House of Representatives

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House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national states. In some countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often called a "senate". In other countries, the House of Representatives is the sole chamber of a unicameral legislature. The functioning of a house of representatives can vary greatly from country to country, and depends on whether a country has a parliamentary or a presidential system. Members of a house of representatives are typically apportioned according to population rather than geography.

"The House of Representatives" is the name of the lower house of the legislature in the following countries:

Antigua and Barbuda	House of Representatives of Antigua and Barbuda
Australia	Australian House of Representatives
Belarus	House of Representatives of Belarus
Belize	House of Representatives of Belize
Bosnia and Herzegovina	House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Colombia	House of Representatives of Colombia
Fiji	House of Representatives of Fiji
Indonesia	Indonesian House of Representatives
Republic of Ireland	Dáil Éireann (sometimes translated as the "House of Representatives of Ireland")
Jamaica	House of Representatives of Jamaica
Japan	House of Representatives of Japan
Liberia	House of Representatives of Liberia
Malaysia	House of Representatives of Malaysia
Malta	House of Representatives of Malta
Nepal	House of Representatives of Nepal
Netherlands	House of Representatives of the Netherlands
Nigeria	House of Representatives of Nigeria
Philippines	House of Representatives of the Philippines
Puerto Rico	House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
Somaliland	House of Representatives of Somaliland
Thailand	House of Representatives of Thailand
Trinidad and Tobago	House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago
United States	United States House of Representatives
Yemen	House of Representatives of Yemen

In the following countries it is the sole chamber in a unicameral system:

Cyprus	House of Representatives of Cyprus
Malta	House of Representatives of Malta
New Zealand	New Zealand House of Representatives

In Indonesia, the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) is generally known in English as the "House of Representatives", as is the Dewan Rakyat of the Parliament of Malaysia. House of Representatives is the title of most, but not all, of the lower houses of United States state legislatures, with the exceptions usually called "State Assembly" or more rarely, "House of Delegates." Under apartheid, the House of Representatives was the house for South Africa's mixed race 'Coloured' community, in the Tricameral Parliament of 1984 to 1994.

In the Austrian part Cisleithania of Austria-Hungary, the lower house the Abgeordnetenhaus is generally known in English as "House of Representatives".

Defunct Houses of Representatives

• 1994 Gambia¹
• 1966 Kenya²
• 1972 Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
• 1990 Sierra Leone¹

1. Legislature disbanded
2. New constitution, unicameral system adopted

See also

• List of legislatures by country
• Chamber of Deputies
• National Assembly
• House of Commons