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For the French term, see Préfecture.

The term prefecture (from the Latin Praefectura) indicates the office, seat, territorial circonscription of a Prefect; consequentally, like that word, is its applied in English in relation to actual Prefects, whose title is just that (or the forms it takes in other, especially Romance, languages), in the broadest sense in the Roman tradition, but also by analogy, more or less conventionally, to render offices deemed equivalent in other languages' cultural traditions.

Literal prefectures

Antiquity

For subsequent types of praefectura, see Praefectus. It has been used most prominently to denote a somewhat self-governing body or area since the tetrarchy, when emperor Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into 4 districts (each divided into dioceses, grouping 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 got 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 (while that term occurs also in otherwise styled offices, such as the head of a congregation or department of the Roman curia)

French préfecture

Main article: préfecture

In France, a préfecture is the capital city of a département. As there are 100 départements in France, there are 100 préfectures in France. A préfecture de région is the capital city of a région.

Analogous prefectures

Brazilian equivalent of prefecture

In Brazil, the prefecture (prefeitura in Portuguese) is the City Hall, home to the Executive of a city and to the mayor's office.

Greek equivalent of prefecture

Modern Greece, under its 1975 Constitution, is divided into 51 nomoi (Greek: νομοί) which form the units of local government. These are most commonly translated into English as prefectures. Each nomos is headed by a prefect (nomarch), who was until recently a ministerial appointee but is nowadays elected by direct popular vote. Municipal elections in Greece are held every four years and voting for the election of nomarchs and mayors is carried out concurrently but with separate ballots.

See: Prefectures of Greece

Chinese equivalents of prefecture

The ancient sense

Xian (县/縣)

When used in the context of Chinese history, especially China before the Tang Dynasty, the word "prefecture" is used to translate xian (县/縣). This unit of administration is translated as "county" when used in a contemporary context.

See County (China) for more information on the xian of China.

Zhou

In the context of Chinese history during or after the Tang Dynasty, the word "prefecture" is used to translate zhou (州), another ancient unit of administration in China.

See Zhou (political division) for more information on the zhou of China.

The modern sense

In modern-day People's Republic of China, the prefecture (地区; pinyin: dìqū) 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.

See Prefecture of China for more information on modern prefectures in China.

Japanese sense of prefecture

In reference to the Japanese system of administrative subdivisions, prefecture is used as the translation for todōfuken (都道府県). The system of local government in Japan consists of two classes: prefectures as the large-area local governing units and municipalities as the basic local-level governing units. In Asian practice, the administrative segregation of a country or unified nation-state is usually trifold: the state, large-area local governing units, and basic local-level governing units; Japan follows this pattern.

Japan is divided into 47 prefectures, and each is further divided into municipalities. These prefectures and municipalities neither overlap geographically nor leave any area uncovered; all residents of Japan are therefore residents of one municipality and one prefecture.

The prefectures and municipalities function as more than just the country's administrative units: they are incorporated bodies—independent from the national government—that possess their own basic spheres or responsibility and local residents as their constituents, holding administrative authority within their respective geographical boundaries. In Nagasaki and Hokkaido, subprefectures are used as special administrative units, due to peculiarities of governmental evolution and the difficulty in centrally governing certain geographically large or remote areas.

Japan's current prefectural system was established in the Meiji era after the new Meiji government abolished fiefs run by feudal clans known as han. This change is called the abolition of the han system; see "Meiji Restoration" in the History of Japan article and the "Meiji era" article for more historical details of this event.

Mongolian equivalent

Mongolian prefectures (Aymags) were adopted under the Manchu Empire. Today these are usually translated as "provinces".

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 The term '''''prefecture''''' (from the Latin Praefectura) indicates the office, seat, territorial circonscription of a [[Prefect]]; consequentally, like that word, is its applied in English in relation to actual Prefects, whose title is just that (or the forms it takes in other, especially Romance, languages), in the broadest sense in the Roman tradition, but also by analogy, more or less conventionally, to render offices deemed equivalent in other languages' cultural traditions.