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In addition to its other uses, the word "area" may refer to any of the following types of country subdivisions:

• Local Government Area
• Insular area
• Urban planning areas in Singapore
  • Central Area
• Census Metropolitan Area
• National Recreation Area
• Lieutenancy area
• Metropolitan area
• Urban area
• Combined Statistical Area
• United States metropolitan area
• United States urban area
• Urban areas of New Zealand
• Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

The combined area of these three shapes is between 15 and 16 squares.

Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat. It is the two-dimensional analog of the length of a curve (a one-dimensional concept) or the volume of a solid (a three-dimensional concept).

The area of a shape can be measured by comparing the shape to squares of a fixed size. In the International System of Units (SI), the standard unit of area is the square metre (m²), which is the area of a square whose sides are one metre long.^[1] A shape with an area of three square metres would have the same area as three such squares. In mathematics, the unit square is defined to have area one, and the area of any other shape or surface is a dimensionless real number.

There are several well-known formulas for the areas of simple shapes such as triangles, rectangles, and circles. Using these formulas, the area of any polygon can be found by dividing the polygon into triangles.^[2] For shapes with curved boundary, calculus is usually required to compute the area. Indeed, the problem of determining the area of plane figures was a major motivation for the historical development of calculus.^[3]

For a solid shape such as a sphere, cone, or cylinder, the area of its boundary surface is called the surface area. Formulas for the surface areas of simple shapes were computed by the ancient Greeks, but computing the surface area of a more complicated shape usually requires multivariable calculus.

Area plays an important role in modern mathematics. In addition to its obvious importance in geometry and calculus, area is related to the definition of determinants in linear algebra, and is a basic property of surfaces in differential geometry.^[4] In analysis, the area of a subset of the plane is defined using Lebesgue measure,^[5] though not every subset is measurable. In general, area in higher mathematics is seen as a special case of volume for two-dimensional regions.

Formal definition[link]

An approach to defining what is meant by area is through axioms. For example, we may define area as a function a from a collection M of special kind of plane figures (termed measurable sets) to the set of real numbers which satisfies the following properties:

• For all S in M, a(S) ≥ 0.
• If S and T are in M then so are S ∪ T and S ∩ T, and also a(S∪T) = a(S) + a(T) − a(S∩T).
• If S and T are in M with S ⊆ T then T − S is in M and a(T−S) = a(T) − a(S).
• If a set S is in M and S is congruent to T then T is also in M and a(S) = a(T).
• Every rectangle R is in M. If the rectangle has length h and breadth k then a(R) = hk.
• Let Q be a set enclosed between two step regions S and T. A step region is formed from a finite union of adjacent rectangles resting on a common base, i.e. S ⊆ Q ⊆ T. If there is a unique number c such that a(S) ≤ c ≤ a(T) for all such step regions S and T, then a(Q) = c.

It can be proved that such an area function actually exists. (See, for example, Elementary Geometry from an Advanced Standpoint by Edwin Moise.)

Units[link]

A square metre quadrat made of PVC pipe.

Every unit of length has a corresponding unit of area, namely the area of a square with the given side length. Thus areas can be measure in square metres (m²), square centimetres (cm²), square millimetres (mm²), square kilometres (km²), square feet (ft²), square yards (yd²), square miles (mi²), and so forth. Algebraically, these units can be thought of as the squares of the corresponding length units.

The SI unit of area is the square metre, which is considered an SI derived unit.

Conversions[link]

Although there are 10 mm in 1 cm, there are 100 mm² in 1 cm².

