France is mainly divided into 18 administrative regions: 13 regions in metropolitan France (including the territorial collectivity of Corsica), and five located overseas. The regions are further subdivided into 101 departments, which are numbered mainly alphabetically. This number is used in postal codes and was formerly used on vehicle number plates. Among the 101 departments of France, five (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion) are in overseas regions (ROMs) that are also simultaneously overseas departments (DOMs), enjoy exactly the same status as metropolitan departments and are an integral part of the European Union. The 101 departments are subdivided into 335
Administrative county Wales were introduced in their place. Though strictly inaccurate, these are often called 'administrative counties' to distinguish them from both the historic counties, and the ceremonial counties. In Scotland they were never established as separate entities as they were in England and Wales. For local government purposes Scottish counties were replaced in 1975 with a system of regions and island council areas. The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 created administrative counties in Ireland on the same model that had been used in England and Wales. In Northern Ireland the administrative counties were replaced by a system of 26 districts on