Many countries are made up of a number of subnational entities called states (or related terms in languages other than English). These should not be confused with nation states or the state as a generic concept.
Countries with federalconstitutions include several sovereign subnational states with rights and/or powers which cannot be over-ruled or vetoed by the national government or head of state. In cases, such as the U.S. states, the national government arose from a union of sovereign entities, which transferred some of their powers to the national government, while retaining the remainder of their sovereignty.[1] These are sometimes called federal states. In some countries, English terms such as province or canton refers to a comparable entity, while in others, the local name is commonly translated into English as states.
In other cases, states are simply creations of the national government, or other administrative divisions.
Austria consists of 9 Bundesländer (or Länder), a name which is commonly translated into English as "federal states". However, the Austrian Länder have no rights or powers that cannot be removed by the national government
Germany consists of 16 Länder, also commonly referred to as Bundesländer and commonly translated into English as "federal states". Unlike Austria, Germany has a strongly federal constitution, including some sovereignty for the Länder.
India uses "pradesh" for "sub-national state", and the suffix "sthan" for "land".
Spain's 17 comunidades autónomas (literally, "autonomous communities") and two autonomous cities of now have varying degrees of autonomy. In some cases it is held that, even though the Spanish Constitution does not explicitly Spain a federation, it has a decentralized system in practice.
Switzerland has 26 cantons, and has arguably the most decentralized constitution in the world, with the most power devolved to the cantonal governments.
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