A ward is a
local authority
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state.
Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after
neighbourhood
A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...
s,
thoroughfares,
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
es,
landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...
s, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to the area (e.g. William Morris Ward in the
London Borough of Waltham Forest
The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is an Outer London, outer London boroughs, London borough formed in 1965 from the merger of the municipal boroughs of Municipal Borough of Leyton, Leyton, Municipal Borough of Walthamstow, Walthamstow an ...
, England). It is common in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
for wards to simply be numbered.
Origins

The word "ward", for an electoral subdivision, appears to have originated in the
Wards of the City of London
The City of London (also known simply as "the City") is divided into 25 wards. The city is the historic core of the much wider metropolis of Greater London, with an ancient and ''sui generis'' form of local government, which avoided the many l ...
, where gatherings for each ward known as "wardmotes" have taken place since the 12th century. The word was much later applied to divisions of other cities and towns in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...
and
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
.
In parts of northern
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, a ''ward'' was an administrative subdivision of a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
, very similar to a
hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101.
In mathematics
100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
in other parts of England.
Present day
In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, wards are an
electoral district
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
, within a district or
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
, used in
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state.
Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
elections. In the United States, wards are usually subdivided into
precincts for
polling purposes. It remains the nomenclature in
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
for what is now known as an
electoral precinct
A precinct or voting district (U.S. terms), polling district (UK term) or polling division (Canadian term), constituency(Indian term)is a subdivision of an electoral district, typically a contiguous area within which all electors go to a single ...
elsewhere in the United States.
In some cities of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, such as
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
and
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
, a
ward is an administrative unit of the city region; a city area is divided into Zones, which in turn contain numerous wards. The smallest administrative unit of
Gram Panchayats in India is also known as a ward.
In
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
wards are subdivisions of a city or town which administrates under
City Corporations and
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
(''pourashova'')
In East Africa, the word ward used in English is translated into Swahili/Kiswahili as Kata.
In the case of a municipal
amalgamation, the former cities and towns that make up the new metropolis may be referred to as wards.
In
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
, wards are informal divisions of the country, grouped into quartiers.
Ireland
In the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
, urban divisions were called ''wards'' () and rural ones were called ''district electoral divisions''. Both were renamed as ''
electoral divisions'' in 1996. The electoral districts for
Irish local authorities are
local electoral area
A local electoral area (LEA; ) is an electoral area for elections to Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authorities in Ireland. All elections in the Republic of Ireland, elections use the single transferable vote. Republic of Ir ...
s.
These are generally defined as combinations of electoral divisions, and in urban areas were formally described as combination of wards.
Similar concepts in other languages
In
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, a ''ku'' (or 区 in
Japanese writing
The modern Japanese writing system uses a combination of logographic kanji, which are adopted Chinese characters, and syllabic kana. Kana itself consists of a pair of syllabaries: hiragana, used primarily for native or naturalized Japanese ...
) is an administrative unit of one of the larger cities, closely equivalent to the divisions or wards of a London Borough or a New York Borough.
In
Vietnam
Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, a is an administrative subunit of an inner city district, or .
Wards and electoral divisions of Nepal are political divisions which are grouped into
Gaunpalika
A gaunpalika ( ) is an administrative division in Nepal. The Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (Nepal), Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development dissolved the existing Village development committee (Nepal), village developm ...
(
Rural Municipality
A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries.
These include:
* Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...
. A rural municipality or municipality has minimum of five and maximum of 33 divisions.
In
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, further traditional subdivisions of municipalities are called ''rioni'' (meaning ''region''), ''quartieri'' (meaning ''quarter''), ''borghi'' (meaning ''borough'') or ''contrade'' (meaning ''country''), all without a peculiar definition and without a juridical value.
See also
*
Undivided council
In Australian local government, an undivided council (also referred to as unsubdivided, a single ward or an at-large ward) is a council that does not have any wards, meaning all councillors are elected in a single area representing the entire l ...
* Wards of Canada
**
Wards of the City of Ottawa
**
Wards of Lake Country municipality
*
Wards of Japan
A is a subdivision of the cities of Japan that are large enough to have been City designated by government ordinance, designated by government ordinance.Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom
The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ''ward (subnational entity), ward'' is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil pa ...
**
Wards of the City of London
The City of London (also known simply as "the City") is divided into 25 wards. The city is the historic core of the much wider metropolis of Greater London, with an ancient and ''sui generis'' form of local government, which avoided the many l ...
*
Wards of Tanzania
The administrative divisions of Tanzania are controlled by Part I, Article 2.2 of the Constitution of Tanzania.Article 2.2 provides: ''For the purpose of the efficient discharge of the functions of the Government of the United Republic or of the ...
*
Ward (United States)
** For more controversial/negative practices often associated with ''ward politics'', also see
political machine
In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership c ...
.
**
Wards of New York City
**
Wards of New Orleans
**
Wards of Houston
*
Wards of Zimbabwe
References
{{Terms for types of country subdivisions
Types of administrative division
no:Bydel