subnational

adjective

sub·​na·​tion·​al ˌsəb-ˈna-sh(ə-)nəl 

variants or sub-national

: existing or occurring below a national level : relating to or being a group or region within a nation

a subnational government

members of a subnational culture

Nations with differing political and economic systems are flourishing. Sub-national groups, with varied and contradictory agendas, are on the rise.

—Fareed Zakaria

Examples of subnational in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Source: Science Nearly one-third of the world’s regions are growing their economies while reducing carbon emissions While most research has focused on cities and nations, a study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research analyzed 1,500 subnational regions over the past three decades. —Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Feb. 2025

As deforestation advances at an alarming pace, REDD+, and more recently jurisdictional REDD+ (national and subnational programs to reduce deforestation) offer communities like ours a path to mitigate climate change while channeling finance to support sustainable development in our communities. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025

Prigozhin was effectively a political-military baron, maintaining personal, vassal-like ties to Putin and key handlers in the Kremlin (a curious position similar to that of the subnational dictator of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov). —Julian G. Waller, Foreign Affairs, 14 Aug. 2024

Apart from China, which has long engaged with armed groups along its shared border, Myanmar’s other neighbors are wary that developing deeper relationships with subnational administrations could draw the ire of the junta. —Richard Horsey, Foreign Affairs, 31 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1840, in the meaning defined above