As of 2005, in the seven Regions and one Capital Area, there were 36 départements, divided into 265 communes, 122 cantons and 81 groupements.
Additional semi-autonomous sub-divisions include Sultanates, Provinces and Tribes (tribus).
[2] The Nigerien government estimates there are an additional 17000 Villages administered by Rural Communes, while there are over 100 Quartiers (boroughs or neighborhoods) administered by Urban Communes.
[3] The territorial reorganisation of Niger's local administration, known informally as the Decentralisation process, was carried out through a series of laws from 1998 - 2005.
Most important are: While often translated as "town", Nigerien communes are simply the third level administrative subdivision of the nation.