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December, 2000 to December, 2001

Changes affecting status:

  1. Afghanistan: Confirmation of two new provinces.
  2. Albania now uses prefectures as its primary divisions. I also found and added the areas for all districts.
  3. Australia: Discovered new information about the status of Jervis Bay.
  4. Austria: The capital of Lower Austria moved to Sankt Pölten.
  5. Bangladesh has a new division called Sylhet.
  6. Benin: I've confirmed the existence of six new departments, previously reported.
  7. Cambodia: Krong Pailin municipality was split from Batdambang province.
  8. Canada: On 1999-04-29, the Newfoundland Parliament unanimously passed a bill asking that the official name of the province be changed to "Newfoundland and Labrador". This would require an amendment to the Terms of Union of Newfoundland with Canada, which is part of the Canadian Constitution. On 2001-10-30, the House of Commons of Canada passed a motion to authorize such an amendment. The Senate must now agree for the measure to become final. Quebec disputes the boundary between Quebec and Labrador shown on most current maps; it agreed to the amendment, provided that no conclusions be drawn about the position of the border.
  9. Congo-Kinshasa: There is a claimed new province of Kibale-Ituri.
  10. Côte d'Ivoire is using regions as its primary divisions now.
  11. Cuba: The capital of Granma province should be Bayamo, not Manzanillo.
  12. Czech Republic: The new regions are supposed to be official now.
  13. East Timor plans to replace its districts with provinces. Changed the name of Bautem to Lautem, correcting an error.
  14. Ecuador: Orellana province was split from Napo.
  15. Egypt: Al Uqsur has been added to the list of governorates.
  16. Ethiopia: Dire Dawa may have become a chartered city.
  17. Gambia: The name of MacCarthy Island may have changed to Janjanbureh Island.
  18. Georgia is now divided into regions, which are subdivided into districts.
  19. Guam: The name of the capital has changed to Hagåtña.
  20. India has three new states: Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Uttaranchal. As a result, some of the rankings of the most populous statoids had to be changed on the Trivia page, although none of them dropped off.
  21. Indonesia: Maluku Utara, Banten, Bangka-Belitung, and Gorontalo provinces were created. The capital of Lampung changed its name. Name of Irian Jaya is changing to Papua.
  22. Kyrgyzstan: Batken region was split from Osh.
  23. Laos: Confirmed the existence of Xaisômboun special region.
  24. Liberia has a new county called River Gee.
  25. Lithuania: Corrected the spelling of Lazdijai region.
  26. Malawi has three new districts: Balaka, Likoma, and Phalombe. I had previously reported a different division, based on a preliminary census report.
  27. Malaysia: There is a new federal territory of Putrajaya.
  28. Maldives: Aliff atoll has been split into Aliff Aliff and Aliff Daalu.
  29. Mauritania: Changed the capital of Tiris Zemmour. Corrected one population.
  30. Micronesia: Helmut Grill has forwarded an article about the creation of a new state. On 2001-10-01, the Faichuk Commission for Statehood adopted a resolution to separate from Chuuk state. The government of Federated States of Micronesia has apparently ignored this resolution. The Statehood Commission threatens to act unilaterally, to the extent of "finding its own political status with a different nation of the world", if Micronesia doesn't respond by 2001-11-22. Faichuk (sometimes spelled Faichuuk) is the western part of Chuuk Lagoon, including the islands of Tol, Udot, Polle, and Patta. It has been seeking separate status for decades.
  31. Moldova: Taraclia county was split from Cahul.
  32. Mongolia: The new province of Govisumber has been confirmed.
  33. Morocco: There is a new province named Aousserd. There is a new division into provinces, subdivided into prefectures.
  34. Myanmar: There are six new subdivisions, but their level is unknown.
  35. Netherlands: Hans Wittebol writes that there is discussion in the Netherlands of changing the name of Noord-Brabant province to Brabant.
  36. Pakistan: Gilgit is the administrative center of Northern Areas.
  37. Panama has four new comarcas: Emberá, Kuna de Madungandí, Kuna de Wargandi, and Ngöbe Buglé. There is also a name change from San Blas to Kuna Yala.
  38. Papua New Guinea: I have confirmed that the name of North Solomons province has changed to Bougainville.
  39. Paraguay: Filadelfia is now the capital of Boquerón department, and Areguá has been confirmed as the capital of Central.
  40. Philippines has a new province: Zamboanga-Sibugay. The new province of Compostela Valley has been confirmed. I also added the results of the 2000 census, and province codes defined by a Philippine statistical bureau. Change the capitals of Maguindanao and Tawi-Tawi provinces to Maganoy and Bongao, respectively.
  41. Reunion: Reunion is considering a reorganization into two departments.
  42. Rwanda: The new prefectures of Kigali-Ville and Umutara have been confirmed.
  43. Solomon Islands has two new provinces: Choiseul, and Rennell and Bellona. Capital Territory has merged with Guadalcanal.
  44. Tunisia: Manouba governorate was split from Ariana.
  45. Turkey: The new province of Düzce appears to be confirmed.
  46. Turkmenistan: Ashgabat independent city was split from Ahal province.
  47. Uganda: Six new districts were created about 1998, and possibly eleven more in 2000.
  48. United States: A new county named Broomfield will be created in Colorado in November, 2001.
  49. Uzbekistan: Changed the description of Uzbekistan's enclaves to take notice of the creation of Batken region in Kyrgyzstan.
  50. Venezuela: Vargas state was split from Distrito Federal.
  51. Zimbabwe: The capital of Matabeleland North may be moving.

