Switzerland's 26 cantons form the country's first-level administrative divisions within a three-tier governmental structure. Cantons hold substantial autonomy under the Swiss federal system, maintaining their own constitutions, parliaments, governments, and courts. They exercise primary responsibility for education, healthcare, police services, and local infrastructure. Each canton collects its own taxes, though rates and structures vary significantly between them. Cantons also implement federal law within their territories while retaining legislative power in areas not explicitly assigned to the federal government. This decentralized arrangement reflects Switzerland's historical development as a confederation of largely independent states, with cantonal sovereignty remaining a defining feature of Swiss political organization. The cantons range considerably in population and geographic size, from urban city-cantons to predominantly rural Alpine regions.