Federation facts for kids

Countries with a federal system Countries with a unitary system

How countries can integrate or separate

A federation is a type of country where power is shared between a central government and smaller local governments. Think of it like a team where the coach (central government) makes big decisions for everyone, but each player (local government, like a state or province) also has some control over their own actions.

In a federation, the local governments (like states or provinces) have their own special powers. These powers, and how they share power with the central government, are written down in the country's main rulebook, called a constitution. This means neither the central government nor the local governments can easily change these rules on their own.

Sometimes, people argue that if a central government has too much power, it's not a true federation. For example, if the central government can stop a local government from working, or make laws that ignore local powers, it might not be a real federation.

A country with a federal system is called a federal state. This is different from a unitary state, where the central government holds most of the power. For example, France and Japan are unitary states.

Countries like Germany, with its 16 states, and Nigeria, with its 36 states, are good examples of federations. Federations are often large and have many different groups of people, like Russia, the United States, Canada, India, Brazil, or Australia. But some small countries, like Saint Kitts and Nevis, are also federations.

History of Federations

Some very old groups of people, like the League of Corinth in ancient Greece or the Iroquois Confederacy in North America, had systems that were a bit like federations. The Old Swiss Confederacy was another early example of different areas working together without being fully united.

Many countries in the New World (North and South America) started as separate areas. When they became independent, like the United States, they often formed federations. Some of these early federations didn't last, like the Federal Republic of Central America. Others, like Argentina, tried different systems before settling on a federal one. Brazil and Venezuela also became federations later in their history. Australia and Canada are also federations.

Germany has changed its system many times. It has been a confederation, a federation, and a unitary state at different points in its history.

The Soviet Union, formed in 1922, was officially a federation. But in reality, its central government had a lot of control. Today, the Russian Federation has a similar system.

Countries like India, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Malaysia became federations when they gained independence from the British Empire.

In recent times, some countries have become federations to help manage conflicts between different groups of people. Examples include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq since 2005, and Somalia since 2012.

The United States is the oldest federation that still exists today, with its constitution starting in 1789. The newest federation is Nepal, which became one in 2015.

As of 2023, there are 27 federations around the world.

Federations and Other Types of Countries

A map of the Russian Federation, showing its many federal areas.

A map of Brazil, showing its 26 states and the Federal District.

A map of Ethiopia, showing its regions.

A map of Nigeria, showing its 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

A map of Mexico, showing its 31 states and Mexico City.

A map of the United States of America, showing its 50 states and Washington, D.C.

A map of Canada, showing its 10 provinces and 3 territories.

A map of Australia, showing its 6 states and 10 territories.

A map of Germany, showing its 16 states, including three city-states.

A map of Nepal, showing its 7 provinces.

What Makes a Federation Special?

In a federation, the local states or provinces have some independent power. The central government cannot take these powers away easily. However, these local areas usually cannot make their own foreign policy or act as independent countries on the world stage.

Some federations are called asymmetric because some states have more self-rule than others. For example, in Malaysia, some states joined the federation with different agreements than others.

Federations often start when several separate areas decide to join together. They might do this to solve common problems, protect each other, or form a single country for people who share a common background. The United States and Switzerland are examples of this. However, each country's history is unique, so federal systems can be very different. For instance, Australia became a nation when its citizens voted to adopt its constitution. Brazil has been both a federal and a unitary state.

Seven of the eight largest countries in the world by land area are federations.

Unitary States: A Different System

A unitary state has one main central government. While some unitary states might have local self-governing areas, the central government can usually take away their powers whenever it wants. This is the key difference from a federation.

Federations often form from "below" when independent areas agree to join. Unitary states, however, might grant self-rule to regions from "above" through a process called devolution.

Confederations: A Looser Union

The Swiss Confederation and its 26 cantons.

A confederation is a group of independent countries that join together for specific actions, usually related to other countries. The European Union is the closest thing to a confederation today. Even though Switzerland is officially called the Swiss Confederation, it's actually a federation now because its local areas lost their independent status a long time ago.

In a confederation, decisions often need everyone to agree, or at least a very large majority. Also, changes to their main agreement usually need everyone's approval. This makes them much looser than federations.

