Characteristics of Unitary Government : 

In unitary government, all the powers of governance are embedded in one government, Central government, by the constitution or by tradition. In it, different provincial or local governments are established / instituted by the center, not by the constitution. Under this, central government delegates some of its powers to these governments of units (states). In this government, these constituents (units) have no separate independent powers. These are representatives of the central government, which can b° removed at any time by the central government.

The main characteristic of unitary government are as follows:

1. Powers of governance – centralized in central government:

In unitary government, the constitution provides all powers of governance to the central government, and as such, in this system of governance, there is a concentration of powers of governance with the central government.

2. Central government ‘all powerful’:

In this system, central government is all powerful. Its other elements have neither any independence nor any fundamental power. These are mere representatives of central government.

3. Lack of division of power between center and units (states):

In unitary government, constitution does not divide the power structure between center and states. There is only one source of governance, that is the central government.

4. The basis of powers of states – central will:

As unitary units (states) are representatives of the central government, constitution is not the basis of their powers of governance and autonomy, instead, it is a will of the central government.

5. To divide the state into different units:

In this government, states are divided into different parts for administrative convenience. These parts (units) are known by the names – state, province, department or commune, etc.

6. Diversity of the form of constitution:

In countries having unitary government, the constitution may be of any type – written, unwritten, flexible or rigid.