Subdivisions of Switzerland difficulties maintaining the civil services they need to perform the duties they are required to do. In an effort to reduce expenses, many municipalities are combining together (through mergers or the creation of special-purpose districts). This restructuring is generally encouraged by the cantonal governments and the rate of these unions is increasing. "Cities" ("villes" or "Städte") are the municipalities with more than 10'000 inhabitants or smaller places which had medieval town rights. There is no specific designation for smaller communities such as "village" or "town". Some subdivisions that exist are: Subdivisions of Switzerland The Swiss Confederation comprises the 26 cantons
Islam in Switzerland Eberhardt. The largest concentration of Muslim population is in the German speaking Swiss plateau. The cantons with more than 5% Muslim population are: Geneva is the only non-German-speaking canton where the Muslim population is slightly above the average (4.35%). Another remarkable demographic feature in comparison to other European countries is the relatively equal distribution throughout the country (compare Islam in the United Kingdom). No administrative unit has more than 8.55% of Muslim population, and no town or village more than 16.8%. The lowest percentage of Muslims in a canton is 1.82% (the Italian-speaking Ticino). 88.3% of Muslims in Switzerland are