Province vs. State: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Published on December 28, 2023
A province is a territorial unit within a country or empire, often with its own local government, while a state is a self-governing political entity with sovereignty over its territory.
Key Differences
A province typically refers to a subdivision within a country or empire, usually having its own local government but not sovereign authority. In contrast, a state is a political entity with sovereignty, holding the highest authority over its territory and often being part of a larger federation or nation.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 28, 2023
Provinces are generally administrative divisions within a country, governed according to the laws of the country. They may have some legislative powers but are ultimately subordinate to the central government. States, however, have their own government, constitution, and the power to make laws, subject to the constraints of a federal constitution if they are part of a federation.
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Dec 28, 2023
In terms of governance, provinces are usually managed by appointed officials or locally elected representatives who follow the directives of the central government. States, on the other hand, are usually led by elected officials who have a greater degree of autonomy in decision-making and governance.
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Dec 28, 2023
Provinces often depend on the central government for financial resources and policy direction, whereas states generally have the authority to generate their own revenue and establish policies independently, within the limits of a federal framework.
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Dec 28, 2023
The distinction between a province and a state can vary based on the country's structure and constitution. In some countries, the terms might be used interchangeably, but they traditionally carry the differences described in governance, autonomy, and legislative authority.
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Dec 28, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Legislative Power
Limited, often follows national laws
Extensive, can create own laws
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Relationship with Central Government
Subordinate, receives directives
Semi-independent, coexists
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Financial Dependence
More dependent on national budget
Has own revenue sources
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Province and State Definitions
Province
Province (Administrative Division)
The province of Alberta is known for its natural beauty.
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Dec 12, 2023
Province
A territory governed as an administrative or political unit of a country or empire.
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State
A condition or mode of being, as with regard to circumstances
The office was in a state of confusion.
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Province
(Ecclesiastical) A division of territory under the jurisdiction of a metropolitan.
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State
A condition of being in a stage or form, as of structure, growth, or development
The fetal state.
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Province
Provinces Areas of a country situated away from the capital or population center.
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Province
An area of knowledge, activity, or interest
A topic falling within the province of ancient history.
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State
(Informal) A condition of excitement or distress
Was in a state over going to the prom.
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Province
(Ecology) An area of land, less extensive than a region, having a characteristic plant and animal population.
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State
(Physics) The condition of a physical system with regard to phase, form, composition, or structure
Ice is the solid state of water.
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Province
Any of various lands outside Italy conquered by the Romans and administered by them as self-contained units.
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State
The supreme public power within a sovereign political entity
The state intervening in the economy.
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Province
An administrative subdivision of certain countries, including Canada and China.
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State
The sphere of supreme civil power within a given polity
Matters of state.
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Province
(Roman history) An area outside Italy which is administered by a Roman governor.
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Province
(Christianity) An area under the jurisdiction of an archbishop, typically comprising a number of adjacent dioceses.
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State
A body politic, especially one constituting a nation
The states of Eastern Europe.
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Province
(Roman Catholicism) An area under the jurisdiction of a provincial within a monastic order.
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State
One of the more or less internally autonomous territorial and political units composing a federation under a sovereign government
The 48 contiguous states of the Union.
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State
Of or relating to a body politic or to an internally autonomous territorial or political unit constituting a federation under one government
A monarch dealing with state matters.
The department that handles state security.
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Province
An area of activity, responsibility or knowledge; the proper concern of a particular person or concept.
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Province
A country or region, more or less remote from the city of Rome, brought under the Roman government; a conquered country beyond the limits of Italy.
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Province
A country or region dependent on a distant authority; a portion of an empire or state, esp. one remote from the capital.
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State
A condition; a set of circumstances applying at any given time.
A state of being
A state of emergency
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Province
A region of country; a tract; a district.
Over many a tractof heaven they marched, and many a province wide.
Other provinces of the intellectual world.
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State
(physics) A complete description of a system, consisting of parameters that determine all properties of the system.
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Province
A region under the supervision or direction of any special person; the district or division of a country, especially an ecclesiastical division, over which one has jurisdiction; as, the province of Canterbury, or that in which the archbishop of Canterbury exercises ecclesiastical authority.
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Province
The proper or appropriate business or duty of a person or body; office; charge; jurisdiction; sphere.
The woman'sprovince is to be careful in her economy, and chaste in her affection.
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State
(computing) The stable condition of a processor during a particular clock cycle.
In the fetch state, the address of the next instruction is placed on the address bus.
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Province
Specif.: Any political division of the Dominion of Canada, having a governor, a local legislature, and representation in the Dominion parliament. Hence, colloquially, The Provinces, the Dominion of Canada.
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State
(computing) The set of all parameters relevant to a computation.
The state here includes a set containing all names seen so far.
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Province
The territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation;
His state is in the deep south
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State
(computing) The values of all parameters at some point in a computation.
A debugger can show the state of a program at any breakpoint.
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Province
The proper sphere or extent of your activities;
It was his province to take care of himself
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State
(sciences) The physical property of matter as solid, liquid, gas or plasma.
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Province
Province (Area of Expertise)
Quantum physics is outside my province.
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State
(obsolete) Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme.
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Province
Province (Geographical Region)
They traveled through the mountainous province.
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State
Pomp, ceremony, or dignity.
In state
The President's body will lie in state at the Capitol.
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State
Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance.
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State
A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself.