Tentative:

  1. The CIA World Factbook has unconfirmed reports of new divisions in Benin, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Cape Verde, Macedonia, Morocco, Panama, Turkey, and Yemen. I've cited them in the Statoids Web site, and tried to confirm them wherever possible.
  2. Iraq: Kurds have defined new governorates.
  3. Yemen: More information about recently created governorates.

Possible future changes:

  1. Germany may merge Berlin and Brandenburg.
  2. Russia may adopt a set of 12-15 regions.

Other data added:

  1. New FIPS codes were issued for divisions of Andorra, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Indonesia, and Venezuela. In Iran, FIPS has changed its spelling of two province names. Yugoslavia shows up as a new country, comprising the former countries of Montenegro and Serbia. This step was probably taken because the United States has recognized Yugoslavia.
  2. Afghanistan: Updated populations and areas.
  3. Albania: Updated district populations to 1993. Acquired 2001 census figures.
  4. Algeria: Updated province populations to 1998, and gave their areas. Added details to the change history, and two columns of codes to the main table.
  5. Andorra: Updated parish populations to 1999.
  6. Antigua and Barbuda: Added parish populations and areas.
  7. Argentina: Argentina's postal service announced a new postal code format. Corrected a few spelling errors in the district names. Fixed incorrect province codes, added UPU province codes.
  8. Armenia: Added populations, areas, and capitals to the table of provinces. Armenia's claims in Nagorno-Karabakh.
  9. Australia: Added codes from the Australian Standard Geographical Classification.
  10. Austria: Acquired 2001 census figures.
  11. Belize: I acquired the census 2000 populations of the districts.
  12. Brazil: Extended the change history back to 1534. Acquired 2000 census figures.
  13. Burkina Faso: I added the new provincial capitals, and the comparison between the old and new provinces.
  14. Canada: Extended the change history back to 1763, and the population history to 1851.
  15. China: Added HASC code for Chongqing. Added details to the change history.
  16. Comoros: Updated governorate populations to 1991.
  17. Cyprus: Added partial 1992 census figures.
  18. East Timor: Added district populations. Added areas.
  19. Egypt: Updated governorate populations.
  20. Faroe Islands: Added change history.
  21. Finland: Documented the relationships among provinces, regional councils, and NUTS areas.
  22. France: Extended the change history back to 1790, and the population history back to 1851 and forward to 1999.
  23. Gambia: Updated division populations to 1993. Added information about local government areas.
  24. Greece: Added NUTS codes for all the prefectures.
  25. Guam: Added some historical information.
  26. Guatemala: Updated populations to 1994.
  27. Hong Kong: New estimated populations of districts.
  28. India: I acquired the preliminary census 2001 populations of the states. Revised some name origins.
  29. Indonesia: Updated province populations to 2000. Listed postal code ranges by province. Added some details to the change history.
