section_path: Government and politics/Administrative divisions
section_name: Administrative divisions
paragraph_text: Administrative divisions
  
  Hong Kong's administrative divisions are divided into three levels: Areas (區域), Districts (地區), and Sub-districts (分區). Hong Kong is administratively divided into three areas: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. They are further divided into 18 districts. The area of Hong Kong Island has four districts, the area of Kowloon has five districts, and the area of the New Territories has nine districts. Each district is represented by a district council. The district councils advise the government on local issues such as public facility provisioning, community programme maintenance, cultural promotion, and environmental policy.
  
  As of 2019, there are a total of 479 district council seats, 452 of which are directly elected. Rural committee chairmen, representing outlying villages and towns, fill the 27 non-elected seats. In May 2023, the government proposed reforms to the District Council electoral system which further cut the number of directly elected seats from 452 to 88, and total seats from 479 to 470. A requirement that district council candidates be vetted and approved by the District Council Eligibility Review Committee was also proposed. The Legislative Council approved the reforms in July 2023.