A prefecture is an administrative jurisdiction or subdivision in any of various countries and within some international church structures, as well as in antiquity a Romandistrict governed by an appointed prefect.
Literal prefectures
Antiquity
Prefecture most commonly refers to a self-governing body or area since the tetrarchy when Emperor Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into four districts, grouped under a Vicarius, although he maintained two pretorian prefectures as an administrative level above the also surviving dioceses.
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.
From 1836 until 2011, modern Greece was divided into nomoi which formed the country's main administrative units. These are most commonly translated into English as "prefectures" or "counties". Each nomos 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.
Chinese equivalents of ''prefecture''
The ancient sense
;Xian When used in the context of Chinese history, 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, another ancient unit of administration in China, equivalent to the modern province.
In Italy a prefettura is the office of prefetto; like in France he is the representative of the Government in each provincia.
French ''préfecture''
In France, a préfecture is the capitalcity of a département. As there are 101 départements in France, there are 101 préfectures in France. A préfecture de région is the capital city of a région. This is the city where the préfet - the appointed government representative - resides.
Japanese sense of ''prefecture''
In English, "prefecture" is used as the translation for todōfuken, which are the main subdivisions of Japan. They consist of 43 prefectures proper, two urban prefectures, one "circuit" or "territory" and one "metropolis".
Korean equivalents of ''prefecture''
Until 1894 Hyeon was the lowest level administrative division in Korea and can be translated into "Petty Prefecture" in the modern sense. It was below Gun in the administrative hierarchy. Dohobu 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, can sometimes be translated as "Hanseong Prefecture". In 1895, Hyeon and Dohobu divisions were abolished. From 1910 to 1949, the term "prefecture" was used to translate Bu. Since 1949 neither Hyeon nor Bu 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 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, municipalities or urban municipalities, and arrondissements in some metropolitan areas.
Venezuelan equivalent
Traditionally the prefecture as being the City Hall 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.
