In contrast to centrally organised states, in the federally constituted Switzerland each Canton is completely free to decide its own internal organisation. Therefore, there exists a variety of structures and terminology for the subnational entities between Canton and Municipality, loosely termed districts. Most Cantons are divided into Bezirke. They are also termed Ämter, Amtsbezirke, district or distretto. The Bezirke generally provide only administration and court organization. However, for historical reasons districts in cantons Graubünden and Schwyz are their own legal entities with jurisdiction over tax and often have their own Landsgemeinde. Eight of the 26 Cantons – Uri, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus, Zug, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Basel-City and Geneva – have always existed without the district level of government. A number of further cantons have dispensed with the district level recently, Appenzell Ausserrhoden in 1995, Schaffhausen in 1999, St Gallen in 2003 and Lucerne in 2007. A number of further cantons are considering an abolition of the district level in the future: Schwyz in 2006 voted on its abolition, but voted in favour of keeping the division. Bern in 2006 decided a reduction of its 26 districts to five administrative regions. Vaud decided a reduction from 19 to 10 districts. Valais is planning a similar reduction and in Thurgau, a reduction of eight to four districts is under discussion.
Municipalities
Communes, also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,636 as of 2009. While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities. The area of the municipalities varies between 0.32 km² and 439 km². Each canton defines their responsibilities. These may include providing local government services such as education, medical and social services, public transportation, and tax collection. The degree of centralization varies from one canton to another. Communes are generally governed by a council headed by a mayor as executive and the town meeting as legislature. Most cantons leave the option to larger municipalities to opt for a city parliament. In some cantons, foreign persons that have dwelled for a certain time in Switzerland are also allowed to participate in the municipal politics. Swiss citizenship is based on the citizenship of a municipality. Every Swiss is citizen of one or several municipalities. Communes are financed through direct taxes, with rates varying more or less within a framework set by the canton. Many municipalities are having difficulties maintaining the civil services they need to perform the duties they are required to do. In an effort to reduce expenses, many municipalities are combining together. This restructuring is generally encouraged by the cantonal governments and the rate of these unions is increasing. "Cities" are the municipalities with more than 10'000 inhabitants or smaller places which had medieval town rights. There is no specific designation for smaller communities such as "village" or "town".
