Country | Constitutional Setting | National Level | Regional Level | Local Level |
Austria | Federal state | Federation (Bund) | 9 Provinces (Länder) | 2,357 Municipalities (Gemeinden): • 15 cities with their own statutes (Statutarstädte, including Vienna) • 200 towns (Stadtgemeinden) • 762 markets (Marktgemeinden) • 1,395 villages (Ortsgemeinden) |
Belgium | Federal state | Federal State (Etat federal, federale staat) | 3 Regions (régions, Gewesten) 3 Communities (communautés, Gemeenschappen) | 589 Municipalities (communes, gemeenten) 10 Provinces (provinces, provincies) |
Czech Republic | Decentralised unitary state | State | 14 Regions, including the metropolis of Prague | 6,248 Municipalities (obce) |
France | Unitary, decentralised state | State | 26 Regions (régions) | 36,683 Communes (communes) 101 Departments (départements) |
Germany | Federal state | Federation (Bund) | Federal states (Länder) | 11,252 Municipalities (Gemeinden), including 110 Urban Districts (kreisfreie Gemeinden or Stadtkreise; including the city states Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen) 295 Rural Districts (Kreise or Landkreise, none in Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen) |
Greece | Unitary, decentralized state with local self-government | State | 13 Regions (periferies) | 325 Municipalities (dimoi) |
Italy | ‘Polycentric’ state, that is, unitary, decentralised state with regional and local autonomy | State | 20 Regions (regioni) and the 2 Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano (province autonome) | C.ca 8,000 Municipalities (comuni) 107 Provinces (province) (Metropolitan Cities have been introduced in 1990 but not established) |
Hungary | Unitary state with regional and local autonomy | State | 19 Counties (megyék) | 3,175 Municipalities: • 1 Capital city (főváros) • 23 Capital Districts (kerületek) • 23 Towns with county rights (megyei jogú városok) • 304 Towns (városok) • 2,824 Communes (községek) |
The Netherlands | Unitary, decentralised state | State (Central Government, Rijk) | 12 Provinces (provincies) | 415 Municipalities (gemeenten) |
Poland | Unitary, decentralised state | State | 16 Provinces (voivodships) | 2,500 Communes (gmina): • 300 town-communes • Over 500 town-rural communes • 1,600 rural communes • 314 Districts (powiat) • 66 Cities with at least 100,000 inhabitants (with district status) |
Spain | Autonomic state | State (Estado) | 17 Self-governing Communities (Comunidades Autónomas) | 8,115 Municipalities (municipios) 50 Provinces (provincias) |
Sweden | Unitary state with some regional and local autonomy | State | 18 County Councils (landsting) and 2 Regions (regioner) resulting from the merger of two County Councils | 290 Municipalities (kommuner) |
UK | Unitary state with devolution of power to certain regions. Local government with general power of competence (subject to limitations). | State (Central government) | Regional governments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. | 353 principal local authorities (England) 32 local authorities (Scotland) 22 principal local authorities (Wales) 26 districts (Northern Ireland) |