government since it is a monarchy in which the Sultan of Yogyakarta serves in a position similar to that of a governor. Philippines The Philippines is divided into provinces and the Bangsamoro autonomous region. The Provinces exercise significant degree of authority in local matters. Many people in the Philippines propose the creation of a federation. Republic of China (Taiwan) The Republic of China, which has ruled Taiwan since 1945, can be considered as a regional state as there are a number of counties and cities that are self-governing according to the Local Government Act. There are also indigenous areas throughout the island that are concentrated in the southern areas of Taiwan. Africa There are several regional states in Africa. They are common because all of the continent's countries except for Liberia and Ethiopia came into existence in the 20th or the 21st centuries and so were not constrained by old constitutional structures in setting up their governments. South Africa South Africa is a regional state divided into a number of provinces, all of which have their own elected provincial legislature and Premier and exercise significant degrees of authority. Some people and political parties, most notably the Inkatha Freedom Party, advocate the establishment of a federal system in which the provinces would be the federal units. Tanzania Tanzania is divided into 21 regions as well as Zanzibar. The regions exercise a large degree of political power. However, Zanzibar is more autonomous than the others and has its own leader, the President of Zanzibar, and legislature, the Zanzibar House of Representatives. Others South Africa and Tanzania are the only true regional states in Africa, but some other states have similar aspects. Morocco is divided into Regions that exercise some power but have less regional authority than the regions of true regional states. See also Home rule Autonomous entity Subnational entity Federacy References Glassner, Martin Ira. Political Geography, 2nd Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1995. Federalism Unitary state Constitutional state types ca:Estat regional