  30. Iraq: For the change history, provided details of the primary divisions as of 1962.
  31. Ireland: More information about Tipperary's capital.
  32. Italy: I listed NUTS codes for the provinces.
  33. Kuwait: Added populations for 1998.
  34. Laos: Updated populations and areas.
  35. Malaysia: Updated populations to include the 2000 census.
  36. Maldives: Added a note about name origins. Added populations and capitals of atolls.
  37. Martinique: Added areas and populations.
  38. Mexico: Updated state populations to 2000, added new state codes, and a key to postal codes
  39. Monaco: More information about the quartiers.
  40. Morocco: Provided documentation on the pre-1997 subdivisions of Morocco.
  41. Namibia: Areas of regions, one corrected population, and a discussion of capitals.
  42. Palestine: Added information about the new districts.
  43. Papua New Guinea: Added details to the change history.
  44. Paraguay: Updated department populations to 1992. Added areas of departments.
  45. Peru: Description of the Ubigeo code for departments and provinces.
  46. Poland: Added populations, areas, and capitals to the table of voivodships.
  47. Puerto Rico: Updated populations to the 2000 census.
  48. Qatar: Added populations, areas, and capitals.
  49. Reunion: Added details of the change history.
  50. Russia: Updated populations and areas. Added information about federal okrugs.
  51. Saint Helena: I corrected the area of one dependency.
  52. Saint Lucia: Added an explanation of how I chose the list of districts, based on conflicting sources. I acquired the areas of the districts.
  53. San Marino: I acquired the areas of the municipalities.
  54. Saudi Arabia: I acquired the populations and areas of the regions.
  55. Slovakia: Added areas to the table of regions.
  56. Slovenia: I acquired the populations and areas of the statistical regions.
  57. Solomon Islands: Defined two-letter codes for the new provinces.
  58. Suriname: I acquired the areas and populations of the districts, and expanded the change history.
  59. Swaziland: Updated district populations, and added new codes.
  60. Tajikistan: Updated region populations.
  61. Thailand: Updated province populations to 2000.
  62. Tonga: Updated island group populations to 1996.
  63. Tunisia: Updated governorate populations to 2000, and added many details to the change history.
  64. Turkmenistan: Updated province populations to 1999.
  65. Tuvalu: Added populations, areas, and capitals to the table of island councils.
  66. Uganda: Added details to the change history. More details about the newly formed districts.
  67. United Arab Emirates: Updated emirate populations to 1995.
  68. United Kingdom: Added areas, and a number of missing capitals, to the table of divisions.
  69. United States: Updated state populations to 2000. Extended the change history of the states back to 1776.
  70. Vanuatu: Added details to the change history. Added populations, areas, and capitals to the table of provinces.
  71. Vietnam: Added details to the change history.
  72. Zambia: Added details to the change history, and a note about postal codes.
  73. Zimbabwe: Updated province populations to 1992.

Secondary divisions:

  1. Afghanistan: Added the districts.
  2. American Samoa: Added the counties.
  3. Argentina: Added the departments.
  4. Australia: Added the shires.
  5. Austria: Added populations, areas, NUTS codes, and change history, and corrected errors in the listing of districts.
  6. Bangladesh: Added populations of districts.
  7. Bolivia: Added the provinces.
  8. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Added communes (as of 1969; probably obsolete). Added a partial list of cantons.
  9. Canada: Added the counties. Added links to maps of each province or territory, showing counties or county equivalents. Updated for changes to subdivisions of Ontario that occurred on 2001-01-01.
  10. Chad: Added the sub-prefectures.
  11. China: Added prefectures.
  12. Côte d'Ivoire: Added departments.
  13. Denmark: Added communes and change history.
  14. Ecuador: Added the cantons.
  15. Faroe Islands: Added communes.
  16. Finland: Added the sub-regions.
  17. France: Extended the change history for secondary divisions (arrondissements) back to 1800.
  18. French Guiana: Added the communes.
  19. French Polynesia: Added the communes.
  20. Gabon: Added the departments.
  21. Gambia: Added the districts.
  22. Germany: Added the districts.
  23. Greenland: Added municipalities. Modified change history.
  24. Guadeloupe: Added the communes.
  25. Haiti: Added the arrondissements.
  26. India: Added the districts, with change history since about 1982. Corrected populations of East Imphal and Lakshadweep.
  27. Indonesia: Added the regencies. Details of the proposed subdivision of Irian Jaya.
  28. Israel: Added the subdistricts.
  29. Japan: Added notes about the complete system of divisions.
  30. Kyrgyzstan: Added the districts. Added the history of a few recent changes to the districts.
  31. Laos: Added the districts.
  32. Lebanon: Added the counties.
  33. Madagascar: Added the sub-prefectures.
  34. Malaysia: Added the districts. Added the change history for districts in West Malaysia.
  35. Mali: Added the circles.
  36. Martinique: Added the communes.
  37. Mauritania: Added the departments.
  38. Mayotte: Added the communes.
  39. Mexico: Added the municipalities.
  40. Micronesia: Added the municipalities.
  41. Nepal: Added the districts.
  42. Netherlands: Added municipalities.
  43. New Caledonia: Added the communes.
  44. Niger: Added the arrondissements.
  45. Norway: Added the municipalities.
  46. Palau: Added populations, areas, and capitals of states.
  47. Palestine: Added governorates.
  48. Panama: Added districts.
  49. Paraguay: Added districts.
  50. Peru: Added the provinces.
  51. Philippines: Added municipalities.
  52. Poland: Added the districts.
  53. Portugal: Added the municipalities.
  54. Reunion: Added the communes.
  55. Rwanda: Added communes.
  56. São Tomé and Príncipe: Added districts.
  57. Senegal: Added departments.
  58. Sierra Leone: Added table of districts, with change history.
  59. Slovakia: Added the districts.
  60. Slovenia: Updated communes from 1998 to the present. Added populations.
  61. Somalia: Added districts.
  62. Suriname: Added ressorts.
  63. Svalbard and Jan Mayen: Added the municipalities.
  64. Sweden: I acquired the populations of the municipalities.
  65. Switzerland: Added the districts. Corrected some capitals of districts.
  66. Uganda: Added counties.
  67. United States: Extended the change history of the counties back to 1900. Also, I reordered the change history by state. Updated county populations for the 2000 census. Fixed the time zones for a couple of counties that had outdated information. Clifton Forge independent city, VA merged with Alleghany county. Changed the administrative centers of two Alaskan boroughs. Added links to maps of each state, showing counties or county equivalents.
  68. Venezuela: Added the municipalities.
  69. Virgin Islands, U.S.: Added the subdistricts.
  70. Wallis and Futuna: Added the districts.
  71. Yugoslavia: Added the districts.
  72. Zambia: Added the districts.

Time zones:

  1. I added pages showing time zones and their history for Antarctica, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Congo (Kinshasa), Ecuador, French Polynesia, Greenland (no history), Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Mexico, Micronesia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Portugal, Russia, Spain, United States, and United States Minor Outlying Islands.
  2. Brazil: Added dates for 2001-2002.
  3. Greenland: I discovered a new time zone.
  4. Mexico: Latest news on DST for Distrito Federal.
  5. Mongolia: Several revisions, including a new time zone.
  6. Russia: Gave precise extent of time zones in Sakha.

Site design changes:

  1. I added two pages to the newsletter section. One contains errata from the book. The other is a list of all changes affecting status from the publication date of the book until November, 2000 (after which the monthly newsletters take over).
  2. I added a page of books on related topics.
  3. I added a page of country codes of the world.
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