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State
A political division of a federation retaining a notable degree of autonomy, as in the United States, Mexico, Nigeria, or India.
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State
(anthropology) A society larger than a tribe. A society large enough to form a state in the sense of a government.
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State
An element of the range of the random variables that define a random process.
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State
The lexical aspect (aktionsart) of verbs or predicates that do not change over time.
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State
(transitive) To declare to be a fact.
He stated that he was willing to help.
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State
The circumstances or condition of a being or thing at any given time.
State is a term nearly synonymous with "mode," but of a meaning more extensive, and is not exclusively limited to the mutable and contingent.
Declare the past and present state of things.
Keep the state of the question in your eye.
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State
Rank; condition; quality; as, the state of honor.
Thy honor, state, and seat is due to me.
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State
Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance.
She instructed him how he should keep state, and yet with a modest sense of his misfortunes.
Can this imperious lord forget to reign,Quit all his state, descend, and serve again?
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State
Appearance of grandeur or dignity; pomp.
Where least of state there most of love is shown.
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State
A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself.
His high throne, . . . under stateOf richest texture spread.
When he went to court, he used to kick away the state, and sit down by his prince cheek by jowl.
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State
The principal persons in a government.
The bold designPleased highly those infernal states.
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State
The bodies that constitute the legislature of a country; as, the States-general of Holland.
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State
A form of government which is not monarchial, as a republic.
Well monarchies may own religion's name,But states are atheists in their very fame.
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Dec 10, 2023
State
A political body, or body politic; the whole body of people who are united under one government, whatever may be the form of the government; a nation.
Municipal law is a rule of conduct prescribed by the supreme power in a state.
The Puritans in the reign of Mary, driven from their homes, sought an asylum in Geneva, where they found a state without a king, and a church without a bishop.
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State
In the United States, one of the commonwealths, or bodies politic, the people of which make up the body of the nation, and which, under the national constitution, stand in certain specified relations with the national government, and are invested, as commonwealths, with full power in their several spheres over all matters not expressly inhibited.
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State
Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme.
I do not, brother,Infer as if I thought my sister's stateSecure without all doubt or controversy.
We hoped to enjoy with ease what, in our situation, might be called the luxuries of life.
And, O, what man's condition can be worseThan his whom plenty starves and blessings curse?
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State
To set; to settle; to establish.
I myself, though meanest stated,And in court now almost hated.
Who calls the council, states the certain day.
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State
To express the particulars of; to set down in detail or in gross; to represent fully in words; to narrate; to recite; as, to state the facts of a case, one's opinion, etc.
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State
The group of people comprising the government of a sovereign state;
The state has lowered its income tax
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State
The territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation;
His state is in the deep south
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State
A politically organized body of people under a single government;
The state has elected a new president
African nations
Students who had come to the nation's capitol
The country's largest manufacturer
An industrialized land
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State
The way something is with respect to its main attributes;
The current state of knowledge
His state of health
In a weak financial state
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State
The federal department in the UnitedStates that sets and maintains foreign policies;
The Department of State was created in 1789
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State
The territory occupied by a nation;
He returned to the land of his birth
He visited several European countries
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State
A state of depression or agitation;
He was in such a state you just couldn't reason with him
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State
(chemistry) the three traditional states of matter are solids (fixed shape and volume) and liquids (fixed volume and shaped by the container) and gases (filling the container);
The solid state of water is called ice
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State
Express in words;
He said that he wanted to marry her
Tell me what is bothering you
State your opinion
State your name
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State
Indicate through a symbol, formula, etc.;
Can you express this distance in kilometers?
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Repeatedly Asked Queries
Do states have sovereignty?
Yes, states possess sovereignty over their territory.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 28, 2023
Can a province make its own laws?
Generally, provinces have limited legislative power and follow national laws.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 28, 2023
What is a state?
A self-governing political entity, sometimes part of a larger nation or federation.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 28, 2023
Who governs a province?
Provinces are usually governed by locally elected representatives or appointed officials.
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Dec 28, 2023
How does a state generate revenue?
States often have their own revenue sources, like taxes.
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Dec 28, 2023
Is a province independent?
No, provinces are generally dependent on the central government.
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How do provinces differ globally?
The role and power of provinces vary widely depending on the country's structure.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 28, 2023
What is a province?
An administrative division within a country, often with local governance.
Shumaila Saeed
Dec 28, 2023
Are provinces and states the same?
No, they differ in autonomy, governance, and legislative power.
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Dec 28, 2023
Do states have their own judicial systems?
Yes, states typically have their own courts and legal systems.
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Dec 28, 2023
Can a state be part of a federation?
Yes, states often form parts of federations, like the USA.
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Can a province become a state?
This depends on the country's constitution and political process.
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Can a state conduct foreign relations?
In federations, foreign relations are usually handled by the central government.
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Do provinces have a say in national policies?
They may have input, but ultimately national policies are determined by the central government.
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Dec 28, 2023
Can a state secede from a federation?
Secession usually involves complex legal and political processes.
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Are states always part of a larger country?
Most states are, but some can be independent nations.
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Dec 28, 2023
Are state laws superior to national laws?
In federations, national laws generally take precedence over state laws.
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Are provincial boundaries changeable?
Yes, but changes usually require national government approval.
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Do provinces participate in international events?
Typically, provinces are represented by their national government in international affairs.
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Dec 28, 2023
Do provinces have their own constitution?
Typically, provinces do not have a separate constitution.
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Dec 28, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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