What is Upper House and Lower House?

An upper house, sometimes called a Senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature (or one of three chambers of a tricameral legislature), the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller, and often has more restricted power, than the lower house. read more

Lower House vs Upper House Difference between Lower House and Upper House is a topic relevant to countries with a democratic form of government. In democracies worldwide, it is a common practice to have a bicameral legislature. read more

The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted power than the lower house. Examples of upper houses in countries include the United Kingdom's House of Lords, India's Rajya Sabha, Russia's Federation Council, Ireland's Seanad, Malaysia's Dewan Negara, Germany's Bundesrat, Switzerland's Council of States and the United States Senate. read more

In very general terms, the "lower" house (often called "The House of Commons" for historical reasons) is directly elected by the population. The "upper" house (in the UK, the House of Lords; elsewhere it is usually called "The Senate") is most often not directly elected by the population. read more