Ländern

Ländern is the German plural form of Land, meaning a political-territorial unit or country. In contemporary German, the term is most commonly used to refer to the federal states within a country, rather than to independent nations.

In Germany, the term Länder refers to the 16 federal states (Bundesländer). Each Land has its own constitution, government (Landesregierung), and parliament (Landtag), and it retains significant powers in areas such as education, culture, policing, and regional planning. The federal government and the Länder share sovereignty under the Basic Law, and certain powers are exercised exclusively by either level. The Bundesrat, the federal council, represents the Länder at the national level and participates in the legislative process on matters affecting states.

In Austria, the nine Bundesländer likewise enjoy substantial autonomy. They possess their own constitutions and parliaments (Landtag), and are headed by a governor (Landeshauptmann or Landeshauptfrau). Austrian Länder govern areas such as education, healthcare, and local transport, within the framework of national law.

Historically, the term Länder also described territories within the Holy Roman Empire and later German-speaking realms, where varying degrees of sovereignty existed. In Switzerland, the analogous units are cantons rather than Länder, a distinction reflected in different constitutional structures and terminology.

Etymology traces Land to an old term for a political or geographic domain, with related forms in other Germanic languages. The plural form Länder is common in official and academic usage when discussing multiple such entities.