Editing County (section)

== Asia ==
===China===
{{Main|Counties of China|Counties of Taiwan}}
The English word ''county'' is used to translate the Chinese term {{lang|zh-Latn|xiàn}} ({{wikt-lang|zh-Hans|县}} or {{wikt-lang|zh-Hant|縣}}). In [[Mainland China]], governed by the People's Republic of China (PRC), [[counties of China|counties]] and [[county-level division]]s are the third level of regional/local government, coming under the [[provinces of Chinal|provincial level]] and the [[prefectures of China|prefectural level]], and above the [[townships of China|township level]] and [[villages of China|village level]].

There are 1,464 so-named "counties" out of 2,862 county-level divisions in the PRC, and the number of counties has remained more or less constant since the [[Han dynasty]] (206 BC – AD 220). It remains one of the oldest titles of local-level government in China and significantly predates the establishment of provinces in the [[Yuan dynasty]] (1279–1368). The county government was particularly important in [[imperial China]] because this was the lowest level at which the imperial government is functionally involved, while below it the local people are managed predominantly by the [[landed gentry in China|gentries]]. The head of a county government during imperial China was the [[county magistrate|magistrate]], who was often a newly ascended ''[[jinshi]]''.

In older context, ''district'' was an older English translation of {{lang|zh-Latn|xiàn}} before the establishment of the [[Republic of China (1912–49)|Republic of China]] (ROC). The English nomenclature ''county'' was adopted following the establishment of the ROC. In addition, [[provincial city (Taiwan)|provincial cities]] have the same level of authority as counties. Above county, there are [[special municipality (Taiwan)|special municipalities]] (in effect) and province (suspended due to economical and political reasons). There are currently 13 counties in the [[Free area of the Republic of China|ROC-controlled territories]].

During most of the imperial era, there were no concepts like municipalities in China. All cities existed within counties, [[jun (country subdivision)|commanderies]], prefectures, etc., and had no governments of their own.<ref>There were exceptions in the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jīn]] and [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] dynasties, when cities were separated from counties and independently administered by institutions like {{lang|zh-Hant|録事司}} ({{lang|zh-Latn|lù shi sī}}) and {{lang|zh|司候司}} ({{lang|zh-Latn|sī hòu sī}}).</ref> Large cities (must be imperial capitals or seats of prefectures) could be divided and administered by two or three counties. Such counties are called 倚郭縣 ({{lang|zh-Latn|yǐguō xiàn}}, 'county leaning on the city walls') or {{lang|zh-Hant|附郭縣}} ({{lang|zh-Latn|fùguō xiàn}}, 'county attached to the city walls'). The [[yamen]] or governmental houses of these counties exist in the same city. In other words, they share one county town. In this sense, a {{lang|zh-Latn|yǐguō xiàn}} or {{lang|zh-Latn|fùguō xiàn}} is similar to a district of a city.

For example, the city of [[Guangzhou]] (seat of the eponymous prefecture, also known as ''Canton'' in the Western world) was historically divided by [[Nanhai District#History|Nanhai County]] ({{lang|zh-Hant|南海縣}}) and [[Panyu District#History|Panyu County]] ({{lang|zh-Hant|番禺縣}}). When the first modern city government in China was established in Guangzhou, the urban area was separated from these two counties, with the rural areas left in the remaining parts of them. However, the county governments remained in the city for years, before moving into the respective counties. Similar processes happened in many Chinese cities.

Nowadays, most counties in mainland China, i.e. with "Xian" in their titles, are administered by [[prefecture-level cities]] and have mainly agricultural economies and rural populations.

===Indonesia===
{{Main|Regency (Indonesia)}}
Regency (''kabupaten'') in Indonesia is an administrative unit under a province that is equivalent to a city. A regency is headed by a regent who is directly elected by the people, and is responsible for public services such as education, health, and infrastructure. The structure of a regency includes several districts (''kecamatan'') which are further divided into villages or ward. Regency in Indonesia is similar to the concept of "county" in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, but with differences in cultural context and government system. Indonesia has more than 400 regencies spread across all provinces.

===Iran===
{{Main|Counties of Iran}}
[[File:Iran Counties.svg|thumb|Counties of Iran]]

The [[Provinces of Iran|ostans]] (provinces) of [[Iran]] are further subdivided into counties called {{lang|fa-Latn|shahrestān}} ({{langx|fa|شهرستان}}). County consists of a city centre, a few {{lang|fa-Latn|[[bakhsh]]}} ({{langx|fa|بخش}}), and many villages around them. There are usually a few cities ({{langx|fa|شهر}}, {{lang|fa-Latn|shahar}}) and rural agglomerations ({{langx|fa|دهستان}}, {{lang|fa-Latn|dehestān}}) in each county. Rural agglomerations are a collection of a number of villages. One of the cities of the county is appointed as the capital of the county.

Each {{lang|fa-Latn|shahrestān}} has a government office known as {{lang|fa-Latn|farmândâri}} ({{lang|fa|فرمانداری}}), which coordinates different events and government offices. The {{lang|fa-Latn|farmândâr}} {{lang|fa|فرماندار }}, or the head of {{lang|fa-Latn|farmândâri}}, is the governor of the {{lang|fa-Latn|shahrestān}}.

[[Fars province]] has the highest number of {{lang|fa-Latn|shahrestāns}}, with 36, while [[Qom province|Qom]] uniquely has one, being [[wiktionary:coextensive|coextensive]] with its [[Qom County|namesake county]]. Iran had 324 {{lang|fa-Latn|shahrestāns}} in 2005 and 443 in 2021.

===Korea===
{{main|Administrative divisions of North Korea|Administrative divisions of South Korea}}

County is the common English translation for the [[Korean character|character]] {{lang|ko|군}} ({{lang|ko-Latn|gun}} or {{lang|ko-Latn|kun}}) that denotes the current second level political division in [[South Korea]]. In [[North Korea]], the county is one type of municipal-level division.