A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties,

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, or provinces. Internationally, the most politically important cantons are the

Swiss cantons The 26 cantons of Switzerland (german: Kanton; french: canton ; it, cantone; Sursilvan and Surmiran: ; Vallader and Puter: ; Sutsilvan: ; Rumantsch Grischun: ) are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confe ...

. As the constituents of the Swiss Confederation, theoretically and historically, they are semi-sovereign states. The term is derived from the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

word ''

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

'', meaning "corner" or "district" (from which "

cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a military quarters. In Bangladesh, India and other parts of South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British India, colonial-era). In military of the United States, United Stat ...

" is also derived).

In specific countries

Cantons exist or previously existed in the following countries: * Cantons of Belgium * Cantonal Government of Bohol *

Cantons of Bolivia On the level below municipalities, Bolivia is divided into 1374 cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative ...

Cantons of Bosnia and Herzegovina The ten cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the two political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are its federal units with a high level of autonomy. The cantons were established by the Law on Federal Units (Cantons) on 1 ...

: federal units of the

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Republika Srpska. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists ...

*Canada:

Canadian French Canadian French (french: français canadien) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes Varieties of French#Canada, multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Quebec French, Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Can ...

equivalent for the English word " township", since the translation ''municipalité'' is already used for a different level of government (see township). ** Cantons of Quebec * Cantons of Costa Rica: national second order subdivision of the first order Provinces. Cantons are further subdivided into the third order

Districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. Each canton has its own municipality, or local government. *

Cantons of Ecuador The Cantons of Ecuador are the second-level subdivisions of Ecuador, below the provinces. There are 221 cantons in the country, of which three are not in any province. The cantons are further sub-divided into parishes, which are classified as ...

: subdivisions below the provinces of Ecuador. * Cantons of El Salvador: divisions of a municipality outside the more urban ''caserios'', which border the town or city. ''Cantones'' can be thought as the more rural parts of a city or town, generally far from the actual urban population. * Cantons of France: a subdivision of ''

arrondissements An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements'' ...

'' and '' départements'', grouping several '' communes.'' * Cantons of Lebanon: unofficial militias and factions during the Lebanese Civil War and afterwards. Most areas have been returned to Lebanese government control. * Cantons of Luxembourg: first order administrative subdivisions *

Cantonal Government of Negros The 26 cantons of Switzerland (german: Kanton; french: canton ; it, cantone; Sursilvan and Surmiran: ; Vallader and Puter: ; Sutsilvan: ; Rumantsch Grischun: ) are the Federated state, member states of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. T ...

: short-lived provisional government in the Visayas during the Filipino-American Wars in the 19th–20th centuries Republic of Negros. *

Cantons of Rojava The de facto Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, sometimes referred to as "Rojava", is divided into several self-governing regions. The Afrin Region, Afrin, Jazira Region, Jazira and Euphrates Regions followed from the cantons estab ...

(Western Kurdistan,

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

) *

Cantons of Switzerland The 26 cantons of Switzerland (german: Kanton; french: canton ; it, cantone; Sursilvan and Surmiran: ; Vallader and Puter: ; Sutsilvan: ; Rumantsch Grischun: ) are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Con ...

: each a semi-sovereign state within

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. * Cantons of Togo: Subdivisions of Togo's prefectures, and further divided into villages. *subdivisions of vingtaines in Jersey *subdivisions of the parishes of Guernsey

In former countries

Cantons of Prussia The Canton System (german: Kantonsystem or ) or Canton Regulation () was a system of recruitment used by the Prussian army between 1733 and 1813. The country was divided into recruiting districts called cantons (), and each canton was the responsib ...

: military enrollment districts between 1733 and 1813 * Cantons of Eastern Rumelia, the subdivisions below the

. *

Cantons of the Soviet Union Cantons were administrative units in several autonomous republics and regions of Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and then the Soviet Union, in 1920–1941. Cantons existed in Bashkir ASSR (1922–1930), Dagestan ASSR (1928&n ...

, subdivisions of several autonomous regions of the country before 1941. *In the Republic of New Granada, cantons were subdivisions below the provinces. *In 1873, " Cantonalists" took over the city of

Cartagena, Spain Cartagena () is a Spanish city and a major naval station on the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Iberia. As of January 2018, it has a population of 218,943 inhabitants, being the region's second-largest municipality and the country's sixth-lar ...

, a haven for the Spanish Navy, and declared the city independent (see Cantonal Revolution).

References

{{Types of administrative country subdivision Types of administrative division *