A province is an area of land that is part of a country, similar to a state or a county. It can also be an area of land under political control by an outside country, similar to a colony.

Provinces are usually units of government. Canada has 10 provinces, each with a lieutenant governor. China has 22 provinces inside its borders. Each Chinese province is led by a political governor and a military governor. In the South American country of Chile, there are 53 different provinces contained in 15 different regions. Each province is led by a governor who is appointed by the president of the country.

Countries can also have provinces outside of their borders. This was more common in the past than it is today. Canada was once a province of the United Kingdom, for example.

The word province comes from the Latin word provencia, which referred to areas ruled by Roman officials about 2,000 years ago.