One of My Pet Ideas Is the Weakness of Government

I'll throw out an example:  A map of English counties (before 1974 reorg?)

A map of French departments (colors indicate population density)

If I understand correctly, the French department and the English county are the first administrative subdivision below the country (yes, I realize England isn't a country, but the same would apply if I showed a map of British counties). Compare these, with their relatively equal proportions, with a map of the US at the same level of administration: