Federation
The federation is a form of union comprising a number of states or regions whose own semi-governing bodies are united by a central government. In a federal state, its own administrative status for component states is usually strengthened by the constitution and should not be altered by decisions made by the federal government that are just side-by-side. The form of government or constitutional structure found in a federation is known as federalism which can also be regarded as an opponent to another system, which is a unitary state. The German government, comprising 16 associates of länder, is made up as a federal example, while Austria and the Bundesländer are united states with administrative divisions, while France is a fully united state, although its subnational entities look similar to federal governments. This federation can be a multi-ethnic area, or cover a vast area of land, but it does not necessarily mean this.