6/27/2021 Department (administrative division) - Wikipedia

Department (administrative division)

A department (French: département, Spanish: departamento) is an administrative or political division in many countries. Departments are the first-level divisions of 11 countries,
nine in the Americas and two in Africa. An additional 10 countries use departments as second-level divisions, eight in Africa, and one each in the Americas and Europe.[1]

As a territorial entity, "department" was first used by the French Revolutionary governments, apparently to emphasize that each territory was simply an administrative sub-division of
the united sovereign nation. (The term "department", in other contexts, means an administrative sub-division of a larger organization.) This attempt to de-emphasize local political
identity contrasts strongly with countries divided into "states" (implying local sovereignty).

The division of France into departments was a project particularly identified with the French revolutionary leader the Abbé Sieyès, although it had already been frequently discussed
and written about by many politicians and thinkers. The earliest known suggestion of it is from 1764 in the writings of d'Argenson.
Map showing countries in the world that have
Today, departments may exist either with or without a representative assembly and executive head depending upon the countries' constitutional and administrative structure. departments as administrative divisions .
   As first level
   As second level
Contents
Countries using departments
Former countries using departments
References
External links
See also

Countries using departments

Argentina* Chad Gabon Niger
Benin Colombia Guatemala Paraguay
Bolivia Republic of the Congo Haiti Peru**
Burkina Faso Côte d'Ivoire Honduras Senegal
Cameroon El Salvador Mauritania Uruguay
France Nicaragua United States (historically)***

*All provinces except Buenos Aires province.

**Replaced by regions in 2002.

***Before Alaska became a U.S. state, it was designated as the "Department of Alaska".

Former countries using departments

Batavian Republic Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)
Cisalpine Republic Italian Republic (Napoleonic)
French Empire Duchy of Warsaw
Gran Colombia Kingdom of Westphalia
Kingdom of Holland Centralist Republic of Mexico

References
1. Gwillim Law (20 May 2015). Administrative Subdivisions of Countries: A Comprehensive World Reference, 1900 through 1998 (https://books.google.com/books?id=nXCeCQAAQBAJ). McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-0447-3.

External links
http://www.statoids.com/uuy.html

See also

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_(administrative_division) 1/2
6/27/2021 Department (administrative division) - Wikipedia
Administrative divisions
Departments of the Duchy of Warsaw
Departments of France
Overseas departments and territories of France

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