Province vs. Prefecture — What's the Difference?

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 outside Italy.

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 a Roman district.

A principal administrative division of a country or empire

The district administered or governed by a prefect.

The whole of a country outside the capital, especially when regarded as lacking in sophistication or culture

An administrative district of some countries, especially China or Japan.

An area of special knowledge, interest, or responsibility

The office or authority of a prefect.

A territory governed as an administrative or political unit of a country or empire.

The residence or housing of a prefect.

(Ecclesiastical) A division of territory under the jurisdiction of a metropolitan.

The office or position of a prefect.

Provinces Areas of a country situated away from the capital or population center.

The jurisdiction of a prefect; the region administered by a prefect, especially as a translation of certain French, Chinese, and Japanese administrative divisions.

An area of knowledge, activity, or interest

The office, position, or jurisdiction of a prefect; also, his official residence.

The range of one's proper duties and functions; scope.

The district administered by a prefect (as in France or Japan or the Roman Empire)

(Ecology) An area of land, less extensive than a region, having a characteristic plant and animal population.

The office of prefect

Any of various lands outside Italy conquered by the Romans and administered by them as self-contained units.

A region of the earth or of a continent; a district or country.

An administrative subdivision of certain countries, including Canada and China.

(Roman history) An area outside Italy which is administered by a Roman governor.

(Christianity) An area under the jurisdiction of an archbishop, typically comprising a number of adjacent dioceses.

(Roman Catholicism) An area under the jurisdiction of a provincial within a monastic order.

The parts of a country outside its capital city.

An area of activity, responsibility or knowledge; the proper concern of a particular person or concept.

A country or region, more or less remote from the city of Rome, brought under the Roman government; a conquered country beyond the limits of Italy.

A country or region dependent on a distant authority; a portion of an empire or state, esp. one remote from the capital.

A region of country; a tract; a district.

A region under the supervision or direction of any special person; the district or division of a country, especially an ecclesiastical division, over which one has jurisdiction; as, the province of Canterbury, or that in which the archbishop of Canterbury exercises ecclesiastical authority.

The proper or appropriate business or duty of a person or body; office; charge; jurisdiction; sphere.

Specif.: Any political division of the Dominion of Canada, having a governor, a local legislature, and representation in the Dominion parliament. Hence, colloquially, The Provinces, the Dominion of Canada.

The territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation;

The proper sphere or extent of your activities;