The conversion between two square units is the square of the conversion between the corresponding length units. For example, since

1 foot = 12 inches,

the relationship between square feet and square inches is

1 square foot = 144 square inches,

where 144 = 12² = 12 × 12. Similarly:

• 1 square kilometer = 1,000,000 square meters
• 1 square meter = 10,000 square centimetres = 1,000,000 square millimetres
• 1 square centimetre = 100 square millimetres
• 1 square yard = 9 square feet
• 1 square mile = 3,097,600 square yards = 27,878,400 square feet

In addition,

• 1 square inch = 6.4516 square centimetres
• 1 square foot = 0.09290304 square metres
• 1 square yard = 0.83612736 square metres
• 1 square mile = 2.589988110336 square kilometres

Other units[link]

There are several other common units for area. The are was the original unit of area in the metric system, with

• 1 are = 100 square metres

Though the are has fallen out of use, the hectare is still commonly used to measure land:

• 1 hectare = 100 ares = 10,000 square metres = 0.01 square kilometres

Other uncommon metric units of area include the tetrad, the hectad, and the myriad.

The acre is also commonly used to measure land areas, where

• 1 acre = 4,840 square yards = 43,560 square feet.

An acre is approximately 40% of a hectare.

On the atomic scale, area is measured in units of barns, such that,

• 1 barn = 10⁻²⁸ square meters.

The barn is commonly used in describing the cross sectional area of interaction in nuclear physics.

Basic area formula[link]

Rectangles[link]

The area of this rectangle is lw.

The most basic area formula is the formula for the area of a rectangle. Given a rectangle with length l and w, the formula for the area is

A = lw  (rectangle).

That is, the area of the rectangle is the length multiplied by the width. As a special case, the area of a square with side length s is given by the formula

A = s²  (square).

The formula for the area of a rectangle follows directly from the basic properties of area, and is sometimes taken as a definition or axiom. On the other hand, if geometry is developed before arithmetic, this formula can be used to define multiplication of real numbers.

Equal area figures.

Dissection formulae[link]

Most other simple formulae for area follow from the method of dissection. This involves cutting a shape into pieces, whose areas must sum to the area of the original shape.

For an example, any parallelogram can be subdivided into a trapezoid and a right triangle, as shown in figure to the left. If the triangle is moved to the other side of the trapezoid, then the resulting figure is a rectangle. It follows that the area of the parallelogram is the same as the area of the rectangle:

A = bh  (parallelogram).

Two equal triangles.

However, the same parallelogram can also be cut along a diagonal into two congruent triangles, as shown in the figure to the right. It follows that the area of each triangle is half the area of the parallelogram:

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): A = \frac{1}{2}bh

 (triangle).

Similar arguments can be used to find area formulae for the trapezoid and the rhombus, as well as more complicated polygons.

Circles[link]

A circle can be divided into sectors which rearrange to form an approximate parallelogram.

The formula for the area of a circle is based on a similar method. Given a circle of radius r, it is possible to partition the circle into sectors, as shown in the figure to the right. Each sector is approximately triangular in shape, and the sectors can be rearranged to form and approximate parallelogram. The height of this parallelogram is r, and the width is half the circumference of the circle, or πr. Thus, the total area of the circle is r × πr, or πr²:

A = πr²  (circle).

Though the dissection used in this formula is only approximate, the error becomes smaller and smaller as the circle is partitioned into more and more sectors. The limit of the areas of the approximate parallelograms is exactly πr², which is the area of the circle.

This argument is actually a simple application of the ideas of calculus. In ancient times, the method of exhaustion was used in a similar way to find the area of the circle, and this method is now recognized as a precursor to integral calculus. Using modern methods, the area of a circle can be computed using a definite integral:

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): A \;=\; \int_{-r}^r 2\sqrt{r^2 - x^2}\,dx \;=\; \pi r^2.

Surface area[link]

Archimedes showed that the surface area and volume of a sphere is exactly 2/3 of the area and volume of the surrounding cylindrical surface.

Most basic formulae for surface area can be obtained by cutting surfaces and flattening them out. For example, if the side surface of a cylinder (or any prism) is cut lengthwise, the surface can be flattened out into a rectangle. Similarly, if a cut is made along the side of a cone, the side surface can be flattened out into a sector of a circle, and the resulting area computed.

