Federated state

File:Map of unitary and federal states.svg

Federated states of various types exist within many of the modern federal states (represented in green).

A federated state (also state, province, region, canton, land, governorate, oblast, emirate, or country) is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation. A federated state does not have international sovereignty since powers are divided between the other federated states and the federal government. Unlike international sovereign states, which have what is often referred to as Westphalian sovereignty (such as exercised by their federal government), federated states operate under their domestic or federal law with relation to the rest of the world.

Importantly, federated states do not have automatic standing as entities of international law. Instead, the federal union (federation) as a single entity is the sovereign state for purposes of international law. Depending on the constitutional structure of a particular federation, a federated state can hold various degrees of legislative, judicial, and administrative jurisdiction over a defined geographic territory and is a form of regional government. A federated state may nonetheless establish offices internationally, for example, to promote trade or tourism, while still operating only within the trade policy or other applicable law of their federation, and their host country. They also may enter into international regional agreements under the laws of their federation and state, such as to protect a cross-border resource like water or other shared matters.

In some cases, a federation is created from the union of political entities that are either independent or dependent territories of another sovereign entity (most commonly a colonial power).Template:Efn-ua In other cases, federated states have been created out of the administrative divisions of previously unitary states.Template:Efn-ua Once a federal constitution is formed, the rules governing the relationship between federal and regional powers become part of the country's constitutional law and not international law.

In countries with federal constitutions, there is a division of power between the central government and the component states. These entities – states, provinces, counties, cantons, Länder, etc. – are partially self-governing and are afforded a degree of constitutionally guaranteed autonomy that varies substantially from one federation to another.Template:Efn-ua Depending on the form the decentralization of powers takes, a federated state's legislative powers may or may not be overruled or vetoed by the federal government. Laws governing the relationship between federal and regional powers can be amended through the national or federal constitution, and, if they exist, state constitutions as well.

In terms of internal politics, federated states can have republican or monarchical forms of government. Those of republican form (federated republics) are usually called states (like states of the US) or republics (like republics in the former USSR).

List of constituents by federation

The federated units in the table below have inherent governmental authority in the federation's constitutional system, while the "other units" are delegated authority by the federal government or are administered directly by it.

Federation	Federated units	Other units
Template:Country data Argentina	23 provinces:	1 autonomous city:
Template:Country data Australia	6 states:	3 internal territories:
		7 external territories:
Template:Country data Austria	9 states:
Template:Country data Belgium	3 regions:Template:Efn-ua
	3 communities:Template:Efn-ua
Template:Country data Bosnia and Herzegovina	2 entities:Template:Efn-ua	1 self-governing district:
	The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is itself a federation of 10 cantons:
Template:Country data Brazil	26 states:
	1 federal district:
Template:Country data Canada	10 provinces:	3 territories:
Template:Country data Ethiopia	12 regions:	2 chartered cities:
Template:Country data Germany	16 states:
Template:Country data India	28 states:	8 union territories:
Template:Country data Iraq	18 (official) governorates:	1 federal region:
Template:Country data Malaysia	13 states:	3 federal territories:
Template:Country data Mexico	31 states:
	1 autonomous city:
Template:Country data Micronesia	4 states:
Template:Country data Nepal	7 provinces:
Template:Country data Nigeria	36 states:	1 territory:
Template:Country data Pakistan	4 provinces:	2 autonomous territories:Template:Efn-ua
		1 federal territory:
Template:Country data Russia	48 oblasts:
	24 republics:Template:Efn-ua
	9 krais:
	4 autonomous okrugs:Template:Efn-ua
	3 federal cities:
	1 autonomous oblast:Template:Efn-ua
Template:Country data Saint Kitts and Nevis	1 autonomous island:	Saint Kitts:
Template:Country data Somalia	6 federal member states:Template:Efn-ua
Template:Country data South Sudan	10 states:	3 administrative areas:
Template:Country data Sudan	18 states:	1 special administrative status area:
Template:Country data Switzerland	26 cantons:
Template:Country data United Arab Emirates	7 emirates:
Template:Country data United States	50 states:	1 federal district:
		1 incorporated territory:
		13 unincorporated territories:
Template:Country data Venezuela	23 states:	1 capital district:
		1 federal dependency:

See also

• Associated state
• Federal district
• Federal territory
• Federation
• List of countries by federal system
• List of administrative divisions by country
• List of autonomous areas by country
• List of sovereign states
• Supranational union