China Administrative Divisions

What is the hierarchy of administrative divisions in China?

China’s administrative system is organized into four main levels. At the top are the provincial-level divisions, which include provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and special administrative regions. Each provincial-level division is subdivided into prefecture-level divisions, such as prefecture-level cities, prefectures, autonomous prefectures, and leagues. These are further divided into county-level divisions, including counties, autonomous counties, county-level cities, districts, and banners. The lowest level consists of township-level divisions, such as towns, townships, ethnic townships, and subdistricts, which are the smallest administrative units in China.

Here’s a breakdown of the hierarchy:

Provincial Level: China is divided into provincial-level divisions, which include provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and special administrative regions.

Prefecture Level: Each provincial-level division is subdivided into prefecture-level divisions, such as prefecture-level cities, prefectures, autonomous prefectures, and leagues.

County Level: Prefecture-level divisions are further subdivided into county-level divisions, which include counties, autonomous counties, county-level cities, districts, and banners.

Township Level: County-level divisions are further subdivided into township-level divisions, including towns, townships, ethnic townships, and subdistricts. These are the smallest administrative units in China.

List of China's administrative divisions with their counts and names

These are the summarized administrative divisions. The full dataset is available in the Download Center.

iso	country	admin level 1	admin level 2	admin level 3	admin level 4
CN	China	Anhui (Province)	16 Prefecture cities	50 Counties, 60 Districts, 9 County cities	119 Default Regions, 1335 Towns, 286 Subdistricts, 610 Townships
CN	China	Beijing (Municipality)	This level doesn’t exist for this country.	16 Districts	157 Subdistricts, 170 Towns, 18 Default Regions, 79 Townships
CN	China	Chongqing (Municipality)	This level doesn’t exist for this country.	26 Districts, 4 Autonomous counties, 8 Counties	179 Subdistricts, 359 Townships, 38 Default Regions, 730 Towns
CN	China	Fujian (Province)	9 Prefecture cities	11 County cities, 31 Districts, 42 Counties	160 Subdistricts, 307 Townships, 819 Towns, 85 Default Regions
CN	China	Gansu (Province)	12 Prefecture cities, 2 Autonomous prefectures	19 Districts, 57 Counties, 5 County cities, 7 Autonomous counties	124 Subdistricts, 461 Townships, 89 Default Regions, 976 Towns
CN	China	Guangdong (Province)	21 Prefecture cities	20 County cities, 32 Towns, 34 Counties, 3 Autonomous counties, 4 Subdistricts, 65 Districts	159 Default Regions, 2148 Towns, 395 Subdistricts, 68 Townships
CN	China	Guangxi (Autonomous region)	14 Prefecture cities	10 County cities, 12 Autonomous counties, 41 Districts, 48 Counties	102 Subdistricts, 111 Default Regions, 453 Townships, 947 Towns
CN	China	Guizhou (Province)	3 Autonomous prefectures, 6 Prefecture cities	10 Autonomous counties, 10 County cities, 17 Districts, 51 Counties	1077 Towns, 280 Subdistricts, 580 Townships, 91 Default Regions
CN	China	Hainan (Province)	1 Provincial county, 4 Prefecture cities	11 Districts, 4 Counties, 5 County cities, 6 Autonomous counties	18 Subdistricts, 204 Towns, 23 Townships, 26 Default Regions
CN	China	Hebei (Province)	12 Prefecture cities	21 County cities, 6 Autonomous counties, 72 Districts, 91 Counties	1078 Townships, 1410 Towns, 190 Default Regions, 297 Subdistricts
CN	China	Heilongjiang (Province)	12 Prefecture cities, 1 Prefecture	1 Autonomous county, 1 Ethnic district, 21 County cities, 45 Counties, 59 Districts	1121 Towns, 127 Default Regions, 462 Townships, 512 Subdistricts
CN	China	Henan (Province)	17 Prefecture cities, 1 Provincial county	21 County cities, 3 Ethnic districts, 75 Districts, 82 Counties	1400 Towns, 184 Default Regions, 664 Subdistricts, 950 Townships
