Brazil Administrative Divisions

What is the hierarchy of administrative divisions in Brazil?

Brazil operates on a 4-level administrative system starting with 27 federative units (26 states and 1 federal district), followed by municipalities, then districts, and finally subdistricts as the smallest administrative units. Microregions are statistical groupings and not part of the administrative hierarchy.

Here’s a breakdown of the hierarchy:

1. States and Federal District: Brazil is divided into 26 states and 1 federal district (27 federative units).

2. Municipalities: Each state and the federal district is subdivided into municipalities (5,569 as of 2024).

3. Districts: Municipalities are further subdivided into districts (10,740 as of 2024).

4. Subdistricts: Some districts are further subdivided into subdistricts (645 as of 2024), which are the smallest administrative units where they exist.

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

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

isocountryadmin level 1admin level 2admin level 3admin level 4
BRBrazilAcre (State)5 Microregions22 MunicipalitiesThis level doesn’t exist for this country.
BRBrazilAlagoas (State)13 Microregions102 Municipalities8 Subdistricts
BRBrazilAmapa (State)4 Microregions16 MunicipalitiesThis level doesn’t exist for this country.
BRBrazilAmazonas (State)13 Microregions62 Municipalities9 Subdistricts
BRBrazilBahia (State)32 Microregions417 Municipalities161 Neighbourhoods, 2 Subdistricts
BRBrazilCeara (State)33 Microregions184 Municipalities121 Neighbourhoods
BRBrazilEspirito Santo (State)13 Microregions78 Municipalities80 Subdistricts
BRBrazilFederal District (Federal district)1 Microregion35 Administrative regionsThis level doesn’t exist for this country.
BRBrazilGoias (State)18 Microregions246 Municipalities66 Subdistricts
BRBrazilMaranhao (State)21 Microregions217 Municipalities253 Neighbourhoods
BRBrazilMato Grosso do Sul (State)11 Microregions79 MunicipalitiesThis level doesn’t exist for this country.
BRBrazilMato Grosso (State)22 Microregions142 Municipalities4 Subdistricts
BRBrazilMinas Gerais (State)66 Microregions853 Municipalities9 Subdistricts
BRBrazilParaiba (State)23 Microregions223 MunicipalitiesThis level doesn’t exist for this country.
BRBrazilParana (State)39 Microregions399 Municipalities66 Neighbourhoods
BRBrazilPara (State)22 Microregions144 Municipalities8 Subdistricts
BRBrazilPernambuco (State)19 Microregions185 Municipalities94 Neighbourhoods
BRBrazilPiaui (State)15 Microregions224 MunicipalitiesThis level doesn’t exist for this country.
BRBrazilRio de Janeiro (State)18 Microregions92 Municipalities217 Neighbourhoods, 9 Subdistricts
BRBrazilRio Grande do Norte (State)19 Microregions167 Municipalities4 Subdistricts
BRBrazilRio Grande do Sul (State)35 Microregions497 Municipalities94 Neighbourhoods
BRBrazilRondonia (State)8 Microregions52 MunicipalitiesThis level doesn’t exist for this country.
BRBrazilRoraima (State)4 Microregions15 MunicipalitiesThis level doesn’t exist for this country.
BRBrazilSanta Catarina (State)20 Microregions295 MunicipalitiesThis level doesn’t exist for this country.
BRBrazilSao Paulo (State)63 Microregions645 Municipalities34 Neighbourhoods, 34 Subdistricts
BRBrazilSergipe (State)13 Microregions75 MunicipalitiesThis level doesn’t exist for this country.
BRBrazilTocantins (State)8 Microregions139 MunicipalitiesThis level doesn’t exist for this country.

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.

Download the complete Dataset

Explore the comprehensive list of administrative divisions, standardized and scalable across 247 countries.

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