List of administrative divisions of South America

The table below indicates the types and numbers of administrative divisions used by countries having territories in South America and their major dependent territories. It is ordered alphabetically by country name in English.

France's territory in South America is French Guiana. The Netherlands' territories in South America are Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. The United Kingdom's territories in South America are the Falklands Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

Table

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Country

Administrative divisions
 
First-level Second-level Third-level Fourth-level
and smaller
  Argentina 22 provincias p 376 departamentos d (m)[1] municipalidadm localidades
Buenos Aires Province p 135 partidos d m localidades (districts) cities and towns
City of Buenos Airesc d m[2] 15 comunas [3] 48 barrios 
  Brazil 27 unidades federativas :[4]
26 estados  5,564 municípios m
Distrito Federalc 31 regiões administrativas [5]
  Chile 16 regiones r 50+ provincias p 320+ comunas m
  Colombia 32 departamentos 
Bogotác
1100+ municipiosm Comunas o Localidades 
2000+ corregimientos
Barrios 
Veredas
  Ecuador 24 provincias p 210+ cantones  1000+ parròquias
  France 27 régions, including:

- 5 régions d'outre-mer
  French Guiana
  Guadeloupe
  Martinique
  Mayotte
  Réunion
- 1 sui generis collectivité territoriale  [6] r

101 départements  p
342 arrondissements d
36781 communes m
1 [state private property under the direct authority of the French government]: Clipperton Island
5 collectivités d'outre-mer[7]
  French Polynesia[8] subdivisions administratives 40+ communes
  Saint-Barthélemy
  Saint-Martin
  Saint-Pierre and Miquelon 2 communes
  Wallis and Futuna 3 royaumes coutumiers [9] 3 [districts] d
1 collectivité sui generis
  New Caledonia 3 provinces 30+ communes
1 territoire d'outre-mer[10]
  French Southern and Antarctic Lands 4 [districts] d
For French Southern and Antarctic Lands, see France above.
  Guyana 10 regions 27 neighborhood councils
  Netherlands, the Kingdom of 1 [country within the Kingdom that conducts its affairs]:
  Netherlands
12 provincies p 443 gemeenten m (27 deelgemeenten)
3 bijzondere gemeenten
  Bonaire
  Sint Eustatius
  Saba
3 [autonomous countries within the Kingdom]:[2]
  Aruba 15 cities
  Curaçao
  Sint Maarten
  Paraguay 17 departamentos 
Asunciónc
230+ distritos [11]d compañías
municipios
  Peru 25 regiones r 190+ provincias p 1800+ distritos [12]d 84000+ centros poblados

1800+ centros poblados menores (as government entity)
80000+ [centros poblados dispersos] (only as censal unity)
  Suriname 10 districten d 60+ ressorten [13]
  Trinidad and Tobago 9 regions
Tobago (governed by Tobago House of Assembly)
3 boroughs
2 cities
  United Kingdom (1 constituent country with no devolution):
  England
9 regionsi 81 counties (6 metropolitan and 75 non-metropolitan) 36 metropolitan boroughs
280+ non-metropolitan districts
(Non-metropolitan districts include 46 unitary authorities)
parishes[14]
Greater Londonc 32 London boroughs
City of London
(3 constituent countries with devolution):
  Northern Ireland (6 counties)
26 districts
  Scotland 32 council areas communities
  Wales 10 county boroughs
9 counties
3 cities
communities
3 crown dependencies:
  Guernsey[15] 10 parishes

3 dependencies: Alderney, Herm and Sark

  Jersey[15] 12 parishes vingtaines, cueillettes
  Isle of Man 6 sheadings 17 parishes
12 overseas territories:
  Anguilla 14 districts
  Bermuda 9 parishes
2 municipalities
  British Indian Ocean Territory
  British Virgin Islands 5 districts
  Cayman Islands 7 districts
  Falkland Islands
  Gibraltar
  Montserrat 3 parishes
  Pitcairn Islands
  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 3 parts of the territory:

Saint Helena
Ascension Island
Tristan da Cunha

Saint Helena has 8 districts
  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
  Turks and Caicos Islands 6 districts
2 sovereign base areas: Akrotiri and Dhekelia
  Uruguay 19 departamentos m 89 municipios[16]
  Venezuela 23 estados  municipios m parròquias
dependencias federales [17]
Caracasc
 
a    pseudo-municipalities (administration is appointed)
c    capital; see also Capitals serving as administrative divisions.
d    districts.
i    informals.
m   municipalities.
p    provinces.
r    regions.
  1. ^ In La Rioja, Mendoza and San Juan Provinces
  2. ^ a b c Autonomous area or areas; see List of autonomous areas by country.
  3. ^ a b communes.
  4. ^ Federative units.
  5. ^ Administrative regions.
  6. ^ Including 5 overseas regions and Corsica as a collectivité territoriale (territorial collectivity).
  7. ^ a collectivité d'outre-mer (overseas collectivity).
  8. ^ also known as a pays d'outre-mer (overseas country).
  9. ^ kingdoms.
  10. ^ a territoire d'outre-mer (overseas territory).
  11. ^ or ?partidos.
  12. ^ or partidos.
  13. ^ ?"resorts".
  14. ^ not all of England is parished - see unparished area.
  15. ^ a b a bailiwick.
  16. ^ municipalities
  17. ^ federal dependencies.

Notes

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Numbers of divisions
To simplify maintaining the table, numbers of divisions are only specified where a country has around thirty or fewer instances; for example, as of 2010, the twelve qarqe (counties) of Albania. For numbers greater than thirty, the number rounded down to the nearest ten (or, in the case of thousands, the nearest hundred) is given, suffixed by a plus sign "+"; for example, the "300+" komuna (communes) of Albania. More precise figures should be found in the articles linked by the table.
Terms in italics
Terms in italics are terms in languages other than English. They should be in plural form, followed by a footnote or footnotes indicating the generally accepted English equivalent or translation. Known alternative spellings are given in brackets following a term.
Terms in brackets
Entries in standard brackets either indicate that the term used is informal or that its use is yet to be confirmed. An English term in square brackets indicates that the local name for the term is not yet known or confirmed; when confirmed, it is replaced by the local name in italics.
Footnote letters ( c d m p r )
These indicate, respectively, five common types of administrative division in English: capitals; districts; municipalities; provinces; and regions. Other English terms appear among the numbered footnotes.

Administrative divisions with ISO 3166-1

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Administrative divisions with ISO 3166-1 are cited for statistics matters even when they do not have a special status (for example, the overseas regions of France).

Antarctic claims

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Administrative divisions that are entirely Antarctic claims suspended under the Antarctic Treaty are not listed.

Autonomous areas

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Not all the autonomous areas are part of the formal hierarchy of the administrative division system of a country (for example, the autonomous region of Zanzibar comprises 5 regions of Tanzania, the first tier on administrative divisions on that country). For more details, see List of autonomous areas by country.

Dependent territories

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Dependent territories are listed with their sovereign country. For more details, see List of dependent territories.

See also

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