States were semi-autonomous regions of countries which generally had broad powers over the affairs of their residents. The national government formed by the combination of the several states was often called the "federal government". (PROSE: Endgame) Notable examples of countries that had states were the United States of America and Australia. Canada effectively had states, but called them "provinces". (TV: Children of Earth: Day Three) Amongst the things that states and provinces did was issue number plates for motor vehicles. Sarah Jane Smith, for instance, kept an Ontario number plate in her attic. (TV: Enemy of the Bane)
Federated states were not the universal condition of governmental organisation on Earth, as some countries were not subdivided into states. The United Kingdom, for example, did not have states but rather constituent countries, some with varied autonomy with their own parliament. (AUDIO: Herald of the Dawn, Thoughts and Prayers, Changes Everything, TV: World War Three etc.) Other countries, like France, also had no states. (TV: The Reign of Terror, PROSE: Human Nature)
States[]
Australia[]
The states of the nation of Australia included New South Wales, Queensland, (PROSE: Invasion of the Cat-People) South Australia, (COMIC: Operation Volcano) Tasmania, (PROSE: The Song of Old Man Bunyip, Goth Opera) Victoria, (AUDIO: The Wrong Doctors, PROSE: Invasion of the Cat-People) and Western Australia. (PROSE: Invasion of the Cat-People)
The Fifth Doctor's companion, Tegan Jovanka, was from Queensland. (AUDIO: The Butcher of Brisbane)
In addition to states, Australia also had territories, which were similar to states. These included the Australian Capital Territory (PROSE: Home Fires) and the Northern Territory. (COMIC: Gemini Plan)
Brazil[]
The nation of Brazil had federal states. One such state was Rio de Janeiro. The Doctor had visited Rio de Janiero on multiple occasions. (PROSE: Rose, AUDIO: The Raincloud Man, Loups-Garoux) Rio de Janiero was a frequent destination the Doctor would take companions to, but on some occasions they would often fail to get there. (COMIC: Monstrous Beauty, TV: The Hungry Earth) São Paulo was another state of Brazil. (COMIC: Slaver's Song) In 1983, the Third Doctor's companion Jo Grant had lived in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso for about six months. (TV: Death of the Doctor, PROSE: Death of the Doctor)
Germany[]
The nation of Germany also had states. Bavaria was one state which the Doctor knew of. (AUDIO: Scaredy Cat) The Tenth Doctor explained to Rose Tyler that Saxe-Coburg was located in the Bavarian state of her time. (TV: Tooth and Claw) Other German states included Baden-Württemberg (AUDIO: Dominion) and Lower Saxony. (TV: The Day of the Clown)
Mexico[]
The Doctor knew of some Mexican states, but it was not always because he knew of them through personal travel there. One such state was Yucatán. (TV: The Enemy of the World) In 2012, Jo Jones planned to visit Yucatán, as well as the other Mexican states of Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca, as part of a conservation tour of the country. (AUDIO: The Infinite Today) San Luis Potosi was another Mexican state. (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary)
United States[]
States were so integral to the structure of the United States of America that the concept was enshrined in the very name of the country. States were headed by governors and also had their own bodies of laws. People could be punished for breaking such state laws, and state governors could offer paroles to people imprisoned under their respective state's law. (TV: The New World)
The question of whether states could secede from the federal union was central to the American Civil War. After a long and bloody conflict, the answer to the question was determined to be "no". (PROSE: Blood and Hope) Specifically, state law differed on the issue of slavery. While the practice remained legal in southern states, northern states had outlawed it. Following the 1860 election of slavery abolitionist Abraham Lincoln to the presidency, the continuation of slavery was a decisive factor that led to the secession of the southern states from the union, immediately leading to the civil war. Together, the southern states formed a new nation, the Confederate States of America. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the War Games, Blood and Hope, COMIC: Backtime) Ultimately, slavery would be abolished nationwide by the federal government following the Confederacy's defeat. (PROSE: Warlords of Utopia)
Some states were territories prior to their admission to the union. Notable examples included the Colorado Territory (PROSE: Peacemaker) and the state of Oklahoma which formed part of the Indian Territory in 1880. (COMIC: The Parliament of Fear) Prior to the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, (PROSE: Blood and Hope) states were British colonies, such as the North Carolina colony. (COMIC: Hidden Human History) Massachusetts was one state that was part of the New England colony in the 17th century. (PROSE: The Witch Hunters)
There were fifty-one states by 2003, (AUDIO: Minuet in Hell, Neverland, The Fall of the House of Pollard, PROSE: Rise of the Dominator) or only fifty, though it was widely believed as a result of the "Mandela Effect" that there were fifty-two, which Professor Maxwell Grey attributed to time being rewritten. (PROSE: The Mandela Effect, Or Monsters on the Streets of London)
Due to the Myloki conflict of 2066-8, the United States were split into the warring North American Legion and Deep Southern States in 2096, with the Texas Republic selling weapons to both sides. (PROSE: The Indestructible Man)
US states included Alabama, (TV: The Chase) Alaska, (AUDIO: The Land of the Dead) Arizona, (TV: The Gunfighters) Arkansas, (COMIC: Wormwood) California, (TV: Doctor Who) Colorado, (PROSE: Peacemaker) Connecticut, (PROSE: Silver Nemesis) Delaware, (PROSE: Blue Box) Florida, (TV: The Moonbase) Georgia, (PROSE: Fear Itself) Hawaii, (TV: The Tenth Planet) Idaho, (PROSE: The Duke's Folly) Illinois, (PROSE: Blood Harvest) Indiana, (PROSE: The Schoolboy's Story) Iowa, (TV: The Waters of Mars) Kansas, (TV: The Gunfighters) Kentucky, (TV: The New World) Louisiana, (PROSE: The City of the Dead) Maine, (PROSE: Tip of the Tongue) Malebolgia, (AUDIO: Minuet in Hell, Neverland, The Fall of the House of Pollard, PROSE: Rise of the Dominator) Maryland, (PROSE: Blue Box) Massachusetts, (TV: The Ambassadors of Death) Michigan, (PROSE: Moon Blink) Minnesota, (PROSE: The King of Terror) Mississippi, (COMIC: What He Wants...) Missouri, (PROSE: The Mother Road) Montana, (PROSE: Grass) Nebraska, (AUDIO: Red Dawn) Nevada, (TV: Dreamland) New Hampshire, (PROSE: Drift) New Jersey, (TV: The Stones of Blood) New Mexico, (TV: The Zygon Invasion) New York, (TV: Immortal Sins) North Carolina, (PROSE: Endgame) North Dakota, (PROSE: Hymn of the City) Ohio, (TV: The Man Who Never Was) Oklahoma, (PROSE: The Duke's Folly) Oregon, (PROSE: The Devil Goblins from Neptune) Pennsylvania, (PROSE: Option Lock) Rhode Island, (AUDIO: The Lovecraft Invasion) South Carolina, (PROSE: Blood and Hope) South Dakota, (PROSE: The Book of the War) Tennessee, (TV: Daleks in Manhattan) Texas, (TV: Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.) Utah, (TV: Day of the Moon) Vermont, (PROSE: The City of the Dead) Virginia, (PROSE: Blood and Hope) Washington, (AUDIO: The Silurian Candidate) West Virginia, (PROSE: Blood and Hope) Wisconsin, (COMIC: Agent Provocateur) and Wyoming. (COMIC: From the Horse's Mouth)
Peri Brown, the Fifth and Sixth Doctor's companion, was from Maryland, (PROSE: Blue Box) although one account stated that she was from Massachusetts. (PROSE: The More Things Change) The Tenth Doctor's companion, Gabby Gonzalez, was from the state of New York. (COMIC: Revolutions of Terror)
Provinces[]
Like sub-national states, provinces also exercised a similar level of autonomous authority. For example, some provinces had the power to issue number plates for cars. (TV: Enemy of the Bane)
Canada[]
Canada was a nation that used the term province over state. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Three) Alberta, (AUDIO: By Jacqui McGee) Ontario, (PROSE: Christmas in Toronto) and British Columbia were provinces of Canada. (COMIC: An Eye For An Eye)