Empires: Centralized Power

An empire is a large country or group of countries ruled by a single central government, often an emperor. These areas might have some self-rule, but the central government can always take that power away. The German Empire (1871–1918) was an example where different kingdoms were part of a larger empire ruled by an emperor.

Other Ways Countries Share Power

Federacy

A federacy is a unitary state that includes one or more areas that govern themselves. It's different from a federation because the main country is still unitary, but it uses some ideas from federalism.

Devolution

In a devolved state, like the United Kingdom, the central government can take back the powers it gave to its local areas (like Scotland or Wales) without changing the constitution. This is different from a federation, where changing these powers would require a change to the constitution.

Crown Dependencies

The Crown dependencies (like the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) are similar to federations in some ways. They are independent from the United Kingdom, but the UK handles their foreign affairs and defense. However, they are not officially part of the UK, nor are they independent countries.

Dependent Territories

Dependent territories, like the British Overseas Territories, have different levels of self-rule. Some have a lot of independence, with the main country only handling their foreign relations and defense. But they are not considered part of the main country or independent nations.

De Facto Federations: Acting Like Federations

Sometimes, a country might be officially a unitary state but act a lot like a federation. This happens when a central government gives so much power to its local areas that it would be very hard to take it back. These are sometimes called de facto (meaning "in fact") federations or "quasi-federations."

Spain

The Autonomous Communities of Spain.

Spain is often seen as a de facto federation. Its autonomous communities have a lot of self-rule. While the Spanish parliament could legally take away this self-rule, it would be very difficult politically. Some areas, like Navarre, even control their own taxes and spending.

South Africa

Provinces of South Africa.

South Africa has some parts that look like a federal system, with powers given to its provinces. If a federation means that local powers are protected by the constitution and cannot be changed by the central government alone, then South Africa formally fits this definition.

European Union

The European Union (EU) is a very unique group. It's not quite a country, but it's more than just a group of independent countries. It's somewhere in between. The EU handles important areas like trade and money. However, its member countries still control their own foreign policy, defense, and taxes. While some experts think the EU is becoming like a federation, it's usually described as a special kind of "supra-national union."

People's Republic of China

In China, the central government officially grants power to its special regions. However, provinces have gained a lot of informal power to manage their economies and carry out national plans. Some people call this "federalism with Chinese characteristics."

Myanmar

Even though Myanmar is officially a unitary state, its political system has many parts that look like federalism. Each local area has its own government and leaders, making it act more like a federation.

Wallis and Futuna

The French territory of Wallis and Futuna has some features of a quasi-federation. It is divided into three traditional chiefdoms. These chiefdoms are allowed to have their own legal systems, which work alongside the French legal system.

Comoros

The Comoros changed its name to the Union of the Comoros in 2001. The new system was designed to give a lot of power to the island governments, with the central government having fewer powers.

Federal Governments: What They Do

A federal government is the main government of a federation. It has specific powers given to it by the member states or regions. Usually, a federal government is in charge of things that affect the whole country. This includes keeping the country safe and dealing with other nations.

The United States Constitution was first written to limit the federal government's power over the states. But later changes to the Constitution gave the federal government more authority.

Federal governments include the different government departments and agencies that help run the country.

Current Federations

There are 26 federations in the world today. Six are in Asia, six in Europe, five in Africa, four in North America, three in South America, and two in Oceania.

