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{{short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
The [[Swiss Confederation]] comprises the 26 [[cantons of Switzerland]].

Each canton has its individual structure for further subdivisions.

==Regions==
{{main|NUTS of Switzerland}}
For statistical purposes, Switzerland is subdivided into seven regions at the [[Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics|NUTS]]-2 level:
{|
| [[Eastern Switzerland]]: || Cantons of [[Canton of St. Gallen|St. Gallen]], [[Thurgau]], [[Appenzell Innerrhoden]], [[Appenzell Ausserrhoden]], [[Canton of Glarus|Glarus]], [[Canton of Schaffhausen|Schaffhausen]], [[Graubünden]]
|-
| [[Canton of Zürich|Zürich]]: || Canton of [[Canton of Zürich|Zürich]]
|-
| [[Central Switzerland]]: || Cantons of [[Canton of Uri|Uri]], [[Canton of Schwyz|Schwyz]], [[Obwalden]], [[Nidwalden]], [[Canton of Lucerne|Lucerne]], [[Canton of Zug|Zug]]
|-
| [[Northwestern Switzerland]]: || Cantons of [[Basel-Stadt]], [[Basel-Landschaft]], [[Aargau]]
|-
| [[Espace Mittelland]]: || Cantons of [[Canton of Bern|Bern]], [[Canton of Solothurn|Solothurn]], [[Canton of Fribourg|Fribourg]], [[Canton of Neuchatel|Neuchatel]], [[Canton of Jura|Jura]]
|-
| [[Région lémanique]]: || Cantons of [[Canton of Geneva|Geneva]], [[Vaud]], [[Valais]]
|-
| [[Ticino]]: || Canton of [[Ticino]]
|}

==Cantons==
{{main|Cantons of Switzerland}}
{{Switzerland Cantons Labelled Map|float=right}}
The 26 [[cantons of Switzerland]] are the [[State (administrative division)|member state]]s of the [[federation|federal state]] of [[Switzerland]]. Each [[canton (administrative division)|canton]] except for Aargau, Jura, Thurgau, Ticino, Vaud, and Valais was a fully [[sovereignty|sovereign]] state<ref>{{HDS|26414<!--Section 1-1-->|Cantons, In the Old Confederation until 1798}}</ref> with its own borders, army and currency from the [[Treaty of Westphalia]] (1648) until the establishment of the [[Helvetic Republic]] in 1798. The current cantons except for Jura were established with the Swiss federal state in 1848.

Each canton has its own [[constitution]], [[legislature]], [[government]] and [[court]]s.<ref name="HDS Modern">{{HDS|26414<!--Section 1-4-->|Cantons, In the Federal State since 1848}}</ref> Most of the cantons' legislatures are [[unicameralism|unicameral]] [[parliament]]s, their size varying between fifty-eight and two hundred seats. A few legislatures are general assemblies known as ''[[Landsgemeinde]]n''. The cantonal governments consist of either five or seven members, depending on the canton.<ref>[http://www.ch.ch/karte/index.html?lang=en Swiss Government website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219135444/http://www.ch.ch/karte/index.html?lang=en |date=2008-12-19 }} with links to each cantonal government, accessed 11 November 2008</ref> For the names of the institutions, see [[List of legislative and executive councils of the Cantons of Switzerland]].

The [[Swiss Federal Constitution]] declares the cantons to be sovereign to the extent their sovereignty is not limited by federal law.<ref name="HDS Modern"/> The cantons also retain all powers and competencies not delegated to the Confederation by the Constitution. Most significantly, the cantons are responsible for [[health care|healthcare]], [[Welfare (financial aid)|welfare]], law enforcement and [[public education]]; they also retain the power of [[tax]]ation. The cantonal constitutions determine the degree of autonomy accorded to the [[municipality|municipalities]], which varies but almost always includes the power to levy taxes and pass municipal laws. The sizes of the cantons vary from 37&nbsp;km² to 7,105&nbsp;km²; the populations vary from 16,000 (Appenzell Innerrhoden) to 1,600,000 (Zurich).

==Districts==
{{main|Districts of Switzerland}}
In contrast to centrally organised states, in the federally constituted [[Switzerland]] each [[Cantons of Switzerland|Canton]] is
completely free to decide its own internal organisation. Therefore, there exists a variety of structures and terminology for the [[subnational entities]] between Canton and [[Municipalities of Switzerland|Municipality]], loosely termed [[district]]s (i.e. Urban Administration Districts).

Most Cantons are divided into ''Bezirke'' (German for districts). They are also termed ''Ämter'' ([[Canton of Lucerne|Lucerne]]), ''Amtsbezirke'' ([[Canton of Bern|Bern]]), ''district'' (in French) or ''distretto'' ([[Ticino]] and part of [[Canton of Graubünden|Graubünden]]). The Bezirke generally provide only administration and court organization. However, for historical reasons districts in cantons Graubünden and [[Canton of Schwyz|Schwyz]] are their own [[Juristic person|legal entities]] with jurisdiction over tax and often have their own [[Landsgemeinde]].

