Cantons and Parishes

UNIT 3 How we organize ourselves.

Political-administrative organization of a country

QUESTION

What is a Country?

How many countries are there in the planet?

A country is a "territory, with its own geographical and cultural characteristics, which may constitute a political entity within a state". And what is a state? A State is a "sovereign country, internationally recognized as such, occupying a given territory and endowed with its own government".

Answer

According to the political and administrative organization of each country, these can be divided into smaller territorial units. For example: States Provinces Departments

According to UN information, there are 193 recognized countries.

Example of States

USA:

NOTE

The U.S. is composed of 50 states, one federal district and associated or unincorporated states (Dependencies).

Example of Departments

COLOMBIA

NOTE

Colombia is administratively divided into 32 departments

Example of Provincias

ECUADOR

NOTE

China is another country divided into provinces.

The political-administrative division of a country allows us to know the surface and extension of a territory, its natural resources, who its inhabitants are, how many there are and what characteristics they have such as their culture, customs, traditions, as well as their needs in order to know how to intervene.

Let's reflect Do you think it is important and useful to divide a country into smaller parts, such as provinces?