Current federations
Year est.	Federation	Type	Structure	Top-level subdivisions (federated and other)	Major federated units	Minor units (federated or other)
1853	Argentine Republic	R	Presidential	Provinces of Argentina	23 provinces	1 autonomous city
1901	Commonwealth of Australia	M	Parliamentary	States and territories of Australia	6 states	3 internal territories (of which 2 are self-governing) and 7 external territories
1920	Republic of Austria	R	Parliamentary	States of Austria	9 states (Länder* or Bundesländer)* incl. the city-state of Vienna
1993	Kingdom of Belgium	M	Parliamentary	Divisions of Belgium	3 communities, 3 regions	3 communitarian commissions
1995	Bosnia and Herzegovina	R	Parliamentary	Divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina	2 entities, one of which is itself a federation of 10 cantons	1 district
1889	Federative Republic of Brazil	R	Presidential	Federative units of Brazil	27 federative units (of which one is a federal district and the others are states)
1867	Canada	M	Parliamentary	Provinces and territories of Canada	10 provinces	3 territories
1995	Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia	R	Parliamentary	Regions and chartered cities of Ethiopia	12 regions	2 chartered cities
1949	Federal Republic of Germany	R	Parliamentary	States of Germany	16 states (Länder* or Bundesländer)* incl. the city-states of Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen
1947	Republic of India	R	Parliamentary	States and union territories of India	28 states	8 union territories, including a national capital territory
2005	Republic of Iraq	R	Parliamentary	Governorates of Iraq	19 provinces (governorates)
1963	Malaysia	M	Parliamentary	States of Malaysia	13 states	3 federal territories
1824	United Mexican States	R	Presidential	States of Mexico	32 federal entities, which are 31 states and its capital Mexico City
1979	Federated States of Micronesia	R	Presidential	Administrative divisions of Micronesia	4 states
2015	Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal	R	Parliamentary	Provinces of Nepal	7 provinces
1960	Federal Republic of Nigeria	R	Presidential	Subdivisions of Nigeria	36 states	1 federal capital territory
1947	Islamic Republic of Pakistan	R	Parliamentary	Provinces and territories of Pakistan	4 provinces	2 autonomous territories and 1 federal capital territory
1992	Russian Federation	R	Semi-presidential	Federal subjects of Russia	46 oblasts, 22 republics, 9 krais, 4 autonomous okrugs, 3 federal-level cities, 1 autonomous oblast
1983	Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis	M	Parliamentary	The islands St. Kitts and Nevis	1 federal unit (the island of Nevis)	The island of Saint Kitts (directly administered by the federal government)
2012	Federal Republic of Somalia	R	Parliamentary	Federal Member States of Somalia	5 States
2011	Republic of South Sudan	R	Presidential	States of South Sudan	10 states	3 administrative areas (which one of them has special administrative status)
1956	Republic of the Sudan	R	Military junta	States of Sudan	18 states
1848	Swiss Confederation	R	Directorial	Cantons of Switzerland	26 cantons
1971	United Arab Emirates	M	Semi-constitutional monarchy	Emirates of the UAE	7 emirates
1776	United States of America	R	Presidential	US states and territories	50 states	1 federal district; 16 territories
1863	Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela	R	Presidential	States of Venezuela	23 states	1 federal district, 1 federal dependency

Past Federations

Here are some countries or groups that used to be federations:

Holy Roman Empire (800–1806)
Inca Empire (1197–1572)
Confederation of Madja-as (1200–1569)
Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederation) (15th/16th century-1799)
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)
Federated Dutch Republic (1581–1795)
Confederate Ireland (1642–1652)
United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (1815–1825)
Hispaniola (1822–1844)
United Provinces of Central America (1823 – c. 1838)
Peru–Bolivian Confederation (1836–1839)
Confederation of New Granada (1858–1863)
Confederate States of America (1861–1865)
United States of Colombia (1863–1886)
North German Confederation (1867–1871)
Austria-Hungary (1867–1918)
German Empire (1871–1918)
Federal Republic of Spain (1873–1874)
French Indochina (1887–1954)
French West Africa (1904–1958)
French Equatorial Africa (1910–1934)
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (1918)
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1918–1992)
Weimar Republic (1919–1933)
Syrian Federation (1922–1925)
Federal State of Austria (1934–1938)
Mengjiang Autonomous United Government (1937–1945, since 1941 autonomous region of the Reorganized National Government of China)
Malayan Union (1946–1948)
Federation of Malaya (1948–1963)
United States of Indonesia (1949–1950)
United Kingdom of Libya (1951–1963)
Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea (1952–1962)
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953–1963)
West Indies Federation (1958–1962)
Mali Federation (1959–1960)
Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) (1960–1964)
Federal Republic of Cameroon (1961–1972)
Republic of South Africa (1961–1994)
Republic of Uganda (1962–1967)
Republic of Kenya (1963–1964)
United Republic of Tanzania (1964–1965)
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1969–1992)
Comoros (2001–2018)
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2003)