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 to other administrative divisions such as counties, departments or provinces. Internationally the best-known cantons, and the most politically important, are those of Switzerland. As the constituents of the Swiss Confederation, theoretically (and historically) the Swiss cantons are semi-sovereign states.

The term is derived from the French word canton meaning corner or district (from which "Cantonment" is also derived).^[1]

In specific countries[edit]

Cantons exist (or existed) in the following countries:

• Cantons of Belgium
• Cantons of Bolivia
• Cantons of Bosnia and Herzegovina: federal units of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Canada: Canadian French 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: subdivisions below the provinces of Costa Rica
• Cantons of Ecuador: 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' and départements, grouping several 'communes'
• Cantons of Lebanon, unofficial areas controlled by the various militias and factions during the Lebanese Civil War and afterwards. Most areas have been returned to Lebanese government control.
• Cantons of Luxembourg: a subdivision of the districts of Luxembourg
• Cantons of Prussia: military enrollment districts between 1733 and 1813
• Cantons of Switzerland: each a semi-sovereign state within Switzerland
• subdivisions of vingtaines in Jersey
• Juridical district in the Netherlands^{[citation needed]}

In former countries[edit]

• Cantons of the Ottoman Empire, also called kaza, a subdivision of a sanjak
• Cantons of the Soviet Union, subdivisions of several autonomous regions of the Soviet Union before 1941
• In the Republic of New Granada, cantons were subdivisions below the provinces of the Republic of New Granada
• In 1873, "Cantonalists" took over the city of Cartagena, Spain, a haven for the Spanish Navy, and declared the city independent (see Cantonal Revolution)

References[edit]