Eight of the 26 Cantons – [[Canton of Uri|Uri]], [[Canton of Obwalden|Obwalden]], [[Canton of Nidwalden|Nidwalden]], [[Canton of Glarus|Glarus]], [[Canton of Zug|Zug]], [[Appenzell Innerrhoden]],  [[Basel-City]] and [[Canton of Geneva|Geneva]] – have always existed without the district level of government.
 
A number of further cantons have dispensed with the district level recently,  [[Appenzell Ausserrhoden]] in 1995, [[Canton of Schaffhausen|Schaffhausen]]  in 1999, [[Canton of St Gallen|St Gallen]] in 2003 and [[Canton of Lucerne|Lucerne]] in 2007.

A number of further cantons are considering (or have already decided) an abolition of the district level in the future: [[Canton of Schwyz|Schwyz]] in 2006 voted on its abolition, but voted in favour of keeping the division. [[Canton of Bern|Bern]] in 2006 decided a reduction of its 26 districts to five administrative regions.
[[Vaud]] decided a reduction from 19 to 10 districts. [[Valais]] is planning a similar reduction and in [[Thurgau]], a reduction of eight to four districts is under discussion.{{when|date=March 2024}}

==Municipalities==
{{main|Municipalities of Switzerland}}
Communes ({{langx|de|Gemeinden}} / {{langx|fr|communes}} / {{langx|it|comuni}} / {{langx|rm|vischnancas}}), also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in [[Switzerland]], numbering 2,636 as of 2009.<ref>Official list of Swiss municipalities, p. 17</ref> While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as [[Zürich]] or [[Geneva]] also have the legal status of municipalities. The [[area]] of the municipalities varies between [[1 E5 m²|0.32 km²]] ([[Kaiserstuhl, Aargau|Kaiserstuhl]], [[Aargau]] and [[Rivaz]], [[Vaud]]) and [[1 E8 m²|439 km²]] ([[Scuol]], [[Graubünden]]).

Each canton defines their responsibilities. These may include providing local government services such as education, medical and social services, public transportation, and tax collection. The degree of centralization varies from one canton to another.{{fact|date=March 2024}}

Communes are generally governed by a council (sometimes called Municipality) headed by a [[mayor]] as [[executive (government)|executive]] and the [[town meeting]] as [[legislature]]. Most cantons leave the option to larger municipalities to opt for a city [[parliament]]. In some cantons, foreign persons that have dwelled for a certain time in Switzerland are also allowed to participate in the municipal politics.{{fact|date=March 2024}}

[[Swiss citizenship]] is based on the citizenship of a municipality. Every Swiss is citizen of one or several municipalities (i.e. the place of origin, ''lieu d'origine'', ''Heimatort'').

Communes are financed through direct taxes (e.g. [[income tax]]), with rates varying more or less within a framework set by the canton.{{fact|date=March 2024}}

Many municipalities are having difficulties maintaining the civil services they need to perform the duties they are required to do. In an effort to reduce expenses, many municipalities are combining (through mergers or the creation of [[special-purpose district]]s). This restructuring is generally encouraged by the cantonal governments and the rate of these unions is increasing.{{facts|date=March 2024}}

"Cities" (''villes'' or ''Städte'') are the municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants or smaller places which had medieval town rights. There is no specific designation for smaller communities such as "village" or "town".{{fact|date=March 2024}}

==Other subdivisions==
Some subdivisions that exist are:
* Region
** {{langx|de|Verwaltungsregionen}} (e.g. [[Subdivisions of the canton of Bern]])
* Electoral district
** {{langx|de|Amtei}} (e.g. [[Subdivisions of the canton of Solothurn]])
* Constituencies
** {{langx|de|Wahlkreis}} (e.g. [[Subdivisions of the canton of St. Gallen]])
* Sub-district or [[Circle (administrative division)|circle]]
** {{langx|de|[[Circle (administrative division)|Kreis]]}} (e.g. Graubünden)
** {{langx|it|[[Circolo]]}} (e.g. Ticino)
** {{langx|fr|[[Circle (administrative division)|Cercle]]}} (e.g. [[Subdivisions of the canton of Vaud]])

== See also ==
*[[List of former municipalities of Switzerland]]
*[[Spatial planning in Switzerland]]

== Notes and references ==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Switzerland topics}}
{{Europe topic|Subdivisions of}}

[[Category:Subdivisions of Switzerland| ]]
[[Category:Administrative divisions by country|Switzerland]]