The formula for the surface area of a sphere is more difficult: because the surface of a sphere has nonzero Gaussian curvature, it cannot be flattened out. The formula for the surface area of a sphere was first obtained by Archimedes in his work On the Sphere and Cylinder. The formula is

A = 4πr²  (sphere).

where r is the radius of the sphere. As with the formula for the area of a circle, any derivation of this formula inherently uses methods similar to calculus.

List of formulae[link]

is the length of one side of the triangle.

is half the perimeter, Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): a

and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): c
are the length of each side.

and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): b
are any two sides, and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): C
is the angle between them.

and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): h
are the base and altitude (measured perpendicular to the base), respectively.

is the length of one side of the square.

and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): w
are the lengths of the rectangle's sides (length and width).

and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): b
are the lengths of the two diagonals of the rhombus.

is the length of the base and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): h
is the perpendicular height.

and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): b
are the parallel sides and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): h
the distance (height) between the parallels.

is the length of one side of the hexagon.

is the length of one side of the octagon.

     is the side length and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): n
is the number of sides.

     is the perimeter and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): n
is the number of sides.

     is the radius of a circumscribed circle, Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): r
is the radius of an inscribed circle, and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): n
is the number of sides.

is the apothem, or the radius of an inscribed circle in the polygon, and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): p
is the perimeter of the polygon.

is the radius and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): d
the diameter.

and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \theta
are the radius and angle (in radians), respectively.

and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): b
are the semi-major and semi-minor axes, respectively.

and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): h
are the radius and height, respectively.

and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): h
are the radius and height, respectively.

and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): l
are the radius and slant height, respectively.

and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): l
are the radius and slant height, respectively.

and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): d
are the radius and diameter, respectively.

is the base area, Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): P
is the base perimeter and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): L
is the slant height.

is the area of the square in square units.

is the area of the circle in circular units.

The above calculations show how to find the area of many common shapes.

The area of irregular polygons can be calculated using the "Surveyor's formula".^[6]

Additional formulae[link]

Areas of 2-dimensional figures[link]

• a triangle: Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \tfrac12Bh

(where B is any side, and h is the distance from the line on which B lies to the other vertex of the triangle). This formula can be used if the height h is known. If the lengths of the three sides are known then Heron's formula can be used: Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \sqrt{s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c)}
where a, b, c are the sides of the triangle, and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): s = \tfrac12(a + b + c)
is half of its perimeter. If an angle and its two included sides are given, the area is Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \tfrac12 a b \sin(C)
where C is the given angle and a and b are its included sides.  If the triangle is graphed on a coordinate plane, a matrix can be used and is simplified to the absolute value of Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \tfrac12(x_1 y_2 + x_2 y_3 + x_3 y_1 - x_2 y_1 - x_3 y_2 - x_1 y_3)

. This formula is also known as the shoelace formula and is an easy way to solve for the area of a coordinate triangle by substituting the 3 points (x₁,y₁), (x₂,y₂), and (x₃,y₃). The shoelace formula can also be used to find the areas of other polygons when their vertices are known. Another approach for a coordinate triangle is to use Infinitesimal calculus to find the area.

• a simple polygon constructed on a grid of equal-distanced points (i.e., points with integer coordinates) such that all the polygon's vertices are grid points: Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): i + \frac{b}{2} - 1

, where i is the number of grid points inside the polygon and b is the number of boundary points. This result is known as Pick's theorem.

Area in calculus[link]

Integration can be thought of as measuring the area under a curve, defined by f(x), between two points (here a and b).

The area between two graphs can be evaluated by calculating the difference between the integrals of the two functions

• The area between a positive-valued curve and the horizontal axis, measured between two values a and b (b>a) on the horizontal axis, is given by the integral from a to b of the function that represents the curve.
• The area between the graphs of two functions is equal to the integral of one function, f(x), minus the integral of the other function, g(x).
• An area bounded by a function r = r(θ) expressed in polar coordinates is Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): {1 \over 2} \int_0^{2\pi} r^2 \, d\theta

.

