Districts of Switzerland facts for kids

Imagine Switzerland as a country made up of 26 smaller states, called Cantons. Each Canton gets to decide how it organizes itself. Because of this, they have many different ways to divide their land into smaller areas. These smaller areas are often called Districts.

What are Swiss Districts?

Most Cantons in Switzerland are divided into smaller areas called Bezirke. This is the German word for districts. But depending on the language spoken in the Canton, these areas might have different names:

• Ämter in Lucerne
• Amtsbezirke in Bern
• district in French-speaking Cantons
• distretto in Tessin and parts of Graubünden

Usually, these districts mainly help with running the local government and organizing the court system. However, in Cantons like Graubünden and Schwyz, the districts are like their own mini-governments. They even have the power to collect taxes!

Cantons Without Districts

Not all of Switzerland's 26 Cantons use districts. Ten of them manage their areas without this extra level of government. In these Cantons, the next level down from the Canton is usually the municipality (a town or a group of villages).

These Cantons are:

• Uri
• Obwalden
• Nidwalden
• Appenzell Ausserrhoden
• Glarus
• Zug
• Basel-City
• Geneva

Some Cantons used to have districts but stopped:

• Schaffhausen stopped using districts in 1999.
• Canton of St. Gallen stopped using districts in 2003.

Swiss Districts by Canton

Here is a list showing how many districts each Canton has, and what they are called. Some Cantons don't have districts, so those rows are left blank.

Canton			Districts
	AG	Aargau	11	Bezirke
	AR	Appenzell Ausserrhoden
	AI	Appenzell Innerrhoden
	BS	Basel-City
	BL	Basel-Country	5	Bezirke
	BE	Berne	26	Amtsbezirke, Districts
	FR	Fribourg	7	Districts, Bezirke
	GE	Geneva
	GL	Glarus
	GR	Graubünden	11	Bezirke, districts, distretti
	JU	Jura	3	districts
	LU	Lucerne	5	Ämter
	NE	Neuchâtel	6	districts
	NW	Nidwalden
	OW	Obwalden
	SH	Schaffhausen
	SZ	Schwyz	6	Bezirke
	SO	Solothurn	10	Bezirke
	SG	St. Gallen	8	Wahlkreise
	TG	Thurgau	8	Bezirke
	TI	Ticino	8	distretti
	UR	Uri
	VS	Valais	14	districts, Bezirke
	VD	Vaud	19	districts
	ZG	Zug
	ZH	Zürich	12	Bezirke
Total			159

Districts of Zürich

Districts of Zürich

The Canton of Zürich is divided into 12 districts, which are called Bezirke in German. The city of Zürich itself is one of these districts.

Districts of Bern

Districts of Canton Berne

The Canton of Bern has 26 administrative districts.

Districts of Lucerne

Districts of Canton Lucerne

The Canton of Lucerne is divided into 5 districts, which are called Ämter.

Canton of Uri: No Districts

The Canton of Uri does not have districts. The local towns and villages (called municipalities) are the next level of government.

Districts of Schwyz

Districts of the Cantons of Schwyz

The Canton of Schwyz has six districts and 30 municipalities. Interestingly, three of these districts – Einsiedeln, Küssnacht, and Gersau – are each made up of just one municipality with the same name.

Canton of Obwalden: No Districts

Obwalden does not have districts. The municipality is the next level of government.

Canton of Nidwalden: No Districts

Nidwalden does not have districts.

Canton of Glarus: No Districts

The Canton of Glarus does not have districts. The municipality is the next level of government.

Canton of Zug: No Districts

The Canton of Zug does not have districts.

Districts of Fribourg

Districts of canton Fribourg

The Canton of Fribourg is divided into 7 districts.

Districts of Solothurn

Districts of Canton Solothurn

Since 2005, Solothurn's ten districts have been grouped into five larger "electoral districts" called Amtei. Now, the districts are mainly used for collecting statistics (data and numbers).

Canton of Basel-City: No Districts

Basel-City does not have districts. It is made up of the city of Basel and two other municipalities.

Districts of Basel-Country

districts of Canton Basel-Landschaft

There are 5 districts (Bezirke) in Basel-Landschaft.

