| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
A federal republic is, as the term suggests, a state which is both a federation and a republic. A federation is a state composed of a number of self-governing regions (often themselves referred to as 'states') united by a central, federal government. In a federation, unlike in a unitary state, the self-governing status of autonomous regions is constitutionally entrenched and cannot be revoked by a unilateral decision of the central government. Usage of the term republic is inconsistent but, as a minimum, it means a state that does not have a monarch as head of state.
Three states explicitly describe themselves as federal republics. These are the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. A close variant is the term federative republic, which appears in the full official title of Brazil. Not every federation is also a republic. For example Canada. Australia and Malaysia are federal kingdoms, each under a form of constitutional monarchy.
| Federation | Style | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ArgentinaArgentina is a Spanish-speaking country in southern South America, situated between the Andes in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east. It is bordered by Paraguay and Bolivia in the north, Brazil and Uruguay in the northeast and Chile in th | Republic | 23 provinces | 1 federal district |
| AustriaAustria is a landlocked country in Central Europe, a federation of nine states. Austria is bordered by Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the | Republic | 9 Bundesländer | |
| Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina is a mountainous country in the western Balkans. Its capital is Sarajevo and it was formerly one of the six federal units constituting Yugoslavia. The republic gained its independence in the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s and due to the | 2 entities | 1 internationally-supervised district | |
| Brazil | Federative Republic | 26 states | 1 federal district |
| ComorosThe Union of Comoros (until 2002 the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros is an independent country at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique. The country consists of three vo | UnionA Union is a single entity which is a collection of two or more entities. Other references are: A mathematical concept: see union (set theory) A political entity of states: see personal union The United States of America, particularly in reference to acti | 3 islands | |
| EthiopiaThe Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ityop'iya Amharic ) is a country of northeastern Africa. It has one of the most extensive known histories as an independent nation in the continent. Unique among African countries, the Ethiopian monarchy maintai | F.D.R. | 9 regions | 2 chartered cities |
| Germany | Federal Republic | 16 Bundesländer | |
| India | Republic | 28 states | 7 union territories |
| Mexico | United States | 31 states | 1 federal district |
| Micronesia | Federated States | 4 states | |
| Nigeria | Federal Republic | 36 states | 1 territory |
| Russia | Federation | 49 oblasts, 21 republics, 10 autonomius okrugs, 6 krays | 2 federal cities |
| Switzerland | Confederation | 26 cantons | |
| Tanzania | United Republic | 26 regions | |
| United States | 50 states, 4 territories | 1 federal district | |
| Venezuela | Bolivarian Republic | 23 states, 1 federal dependency | 1 federal district |
| Serbia and Montenegro | 2 states | 2 autonomous provinces |