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Territory and Administrative Divisions: Where a Country Is and How It Is Divided

A country's location is described by its hemispheres and by what lies next to it: land neighbours and sea neighbours. To run a large country, the government splits it into smaller units such as provinces or states, and each unit into still smaller ones. China has 34 provincial-level units and India has 28 states and 8 union territories.

🎬 Step-by-step story

  1. This is the globe. The red line is the equator. The blue line is the prime meridian. Together they cut the Earth into four quarters.
  2. The globe turns. The orange half is north of the equator and the green half is east of the prime meridian. The red dot sits in both. So this country is in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres.
  3. Now we look at the example country. Water is on its south and east: sea neighbours. Grey land is on its north and west: land neighbours.
  4. To run a big country, we split it into big units. Each colour is one first-level unit. There are six here.
  5. Units are not all the same kind. Blue are provinces, orange is an autonomous region, red is a municipality, purple is a special administrative region.
  6. Your turn. Move the level slider from the whole country down to small units. Pick a unit to see its short code.

Tip: drag the 3D scene to turn it. Use two fingers to zoom.

🤔 Common doubts, cleared

What is the difference between the two lines on the globe?

The red equator splits North from South. The blue prime meridian splits East from West. Watch both in step 1.

How can one dot be in two hemispheres?

North or South depends on latitude; East or West depends on longitude. So every place is in one of each pair. See the dot sitting inside orange and green.

Is a sea neighbour a country?

No. It is the water the country faces. Neighbouring countries across that water are different.

Why not just one big government for everything?

Decisions are easier when they are made near the people. The colours show the units working side by side.

Are all units the same kind?

No. The colours in this step show provinces, an autonomous region, a municipality and a special region.

How do I see even smaller units?

Slide the level slider to the right and watch the units split.

Location in hemispheres

The equator is an imaginary line around the middle of Earth. North of it is the Northern Hemisphere, south of it is the Southern Hemisphere.

The prime meridian (0° longitude) passes through Greenwich. East of it, up to 180°, is the Eastern Hemisphere. West of it is the Western Hemisphere.

China and India both lie in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres. A place at 33°N, 105°E is north of the equator and east of the prime meridian, so it is in both.

Land and sea neighbours

A country can touch other countries on land (land neighbours) and can face oceans or seas (sea neighbours, meaning the waters it shares or faces).

China has 14 land neighbours and a long coast on seas of the Pacific Ocean. India has 7 land neighbours and is surrounded by the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean on three sides.

A coast helps trade by ships and fishing. Many land neighbours mean many roads and trade routes, and also more need for friendly cooperation.

Administrative divisions: breaking a big country into parts

An administrative division is a part of a country with its own local government. Usually there are levels:

  1. Country
  2. First level: provinces or states
  3. Next levels: districts or counties, then towns and villages

Dividing helps to run schools, roads, health care and elections close to the people.

34 provincial-level units and their codes

China's first level has 34 provincial-level units:

23 + 5 + 4 + 2 = 34.

Each unit has a short abbreviation, usually one Chinese character. For example Beijing is 京, Shanghai is 沪 and Guangdong is 粤. Car number plates start with these characters.

India for comparison: 28 states and 8 union territories (total 36). Each state also has a short code, like MH for Maharashtra and KA for Karnataka.

Key formulas and definitions

Worked examples

1. A place is at 20°S, 30°E. Name its hemispheres.

South of the equator means Southern. East of the prime meridian means Eastern. So Southern and Eastern.

2. Add up the 34 provincial-level units of China using the four kinds.

23 provinces + 5 autonomous regions + 4 municipalities + 2 special administrative regions = 34.

3. Our example country has 6 first-level units. Each splits into 4 smaller units. How many small units in all?

6 × 4 = 24 small units.

Common mistakes

Practice quiz

1. The line that splits Earth into North and South is the:
2. China lies in which hemispheres?
3. How many provincial-level units does China have?
4. An administrative division is a part of a country with its own:
5. A country that touches the sea has:

Practice: answer these yourself

Type or choose your answer, then press Check. Use a hint if you are stuck; the full solution appears after you answer.

Frequently asked questions

What are administrative divisions in simple words?

They are the smaller parts a country is split into, like provinces or states, so that each part can be managed locally.

How many provincial-level units does China have?

34: 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 special administrative regions.

Which hemispheres are India and China in?

Both are in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres.

Where this is taught

China八年级（初二）Ch.1 China from a world view

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