Canton of Schaffhausen: No Districts Anymore

The Canton of Schaffhausen used to have 6 districts until July 1999. Now, the municipality is the next level of government.

Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden: No Districts

The Canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden does not have districts. The municipality is the next level of government.

Districts of Appenzell Innerrhoden

Districts of Appenzell Innerrhoden

The 6 Bezirke (districts) in Appenzell Innerrhoden are the local government level. They are part of the municipalities.

The Feuerschaugemeinde is a special group that handles firefighting, energy, and water for the town of Appenzell.

Canton of St. Gallen: New System Since 2003

The Canton of St. Gallen used to have 14 districts until January 1, 2003. It was then reorganized into 8 "constituencies" (Wahlkreise), which are areas for elections.

Districts of Graubünden

Districts of Canton Graubünden

The Canton of Graubünden is divided into 11 districts. These districts often follow the natural shapes of the land, like valleys or mountain ranges. The districts are then divided even further into 39 smaller "sub-districts" (called Kreise in German).

Districts of Aargau

Districts in Aargau

Aargau is divided into 11 districts.

Districts of Thurgau

Districts of Canton Thurgau

The Canton of Thurgau is divided into eight districts. Each district is named after its main town, which is its capital.

Districts of Ticino

The Canton of Ticino is divided into 8 districts, which are called distretti in Italian.

• Distretto di Mendrisio
• Distretto di Lugano
• Distretto di Locarno
• Distretto di Vallemaggia
• Distretto di Bellinzona
• Distretto di Riviera
• Distretto di Blenio
• Distretto di Leventina

Districts of Vaud

Since 1803, the Canton of Vaud has been divided into 19 districts.

Starting from January 1, 2008, Vaud was reorganized into these new districts:

• Aigle
• Broye-Vully (which combines parts of the old districts of Avenches, Payerne, Moudon, and Oron)
• Gros-de-Vaud (which combines parts of Echallens, Cossonay, Moudon, and Oron)
• Jura-North Vaudois (which combines Grandson, Orbe, and Yverdon)
• Lausanne (part of the old district merged into West Lausannois)
• Lavaux-Oron (which combines Lavaux and part of Oron)
• Morges (which combines parts of Aubonne, Cossonay, Morges, and Rolle)
• Nyon (part of Rolle district merged into Nyon)
• Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (which combines the old districts of Pays-d'Enhaut and Vevey)
• West Lausannois (which was created from parts of Lausanne and Morges)

Districts of Valais

Districts in Valais

The Canton of Valais is divided into 14 districts and half-districts.

• Brig
• Conthey
• Entremont
• Goms
• Hérens
• Leuk
• Martigny
• Monthey
• Raron
• Saint-Maurice
• Sierre
• Sion
• Visp

See also: Valais Municipalities

Districts of Neuchâtel

Districts of Canton Neuchâtel

The Canton of Neuchâtel is divided into 6 districts. These districts are grouped into 4 larger geographic regions.

Canton of Geneva: No Districts

The Canton of Geneva does not have districts. The municipality is the next level of government.

Districts of Jura

Districts in Canton of Jura

The Canton of Jura is divided into 3 districts.

Images for kids

• 

  Map of Switzerland showing cantonal, districts and municipal boundaries (April 2021).

• 

  Districts in the Canton of Zürich

• 

  Districts of the canton of Bern

• 

  Districts of Canton Lucerne

• 

  Districts of the Cantons of Schwyz

• 

  Districts of canton Fribourg

• 

  Districts of Canton Solothurn

• 

  districts of Canton Basel-Landschaft

• 

  Constituencies of St. Gallen

• 

  Regions of Canton Graubünden

• 

  Districts in Aargau

• 

  Districts of Canton Thurgau

• 

  Districts of Canton Ticino

• 

  Districts of Canton Vaud

• 

  Districts in Valais

• 

  Districts of Canton Neuchâtel

• 

  Districts in Canton of Jura

• 

  Districts in Canton of Schaffhausen

• 

  Districts of Appenzell Ausserrhoden

• 

  Districts of Appenzell Innerrhoden

See also

In Spanish: Distritos de Suiza para niños