CN	China	Hubei (Province)	12 Prefecture cities, 1 Autonomous prefecture, 1 Provincial county	1 Forestry area, 26 County cities, 2 Autonomous counties, 35 Counties, 41 Districts	106 Default Regions, 1191 Towns, 221 Townships, 288 Subdistricts
CN	China	Hunan (Province)	13 Prefecture cities, 1 Autonomous prefecture	19 County cities, 49 Districts, 60 Counties, 7 Autonomous counties	1240 Townships, 137 Default Regions, 1425 Towns, 335 Subdistricts
CN	China	Inner Mongolia (Autonomous region)	3 Leagues, 9 Prefecture cities	11 County cities, 17 Counties, 28 Districts, 3 Autonomous banners, 49 Banners	109 Default Regions, 252 Subdistricts, 342 Townships, 966 Towns
CN	China	Jiangsu (Province)	13 Prefecture cities	19 Counties, 21 County cities, 66 Districts	107 Default Regions, 129 Townships, 1530 Towns, 370 Subdistricts
CN	China	Jiangxi (Province)	11 Prefecture cities	12 County cities, 27 Districts, 61 Counties	101 Default Regions, 1128 Towns, 156 Subdistricts, 747 Townships
CN	China	Jilin (Province)	1 Autonomous prefecture, 8 Prefecture cities	16 Counties, 20 County cities, 30 Districts, 3 Autonomous counties	342 Subdistricts, 353 Townships, 646 Towns, 69 Default Regions
CN	China	Liaoning (Province)	14 Prefecture cities	16 County cities, 17 Counties, 59 Districts, 8 Autonomous counties	102 Default Regions, 386 Townships, 565 Subdistricts, 898 Towns
CN	China	Ningxia Huizu (Autonomous region)	5 Prefecture cities	11 Counties, 2 County cities, 9 Districts	115 Townships, 129 Towns, 22 Default Regions, 50 Subdistricts
CN	China	Qinghai (Province)	2 Prefecture cities, 6 Autonomous prefectures	25 Counties, 4 County cities, 7 Autonomous counties, 9 Districts	147 Towns, 292 Townships, 40 Subdistricts, 45 Default Regions
CN	China	Shaanxi (Province)	10 Prefecture cities	31 Districts, 69 Counties, 7 County cities	109 Default Regions, 1220 Towns, 194 Subdistricts, 453 Townships
CN	China	Shandong (Province)	16 Prefecture cities	26 County cities, 52 Counties, 74 Districts	1618 Towns, 164 Default Regions, 354 Townships, 508 Subdistricts
CN	China	Shanghai (Municipality)	This level doesn’t exist for this country.	16 Districts	102 Subdistricts, 169 Towns, 16 Default Regions, 4 Townships
CN	China	Shanxi (Province)	11 Prefecture cities	11 County cities, 31 Districts, 80 Counties	124 Default Regions, 232 Subdistricts, 717 Townships, 739 Towns
CN	China	Sichuan (Province)	18 Prefecture cities, 3 Autonomous prefectures	107 Counties, 19 County cities, 4 Autonomous counties, 53 Districts	187 Default Regions, 2501 Towns, 2860 Townships, 342 Subdistricts
CN	China	Tianjin (Municipality)	This level doesn’t exist for this country.	16 Districts	10 Townships, 119 Subdistricts, 16 Default Regions, 191 Towns
CN	China	Tibet (Autonomous region)	1 Prefecture, 6 Prefecture cities	12 Districts, 2 County cities, 64 Counties	150 Towns, 25 Subdistricts, 566 Townships, 78 Default Regions
CN	China	Xinjiang (Autonomous region)	4 Prefecture cities, 5 Prefectures, 6 Autonomous prefectures	14 Districts, 29 County cities, 60 Counties, 6 Autonomous counties	109 Default Regions, 234 Subdistricts, 543 Townships, 803 Towns
CN	China	Yunnan (Province)	8 Autonomous prefectures, 8 Prefecture cities	17 Districts, 18 County cities, 29 Autonomous counties, 65 Counties	129 Default Regions, 133 Subdistricts, 638 Townships, 814 Towns
CN	China	Zhejiang (Province)	11 Prefecture cities	1 Autonomous county, 20 County cities, 32 Counties, 37 Districts	378 Subdistricts, 467 Townships, 936 Towns, 93 Default Regions

Why is building an Administrative Divisions Database complex?

The complexity arises from inconsistent global standards, frequent boundary changes, non-uniform naming conventions (e.g., “suburb” in Australia vs. “county” in the US), and variations in administrative levels across countries. Integrating and harmonizing data from multiple sources requires advanced normalization, versioning, and geospatial validation techniques.

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