Province - Current Provinces

Current Provinces

Not all second-level political entities are termed "provinces." In Arab countries, the secondary level of government, called a muhfazah, is usually translated as a "governorate."

In Poland, the equivalent of "province" is "województwo," sometimes rendered in English as "voivodeship."

In Peru, provinces are tertiary units of government, as the country is divided into twenty-five regions, subdivided into 194 provinces. Chile follows a similar pattern, being divided into 15 regions, subdivided into 53 provinces, each run by a governor appointed by the president.

Historically, New Zealand was divided into provinces, each with its own Superintendent and Provincial Council, and with considerable responsibilities conferred on them. However, the colony (as it then was) never developed into a federation; instead, the provinces were abolished in 1876. The old provincial boundaries continue to be used to determine the application of certain public holidays. Over the years, when the central Government has created special-purpose agencies at a sub-national level, these have often tended to follow or approximate the old provincial boundaries. Current examples include the 16 Regions into which New Zealand is divided, and also the 21 District Health Boards. Sometimes the term the provinces is used to refer collectively to rural and regional parts of New Zealand, that is, those parts of the country lying outside some or all of the "main centres"—Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin.