A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international church structures, as well as in

antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

a Roman district.

Literal prefectures

Antiquity

''Prefecture'' originally refers to a self-governing body or area since the tetrarchy, when Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

divided the Roman Empire into four districts (each divided into dioceses), grouped under ''a Vicarius'' (a number of Roman provinces, listed under that article), although he maintained two pretorian prefectures as an administrative level above the also surviving dioceses (a few of which were split).

Ecclesiastic

As canon law is strongly inspired by Roman law, it is not surprising that the Catholic Church has several offices under a prefect. That term occurs also in otherwise styled offices, such as the head of a congregation or department of the Roman Curia. Various ecclesiastical areas, too small for a diocese, are termed prefects.

Analogous prefectures

Brazilian equivalent of ''prefecture''

In Brazil, the prefecture (''prefeitura'' or ''prefeitura municipal'' in Portuguese) is the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

of the government of each Brazilian municipality (''município'' in Portuguese). The term also refers to the office of the mayor (''prefeito'' in Portuguese).

Central African Republic

The Central African Republic is divided into sixteen prefectures.

Greek equivalent of ''prefecture''

From 1836 until 2011, modern Greece was divided into (, singular , ) which formed the country's main administrative units. These are most commonly translated into English as "prefectures" or "counties". Each was headed by a prefect (, ), who was a ministerial appointee until ca. 1990, but was then elected by direct popular vote in a process of decentralization that saw the prefectures become local government units. Municipal elections in Greece are held every four years and voting for the election of prefects and mayors was carried out concurrently but with separate ballots. The 2010 Kallikratis plan, which took effect on 1 January 2011, abolished the prefectures as separate administrative units, and transformed them into regional units within the country's thirteen

administrative regions Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

Chinese equivalents of ''prefecture''

The ancient sense

;Xian () When used in the context of

Chinese history The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...

, especially China before the Tang Dynasty, the word "prefecture" is used to translate ''xian'' (). This unit of administration is translated as "county" when used in a contemporary context, because of the increase of the number of "xian" and the decrease of their sizes over time in the Chinese history. ;Zhou () or Fu () In the context of Chinese history during or after the Tang Dynasty, the word "prefecture" is used to translate ''zhou'' (Wade–Giles ''chou'' (), another ancient unit of administration in China, equivalent to the modern ''province''.

The modern sense

In modern-day

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, the prefecture (; pinyin: ) is an administrative division found in the second level of the administrative hierarchy. In addition to prefectures, this level also includes autonomous prefectures, leagues, and prefecture-level cities. The prefecture level comes under the province level, and in turn oversees the county level.

Italian ''prefettura''

In Italy a ''prefettura'' is the office of

prefetto Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

; like in France they are the representative of the Government in each

provincia A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

French ''préfecture''

In France, a ''préfecture'' is the capital city of a

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, and by metonymy also designates the office and residence of the prefect. As there are 101 departments in France, there are 101 prefectures. A ''préfecture de région'' is the capital city of an administrative region. This is the city where the prefect - the appointed government representative - resides.

Japanese sense of ''prefecture''

In English, "prefecture" is used as the translation for , which are the main subdivisions of Japan. They consist of 43 prefectures (県 ken) proper, two urban prefectures (府 fu, Osaka and Kyoto), one "circuit" or "territory" (道 dō, Hokkaido) and one "metropolis" (都 to, Tokyo). Before the end of World War II, the word was also used for overseas areas 庁 (chō)、州 (shu) and 道 (dō, in Korea).

Korean equivalents of ''prefecture''

Until 1894 (; ) was the lowest level administrative division in Korea and can be translated into "Petty Prefecture" in the modern sense. It was below (, ; "county") in the administrative hierarchy. (; ) was a higher level administrative division and can be translated into "Protectorate General", "Greater Prefecture", "Metropolitan Prefecture", or "Martial Prefecture" in the modern sense. The capital, Hanyang ( Seoul), can sometimes be translated as "Hanseong Prefecture". In 1895, and divisions were abolished. From 1910 to 1949, the term "prefecture" was used to translate (; ). Since 1949 neither nor have been used, and there has been no division in either the South Korean or North Korean administrative system which translates as "prefecture".

Mongolian equivalent

Mongolian prefectures (

Aimags An aimag (, ; xal, әәмг, ), originally a Mongolian word meaning 'tribe', is an administrative subdivision in Mongolia, Russia, and in the Inner Mongolia region of China. Mongolia In Mongolia, an aimag is the first-level administrative ...

) were adopted during Qing Dynasty's rule. Today these are usually translated as "provinces".

Moroccan ''Préfecture''

In Morocco, the 75 second-level administrative subdivisions are 13 prefectures and 62 provinces. They are subdivisions of the 12 regions of Morocco. Each prefecture and province are subdivided in their turn into districts (''cercles'', sing. ''cercle''), municipalities (''communes'', sing. ''commune'') or urban municipalities (''communes urbaines'', sing. ''commune urbaine''), and '' arrondissements'' in some metropolitan areas.

Romanian ''prefectură''

Venezuelan equivalent

Traditionally the prefecture as being the

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

and the prefect as being the equivalent of a mayor and commissioner until recently; now the prefectures and prefect are analogous with the figure of Town Clerk.