An arrondissement (,
,
) is any of various
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
s of France,
Belgium,
Haiti,
certain other
Francophone countries, as well as the
Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French
departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements'',
which may be roughly translated into English as districts. The capital of an arrondissement is called a
subprefecture
A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province.
Albania
There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...
. When an arrondissement contains the
prefecture (capital) of the department, that prefecture is the capital of the arrondissement, acting both as a prefecture and as a subprefecture. Arrondissements are further divided into
cantons and
communes
An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...
.
Municipal arrondissement
A
municipal arrondissement (, pronounced ), is a subdivision of the
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
, used in the three largest cities: Paris,
Lyon, and
Marseille. It functions as an even lower administrative division, with its own mayor. Although usually referred to simply as an "arrondissement," they should not be confused with departmental
arrondissements, which are groupings of communes within one ''
département''. The official translation into English is "district".
Belgium
Belgium is a
federalized country which geographically consists of three regions, of which only
Flanders (Flemish Region) and
Wallonia (Walloon Region) are subdivided into five provinces each; the
Brussels-Capital Region is neither a province nor is it part of one.
In Belgium, there are administrative, judicial and electoral arrondissements. These may or may not relate to identical geographical areas.
* The 43 administrative arrondissements
are an administrative level between the
municipalities and the
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
.
* Belgium has 12 judicial arrondissements.
* For the elections of the
Parliament of Wallonia
The Parliament of Wallonia (french: Parlement de Wallonie) (Walloon Parliament (french: Parlement wallon) in the decrees) is the legislative body of Wallonia, one of the three self-governing regions of Belgium (the other two being Flanders and t ...
, 13 electoral arrondissements (or grouped arrondissements) are used as
electoral districts.
** Until 2002, the electoral districts for the
Chamber of Representatives were electoral arrondissements; at present these are provincial constituencies and one for
Brussels-Capital. The electoral districts
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde and
Leuven still existed until 2012.
** Electoral arrondissements were also used for the
Flemish Parliament elections, until 2004 when they were changed to provincial electoral districts.
Netherlands
In the
Netherlands an ''arrondissement'' is a
judicial
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
jurisdiction.
Switzerland
Subdivisions of the canton of Bern On 1 January 2010, the 26 districts (german: Amtsbezirke, french: districts) were combined into 10 new precincts (german: Verwaltungskreise, french: arrondissement administratif):
They are grouped into five regions (german: Verwaltungsregionen).
T ...
include districts since 2010, which are called ''arrondissements administratifs'' in French.
Post-Soviet states
In some
post-Soviet states, there are cities that are divided into municipal
raioni similarly to how some French cities are divided into municipal arrondissements (see e.g.
Raions of cities in Ukraine,
Municipal divisions of Russia,
Administrative divisions of Minsk
Currently, there are 9 administrative divisions of Minsk, called ''raions'' (districts):
#, russian: Центральный), or "Central District"
#, russian: Советский, Sovetsky), or "Soviet District
#, russian: Первомайски� ...
).
Francophone Africa
Most nations in Africa that have been colonised by France have retained the arrondissement administrative structure. These are normally subunits of a department, and may either contain or be coequal with communes (towns). In
Mali the arrondissement is a subunit of a
cercle, while in some places arrondissements are essentially subdistricts of large cities.
*Each of
Senegal's departments is subdivided into arrondissements.
Dakar is further subdivided into arrondissements; see
Arrondissements of Senegal.
*Between 1962 and 2002, each of
Niger's departments was subdivided into arrondissements; see
Arrondissements of Niger: Since 2002 they have been renamed Departments (with the former Departments renamed Regions).
*Each of Mali's cercles is subdivided into arrondissements; see
Cercles of Mali for maps of arrondissements by cercle.
*Each of
Benin's departments is subdivided into communes, which are in turn subdivided into arrondissements: they sit above villages in Benin's structure; see
Communes of Benin for maps of communes by Department.
*Each of
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
's departments is subdivided into arrondissements: they sit above ''subdistricts'' and communes in Cameroon's structure; see
Departments of Cameroon for maps of arrondissements by Department.
*Since 2002,
Chad retains arrondissements only in the city of
N'Djamena
N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''.
The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are the c ...
, which is divided into 10 municipal arrondissements.
*
Djibouti retains arrondissements only in the city of
Djibouti City, which is divided into six arrondissements.
*
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
's cercles are subdivided into communes rurales, municipalities, communes urbaines, and arrondissements, depending on the classification of the community.
*The
Republic of the Congo retains arrondissements only in the city of
Brazzaville, which is divided into seven arrondissements. See
Administrative divisions of the Republic of the Congo.
North America
Haiti
As of 2015,
Haiti's ten
departments are sub-divided into 42 arrondissements.
Quebec
In the
Canadian province of
Quebec, eight cities are divided into arrondissements, known as
boroughs in English. In Quebec, boroughs are provincially organized and recognized sub-municipal entities that have mayors and councillors.
References
External links
*
{{Terms for types of administrative territorial entities
Types of administrative division