Districts of Switzerland are apolitical subdivision forcantons. In the federally constitutedSwitzerland, each canton is completely free to decide its own internal organisation. Therefore, there exists a variety of structures and terminology for thesubnational entities between canton andmunicipality, loosely termeddistricts. Most cantons are divided intoBezirke (German for districts, singularBezirk). They are also termedÄmter (Lucerne, singularAmt),Amtsbezirke (Bern,Amtsbezirk),district (in French) ordistretto (Ticino and part ofGraubünden). TheBezirke generally provide only administration and court organization. However, for historical reasons districts in cantons Grisons andSchwyz are their ownlegal entities with jurisdiction over tax and often have their ownLandsgemeinde.
Seven of the 26 cantons –Uri,Obwalden,Nidwalden,Glarus,Zug,Basel-City andGeneva – have always existed without the district level of government. An eighth one,Appenzell Innerrhoden, uses no intermediate level either, but calls its lowest-level subdivisionsBezirke, although they are functionally equivalent to municipalities elsewhere.
A further number of cantons are considering (or have already decided) an abolition of the district level in the future.Appenzell Ausserrhoden,Schaffhausen,Lucerne,St. Gallen andSchwyz voted in 2006 on its abolition; some voted in favour of keeping the division, some with modifications.Bern in 2006 decided a reduction of its 26 districts to 10 districts to be overseen by 5 regions, which took effect in 2010. St. Gallen, Solothurn and Lucerne removed the administrative role, but retained districts for elections. In 2008Vaud decided on a reduction from 19 to 10 districts, followed by Thurgau which combined eight into five in 2012. In 2017Grisons replaced the 11 districts with 11 regions. In 2018Neuchâtel eliminated the district level.
Thecanton of Zurich is divided into 12 districts (German:Bezirke):
TheCanton of Bern is divided in fiveregions:Berner Jura,Seeland (with two precincts,Biel/Bienne and Seeland),Bern-Mittelland,Oberland (with precinctsThun,Obersimmental-Saanen,Frutigen-Niedersimmental,Interlaken-Oberhasli) andEmmental-Oberaargau (with two precincts,Emmental andOberaargau)The current division has taken effect on 1 January 2010, based on a 2006 decision to abolish the former system of districts.
On 1 January 2010, the 26 administrative districts (Amtsbezirke) lost their administrative role that was transferred to 10 new administrative districts (Verwaltungskreise):[1]
Nota bene that the 26 Bernese districts do still formally exist and are maintained by Article 38 of the Law on the Organisation of the Executive Council and the Administration (Organization Law, LOCA/OrG)[2] and by Article 3 al.2 of the cantonal Constitution.
TheCanton of Lucerne used to be divided into 5Ämter:
These were abolished with the new cantonal constitution of 2007, although they will continue to be used as electoral districts.
TheCanton of Schwyz is divided into 6 districts:
TheCanton of Fribourg is divided into 7 districts:
In 2005 Solothurn's ten districts merged pairwise into five electoral districts, termed Amtei. Since 2005, districts only have a statistical meaning.
Basel-Landschaft is divided into 5 districts:
The canton abolished the district level in 2003, but it remains divided into eightconstituencies (Wahlkreise) without administrative significance:
Beginning in 2017Graubünden is divided into 11 regions:
Aargau is divided into 11 districts:
Thurgau is divided into five districts (eight prior to 2011) and each is named after its capital:
Ticino is divided into 8 districts:
Vaud is divided into 10 districts:
Valais is divided into 13 districts:
The district of Raron is divided into:
TheCanton of Neuchâtel was divided into 6 districts until 1 January 2018 when the district system was terminated.[3]
TheCanton of Jura is divided into 3 districts:
TheCanton of Schaffhausen is divided into 6 districts:
TheCanton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden is divided into 3 districts:
InAppenzell Innerrhoden districts are the lowest administrative division as the canton has no municipalities (except for theFeuerschaugemeinde, a special-purpose municipality for the town ofAppenzell). The districts are functionally equivalent to municipalities elsewhere in Switzerland, and are generally shown as municipalities on maps etc.
The Canton is divided into five districts:
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