• The area enclosed by a parametric curve Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \vec u(t) = (x(t), y(t))

with endpoints Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.):  \vec u(t_0) = \vec u(t_1) 
is given by the line integrals

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \oint_{t_0}^{t_1} x \dot y \, dt = - \oint_{t_0}^{t_1} y \dot x \, dt = {1 \over 2} \oint_{t_0}^{t_1} (x \dot y - y \dot x) \, dt

(see Green's theorem) or the z-component of

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): {1 \over 2} \oint_{t_0}^{t_1} \vec u \times \dot{\vec u} \, dt.

Surface area of 3-dimensional figures[link]

• cone: Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \pi r\left(r + \sqrt{r^2 + h^2}\right)

, where r is the radius of the circular base, and h is the height. That can also be rewritten as Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \pi r^2 + \pi r l

where r is the radius and l is the slant height of the cone. Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \pi r^2 
is the base area while Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \pi r l 
is the lateral surface area of the cone.

• cube: Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): 6s^2

, where s is the length of an edge.

• cylinder: Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): 2\pi r(r + h)

, where r is the radius of a base and h is the height. The 2Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \pi r can also be rewritten as Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \pi

d, where d is the diameter.

• prism: 2B + Ph, where B is the area of a base, P is the perimeter of a base, and h is the height of the prism.
• pyramid: Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): B + \frac{PL}{2}

, where B is the area of the base, P is the perimeter of the base, and L is the length of the slant.

• rectangular prism: Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): 2 (\ell w + \ell h + w h)

, where Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \ell

is the length, w is the width, and h is the height.

General formula[link]

The general formula for the surface area of the graph of a continuously differentiable function Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): z=f(x,y),

where Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): (x,y)\in D\subset\mathbb{R}^2
and Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): D
is a region in the xy-plane with the smooth boundary:

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): A=\iint_D\sqrt{\left(\frac{\partial f}{\partial x}\right)^2+\left(\frac{\partial f}{\partial y}\right)^2+1}\,dx\,dy.

Even more general formula for the area of the graph of a parametric surface in the vector form Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \mathbf{r}=\mathbf{r}(u,v),

where Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \mathbf{r}
is a continuously differentiable vector function of Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): (u,v)\in D\subset\mathbb{R}^2

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): A=\iint_D \left|\frac{\partial\mathbf{r}}{\partial u}\times\frac{\partial\mathbf{r}}{\partial v}\right|\,du\,dv.

^[4]

Minimization[link]

Given a wire contour, the surface of least area spanning ("filling") it is a minimal surface. Familiar examples include soap bubbles.

The question of the filling area of the Riemannian circle remains open.

See also[link]

• Equi-areal mapping
• Integral
• Orders of magnitude (area)—A list of areas by size.
• Perimeter
• Planimeter, an instrument for measuring small areas, e.g. on maps.
• Volume

References[link]

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Area

Look up area in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Weisstein, Eric W., "Area" from MathWorld.
• Area Calculator
• Area formulas
• Conversion cable diameter to circle cross-sectional area and vice versa

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2011)

For "administrative division" in the sense of a company department, see: Division (business).

World administrative divisions

An administrative division, subnational entity, or country subdivision is a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government. Administrative divisions are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own local governments. Countries are divided up into these smaller units to make managing their land and the affairs of their people easier. For example, a country may be divided into provinces, which in turn are divided into counties, which in turn may be divided in whole or in part into municipalities. These are only a few of the names given to administrative subdivisions; more examples are provided below.

Administrative divisions are conceptually separate from dependent territories, with the former being an integral part of the state and the other being only under some lesser form of control. However, the term "administrative division" can include dependent territories as well as accepted administrative divisions (for example, in geographical databases).

Examples of administrative divisions[link]

English terms[link]

In many of the following terms corresponding to British cultural influence, areas of relatively low mean population density might bear a title of an entity one would expect to be either larger or smaller. There is no fixed rule, for "all politics is local" as is perhaps well demonstrated by their relative lack of systemic order. In the realm of self-government, any of these can and does occur along a stretch of road—which for the most part is passing through rural unsettled countryside. Since the terms are administrative political subdivisions of the local regional government their exact relationship and definitions are subject to home rule considerations, tradition, as well as state statute law and local governmental (administrative) definition and control. In the British cultural legacy, most regional entities begin with fairly expansive counties which encompass an appreciable territorial area and proceed down in size to smaller entities.

Within those entities are the large and small cities or towns, which may or may not be the county seat. Some of the world's larger cities culturally, if not officially, span into multiple counties and those crossing state or provincial boundaries culturally are quite common as well, but are rarely incorporated within the same municipal government. Many sister cities share a water boundary which quite often serves as a border of both cities and counties. For example, Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts appear to the casual traveler as one large city, while locally they each are quite culturally different and occupy different counties.

• Area
• Autonomous communities, as in the Autonomous communities of Spain
• Commune
• County
• Country - the United Kingdom is subdivided into 'constituent countries' e.g. Scotland
• Constituency - usually refers to an electoral division (which is not an administrative division), but in Namibia and in Canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, "constituency" means "administrative division".
• Department
• Despotate (not subnational)
• District
• Division
• Duchy (partial subnational)
• Empire (not subnational)
• Härad, Herred, Hundred, Kihlakunta
• Kingdom
• Local council
• Municipality
  • Rural
  • Regional
  • Regional county
• Okrug
• Parish
• Prefecture
• Principality (partial subnational)
• Province
• Public body (the general denomination for administrative divisions in the Netherlands)
• Region
• Republic (partial subnational)
• Riding
• State
• Special administrative region
• Territory
• Voivodship

Urban or rural regions:

• Borough or alternatively, "boro"
• Burgh
• City
• Shire
• Town
• Township
• Village

Indigenous:

• Tribe
• Indian reservation
• Indian reserve
• Band

Native terms[link]

See: List of terms for administrative divisions

Consistent translation from original language is sometimes difficult.

Compare[link]

• Sovereign state, a national or supra-national division.
• Country, a national or supra-national division.
• Empire, a supra-national division.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Subnational entities

• Political division
• Administrative division codes of the People's Republic of China
• ISO 3166-2 Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 2
• List of terms for administrative divisions
• List of etymologies of country subdivision names
• List of country subdivisions by population
• List of the largest country subdivisions by area
• Table of administrative country subdivisions by country
• List of administrative division name changes
• List of current constituent monarchs
• GADM, a high-resolution database of country administrative areas

External links[link]

• United Nations' Second Administrative Level Boundaries (SALB) dataset
• "Statoids" - an international convention with standard two-letter, multi-level summaries (e.g. GH.AH.AE represents Adansi East in the Accra Home region in Ghana)

European topographical map

Same map as above, but showing sovereign states widely accepted by the UN instead of topographies

A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated peoples with distinct political characteristics. Regardless of the physical geography, in the modern internationally accepted legal definition as defined by the League of Nations in 1937 and reaffirmed by the United Nations in 1945, a resident of a country is subject to the independent exercise of legal jurisdiction.

Sometimes the word country is used to refer both to sovereign states and to other political entities,^[1][2][3] while other times it refers only to states.^[4] For example, the CIA World Factbook uses the word in its "Country name" field to refer to "a wide variety of dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, uninhabited islands, and other entities in addition to the traditional countries or independent states".^[5]

Etymology and usage[link]

The word country has developed from the Late Latin contra meaning "against", used in the sense of "that which lies against, or opposite to, the view", i.e. the landscape spread out to the view. From this came the Late Latin term contrata, which became the modern Italian contrada. The term appears in the Vulgate version of Matthew 12:30 "Qui non est mecum, contra me est: et qui non congregat mihi, spargit. (He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.) In many ways this defined the agonistic world view of the early Christian identity in Europe.^[6] From this new theological World view several different senses of the term developed in Middle English from the 13th century, all reflecting a sense of either opposition, or occupation.^[7]

