (and historically) the Swiss cantons are sovereign states.

The term is derived from the French word canton meaning corner or district (from which "Cantonment" is also derived).

Cantons in specific countries

Cantons exist (or existed) in the following countries:

• Cantons of Belgium
• Cantons of Bolivia
• Cantons of Bosnia and Herzegovina: a subdivision of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Canada: Canadian French equivalent for the English word "township", since the translation municipalité is already used for a different level of government (see township).
  • Cantons of Quebec
• Cantons of Costa Rica: subdivisions below the provinces of Costa Rica
• Cantons of Ecuador: subdivisions below the provinces of Ecuador
• Cantons of El Salvador: divisions of a municipality outside the more urban caserios, which border the town or city. Cantones can be thought as the more rural parts of a city or town, generally far from the actual urban population.
• Cantons of France: a subdivision of 'arrondissements' and départements, grouping several 'communes'
• Cantons of Lebanon, unofficial areas controlled by the various militias and factions during the Lebanese Civil War and afterwards. Most areas have been returned to Lebanese government control.
• Cantons of Luxembourg: a subdivision of the districts of Luxembourg
• Cantons of Switzerland: each a semi-sovereign state within Switzerland
• subdivisions of vingtaines in Jersey
• Juridical district in the Netherlands^{[citation needed]}

Cantons in former countries

• Cantons of the Ottoman Empire, also called kaza a subdivision of a sanjak
• Cantons of the Soviet Union, subdivisions of several autonomous regions of the Soviet Union before 1941
• In 1873, "Cantonalists" took over the city of Cartagena, Spain, a haven for the Spanish Navy, and declared the city independent (see Cantonal Revolution)