What's the difference between a province & a state?

Question

Many countries have either st8s or provinces. The U.S., Mexico, & Australia has states. Canada, China, & Papua New Guinea has provinces. Additionally, Japan has prefectures and Russia & Ukraine has oblasts. I just need 2 know if the difference between a province & a st8 has 2 do w/ the type of government in that country. It can't be whether it has a president or prime minister, as Canada & Australia has prime ministers but Australia has states (& 2 territories).

Answer 1

They are basically the same.

States use to mean similar to country. It is the "United States" that invented States to be sub-territories. And the country name says it all - "United States". Previously independent territories coming together as one. They kept the term States, and would have more independent power in the constitution than most countries. For example, as a non-American I find it very odd that criminal law is different from state to state, so you can be in one state and get a different sentence than in another, or it might not even be a crime there.

Australia probably used the term because they were also colonies Uniting together. Plus, becoming a country after 1776 means the term was now being used.

So, having said that. The US used the term State to have a powerful meaning to the Union they were forming. But since then, it can just mean anything and isn't necessarily any different than other name like Province. It can be argued that the meaning of Stateof the US in 1776 and now is 2 completely different things.

Answer 2

Semantics, there's really no difference, they are all just regional divisions of Federally ruled countries.
EDIT
Nevermind Alex B. He is Chinese and wrote this stuff for the purpose of trying to spread propoganda that Taiwan is part of China which it is not. Makes his whole point moot.
They are only different in name. You can't compare Aussie states to US States or Chinese Provinces to Canadian Provinces. Canadian provinces are definately structured closer to Aussie States rather than Chinese provinces and so on.

Answer 3

it depends on the base country. besides, they are just first-level subdivisions.

Answer 4

As we know, different countries utilize different forms of internal organization. For example, there are countries that use an organization of states, while others are organized into provinces. But is there a difference between the two? The answer to that question is yes, although the differences can be so subtle that many people overlook them.

The easiest way to illustrate the difference between a state and a province is to compare the governmental authority and geographical organization of two countries, one with a state system and one with a province system. For purposes of this comparison, we will use China as our example of a province structure and the United States of America as our example of a state structure.

In both the countries cited, the smaller geographic divisions derive much of their rights and laws as governmental organizations from the central or federal government that operates for the benefit of all citizens across the country. However, one minor difference we find is that provinces in China retain much more control over their internal matters than do the states in the USA system. Aside from Taiwan, which does is a special case, the remaining provinces may very well take into consideration much of what the central government wants done, but can also reject it. The real power comes from the Central Committee, to which the governor of every province must be accountable, rather than to the federal government. It should be noted that there tend to be more appointments in this particular form of organization in China and less in the way of elected officials.

By contrast, states in the USA deriv many of their rights and privileges from their alliance with the federal government, as well as a fair share of their funding for state level improvement projects. When it comes to lawmaking, a state does not have the option of passing and enforcing legislation that contradicts federal laws. When a state law is understood by some to be in direct conflict with federal law, due process through a judicial system allows for the matter to be reviewed and the state law rendered null and void if it is judged to be in conflict with federal law. This does not happen often, since so many of the persons who represent the interests of each state at the federal level are elected and are expected to be actively engaged in the formulation of federal laws that does not compromise the well-being of any state.

It should be noted that the exact relationship of a province or a state to its federal or central government would vary in form and structure from one country to another. For example, what is true of provinces in China are not necessarily true of provinces in Canada. Depending on the countries compared, there may be no differences between state organization and province structure at all. Examining the specifics of any one country’s internal organization will determine how similar of different their version of a province system compares to any state system.

A province is a territorial unit, almost always a country subdivision.

The word is attested in English since c.1330, deriving from Old French province (13th c.), which comes from the Roman word provincia, which referred to the sphere of activity which a magistrate was assigned to exercise his authority; hence, in particular, a foreign territory.

A possible origin in Latin is from pro- ("on behalf of") and vincere ("to triumph/take control over"). Thus a province is a territory or function that a Roman magistrate took control of on behalf of his government. However this does not tally with the even earlier Latin usage as a generic term for a jurisdiction under Roman law.

The Roman Empire was divided into provinces (provinciae).

state

"political organization of a country, supreme civil power, government," 1538, from state (n.1); this sense grew out of the meaning "condition of a country" with regard to government, prosperity, etc. (c.1290), from L. phrases such as status rei publicæ "condition of the republic." Often in phrase church and state, which is attested from 1589. The sense of "semi-independent political entity under a federal authority" (as in the United States of America) is from 1856; the British North American colonies occasionally were called states as far back as 1634. The states has been short for "the United States of America" since 1777; hence stateside (1944), World War II U.S. military slang. State rights in U.S. political sense is attested from 1798; form states rights is first recorded 1858. Statesman is from 1592.

Answer 5

really no difference