In English the word has increasingly become associated with political divisions, so that one sense, associated with the indefinite article – "a country" – is now a synonym for state, or a former sovereign state, in the sense of sovereign territory or "district, native land".^[8] Areas much smaller than a political state may be called by names such as the West Country in England, the Black Country (a heavily industrialized part of England), "Constable Country" (a part of East Anglia painted by John Constable), the "big country" (used in various contexts of the American West), "coal country" (used of parts of the US and elsewhere) and many other terms.^[9]

The equivalent terms in French and Romance languages (pays and variants) have not carried the process of being identified with political sovereign states as far as the English "country", instead derived from, pagus, which designated the territory controlled by a medieval count, a title originally granted by the Roman Church. In many European countries the words are used for sub-divisions of the national territory, as in the German Länder, as well as a less formal term for a sovereign state. France has very many "pays" that are officially recognised at some level, and are either natural regions, like the Pays de Bray, or reflect old political or economic unities, like the Pays de la Loire. At the same time Wales, the United States, and Brazil are also "pays" in everyday French speech.

A version of "country" can be found in the modern French language as contrée, based on the word cuntrée in Old French,^[9] that is used similarly to the word "pays" to define regions and unities, but can also be used to describe a political state in some particular cases. The modern Italian contrada is a word with its meaning varying locally, but usually meaning a ward or similar small division of a town, or a village or hamlet in the countryside.

Nations[link]

Although not sovereign states, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (in the United Kingdom) are examples of entities that are regarded and referred to as countries.^{[10][11][12][13]} Former states such as Bavaria (now part of Germany) and Piedmont (now part of Italy) would not normally be referred to as "countries" in contemporary English.^{[citation needed]}

The degree of autonomy of non-sovereign countries varies widely. Some are possessions of sovereign states, as several states have overseas dependencies (such as the British Virgin Islands (GBR) and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (FRA)), with citizenry at times identical and at times distinct from their own. Such dependent territories are sometimes listed together with sovereign states on lists of countries, and may be treated as a "country of origin" in international trade, as Hong Kong is.

Countries of the world[link]

The term "country" is commonly used to refer to sovereign states. There is no universal agreement on the number of "countries" in the world, seeing as a number of states have disputed sovereignty status. There are 206 total states, with 193 states participating in the United Nations and 15 states whose sovereignty status is disputed. The newest state is South Sudan.^[14]

See also[link]

• List of sovereign states
• Constituent country

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Defining what makes a country The Economist

External links[link]

Look up country in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Canada Foreign Affairs Travel Advisories
• The CIA World Factbook
• Country Portals from the United States Department of State, including Background Notes
• Country Profiles from BBC News
• Country Studies from the United States Library of Congress
• Foreign Information by Country and Country & Territory Guides from GovPubs at UCB Libraries
• PopulationData.net
• United Nations statistics division

Look up subdivide, subdivided, subdivision, or subdivisions in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Subdivision may refer to:

• Administrative subdivision, a portion of a country or other political division, established for the purpose of government
  • Subdivision (land), a term for an urban or suburban area, especially if recently parceled up into smaller plots for new uses
  • Census geographic units of Canada (Census subdivision), a term used in Canada
• Subdivision (meter), a term for division of the beat in music
• Subdivision (botany), a taxonomic rank below a phylum and equivalent to a subphylum
• Subdivision (rank), a taxonomic rank
• Subdivision (film), starring Gary Sweet
• Subdivision (graph theory), mathematics
• "Subdivision" (Prison Break episode), the twenty-eighth episode of American television series Prison Break
• "Subdivisions" (song), by the rock group Rush
• Subdivisions (EP), an EP consisting of re-interpretations of songs from Clearing the Channel (2005)
• Subdivision surface, a term in computer graphics
• Trackage, specifically a named section (North American usage)

See also[link]

• Division (disambiguation)
• All pages with titles containing "Subdivision"
• All pages beginning with "Subdivision"

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