CIVIL DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD PART I. ASIA AND THE USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-01009A002000010006-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 9, 1999
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: June 1, 1958
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2000/08/25: CIA-RDP79-01009AO02000010006-3
Revised 1 June 1958
CIVIL DIVISIONS OF THE WORLD
Part I. ASIA AND THE USSR
Introduction
Wherever possible, this report gives the generic names of first- and
second-order civil divisions and the number of such units for each country.
"Country" is here interpreted loosely to cover nations, dominions, colonies,
protectorates, possessions, and other types of units. In general, the data
reflect de facto sovereignty as of 1 January 1958. The counting of a particular
civil division under the name of a country, however, does not necessarily imply
recognition of its current political status by the United States Government.
The data vary greatly in relative completeness and accuracy from country
to country. For some political units, information was available for first-
order divisions only. For others, no divisions could be listed although, in
some cases, brief explanations could be given.
In several instances, the status of units as first- or second-order
divisions is.clouded by the existence of entities of intermediate rank. As
a rule, an attempt was made to identify the basic first- and second-order
units, and.to deal with exceptions and intermediate units in the remarks.
The nature of the data on hand, however, did not always favor strict
adherence to this policy, and the compilers will quickly concede that
valid interpretations different from theirs can be placed on many of the
civil division patterns.
If the generic name of a civil division has been transliterated or
transcribed from a language that does not employ a roman alphabet, the
name used in this report is generally that used in one or more of the cited
references. Wherever feasible, the transliterations or transcriptions con-
form to the policies of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, but conformity
is not guaranteed. Where appropriate, generic terms are followed by a
translation -- the "standard" translation where one could be discerned, and
the choice of the compilers in other cases. Where translations only were
available, that is, where the official form in current use could not be
identified with certainty, the translation only is given in brackets.
Wherever the figure appearing after the first- or second-order division
term is underlined it indicates that the figure was arrived at by counting
the number of units shown on available maps. Because of cartographic
ambiguities and errors in counting, these figures may be less accurate than
those (not underlined) that were taken from documentary sources. In general,
the map-count figures will be accurate if small, but are likely to include
minor errors where more than 50 units were counted.
The date given for each civil division category is that of the main
source from which information was taken. Where basic data were drawn from
numerous sources, the date may span several years -- for example, 1954-57-
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The references cited generally include the main.source or one of the
main sources from which data for this report were taken. In some instances,
it was necessary to note several references in order to give complete
coverage for both first- and second-order divisions. References include
maps, lists, and other works useful in interpreting administrative
relationships. After each citation, a brief indication of the type of
data presented by the source is given.
Reference materials for which call numbers or map numbers are given in
the citations can be obtained on request from the CIA Map Library, extension
2596. Maps with map numbers generally are obtainable as retention copies,
whereas all items with call numbers are available only on loan. Most of the
unnumbered books, reports, and documents that are cited as references are in
the CIA Library (extension 8708), the Department of State Library, or the
Library of Congress. A few, however, are available at the CIA Map Library.
.Where reliability of the data is particularly doubtful, or where some
relationship is not covered by the available sources, the discrepancies are
noted under the heading "Gaps."
Approved For Release 2000/08/25: CIA-RDP79-01009AO02000010006-3