China Administrative Divisions
What is the hierarchy of administrative divisions 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.
How does GeoPostcodes solve the problem for you?
Our standardized database overcomes the complexity of different administrative division
systems worldwide. Our database follows a unified structure that you can integrate
seamlessly into your system or platform of choice without needing to become an expert in
each country’s unique administrative hierarchy.
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