TheSwiss Confederation comprises the 26cantons of Switzerland.
Each canton has its individual structure for further subdivisions.
For statistical purposes, Switzerland is subdivided into seven regions at theNUTS-2 level:
| Eastern Switzerland: | Cantons ofSt. Gallen,Thurgau,Appenzell Innerrhoden,Appenzell Ausserrhoden,Glarus,Schaffhausen,Graubünden |
| Zürich: | Canton ofZürich |
| Central Switzerland: | Cantons ofUri,Schwyz,Obwalden,Nidwalden,Lucerne,Zug |
| Northwestern Switzerland: | Cantons ofBasel-Stadt,Basel-Landschaft,Aargau |
| Espace Mittelland: | Cantons ofBern,Solothurn,Fribourg,Neuchatel,Jura |
| Région lémanique: | Cantons ofGeneva,Vaud,Valais |
| Ticino: | Canton ofTicino |
The 26cantons of Switzerland are themember states of thefederal state ofSwitzerland. Eachcanton except for Aargau, Jura, Thurgau, Ticino, Vaud, and Valais was a fullysovereign state[1] with its own borders, army and currency from theTreaty of Westphalia (1648) until the establishment of theHelvetic Republic in 1798. The current cantons except for Jura were established with the Swiss federal state in 1848.
Each canton has its ownconstitution,legislature,government andcourts.[2] Most of the cantons' legislatures areunicameralparliaments, their size varying between fifty-eight and two hundred seats. A few legislatures are general assemblies known asLandsgemeinden. The cantonal governments consist of either five or seven members, depending on the canton.[3] For the names of the institutions, seeList of legislative and executive councils of the Cantons of Switzerland.
TheSwiss Federal Constitution declares the cantons to be sovereign to the extent their sovereignty is not limited by federal law.[2] The cantons also retain all powers and competencies not delegated to the Confederation by the Constitution. Most significantly, the cantons are responsible forhealthcare,welfare, law enforcement andpublic education; they also retain the power oftaxation. The cantonal constitutions determine the degree of autonomy accorded to themunicipalities, which varies but almost always includes the power to levy taxes and pass municipal laws. The sizes of the cantons vary from 37 km² to 7,105 km²; the populations vary from 16,000 (Appenzell Innerrhoden) to 1,600,000 (Zurich).
In contrast to centrally organised states, in the federally constitutedSwitzerland eachCanton iscompletely free to decide its own internal organisation. Therefore, there exists a variety of structures and terminology for thesubnational entities between Canton andMunicipality, loosely termeddistricts (i.e. Urban Administration Districts).
Most Cantons are divided intoBezirke (German for districts). They are also termedÄmter (Lucerne),Amtsbezirke (Bern),district (in French) ordistretto (Ticino and part ofGraubünden). The Bezirke generally provide only administration and court organization. However, for historical reasons districts in cantons Graubünden andSchwyz are their ownlegal entities with jurisdiction over tax and often have their ownLandsgemeinde.
Eight of the 26 Cantons –Uri,Obwalden,Nidwalden,Glarus,Zug,Appenzell Innerrhoden,Basel-City andGeneva – have always existed without the district level of government.
A number of further cantons have dispensed with the district level recently,Appenzell Ausserrhoden in 1995,Schaffhausen in 1999,St Gallen in 2003 andLucerne in 2007.
A number of further cantons are considering (or have already decided) an abolition of the district level in the future:Schwyz in 2006 voted on its abolition, but voted in favour of keeping the division.Bern in 2006 decided a reduction of its 26 districts to five administrative regions.Vaud decided a reduction from 19 to 10 districts.Valais is planning a similar reduction and inThurgau, a reduction of eight to four districts is under discussion.[when?]
Communes (German:Gemeinden /French:communes /Italian:comuni /Romansh:vischnancas), also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division inSwitzerland, numbering 2,636 as of 2009.[4] While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such asZürich orGeneva also have the legal status of municipalities. Thearea of the municipalities varies between0.32 km² (Kaiserstuhl,Aargau andRivaz,Vaud) and439 km² (Scuol,Graubünden).
Each canton defines their responsibilities. These may include providing local government services such as education, medical and social services, public transportation, and tax collection. The degree of centralization varies from one canton to another.[citation needed]
Communes are generally governed by a council (sometimes called Municipality) headed by amayor asexecutive and thetown meeting aslegislature. Most cantons leave the option to larger municipalities to opt for a cityparliament. In some cantons, foreign persons that have dwelled for a certain time in Switzerland are also allowed to participate in the municipal politics.[citation needed]
Swiss citizenship is based on the citizenship of a municipality. Every Swiss is citizen of one or several municipalities (i.e. the place of origin,lieu d'origine,Heimatort).
Communes are financed through direct taxes (e.g.income tax), with rates varying more or less within a framework set by the canton.[citation needed]
Many municipalities are having difficulties maintaining the civil services they need to perform the duties they are required to do. In an effort to reduce expenses, many municipalities are combining (through mergers or the creation ofspecial-purpose districts). This restructuring is generally encouraged by the cantonal governments and the rate of these unions is increasing.[citation needed]
"Cities" (villes orStädte) are the municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants or smaller places which had medieval town rights. There is no specific designation for smaller communities such as "village" or "town".[citation needed]
Some subdivisions that exist are: