Parish (administrative division)

A parish is an administrative division used by several countries. To distinguish it from an ecclesiastical parish, the term civil parish is used in some jurisdictions, as noted below.

The table below lists countries which use this administrative division:

Country or territoryLocal nameNotes
AndorraParròquia
Antigua and BarbudaParish
AustraliaParishOfficial use of parishes is done on a state-by-state basis

Qld: Prior to the digitisation and renumbering of the cadastre of Queensland parishes were used on title documents. While they have never officially been abolished, they are no longer used except in historical contexts.[1]

NSW: Utilised.[2]

Vic: Utilised.[3]

Tas: Used until the 20th century, when they were renamed to land districts.

SA: Uses hundreds instead[4]

NT: Uses hundreds instead

WA: Not utilised.

ACT: Not used since the establishment of the Territory

BarbadosParish
BermudaParish
CanadaNew BrunswickParish
Prince Edward IslandParish
QuebecParish municipality
ChinaMacauFreguesia / 堂區
DominicaParish
EcuadorParroquia
EstoniaVald
Georgiaმუნიციპალიტეტი
GrenadaParish
GuernseyParish
IrelandCivil parishIn the Republic of Ireland, civil parishes continue to exist for statutory purposes only.
JamaicaParish
JerseyParish
LatviaPagasts
Isle of ManParish
MontserratParish
(Nordic countries)MunicipalityIn Nordic countries, a rural administrative parish corresponds to the concept of socken or sogn, a predecessor to today's municipalities of Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark.
PortugalFreguesia
RussiaПриход
Saint Kitts and NevisParish
Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesParish
Spain(Asturias, Galicia)Parroquia
Ukraineрайон
United KingdomEnglandCivil parishIn all parts of the British Isles except Scotland and Wales, it is known as a civil parish to distinguish it from the ecclesiastical parish.[5] In England, a (civil) parish council may choose to rename itself as a town council or as a community council. In Northern Ireland, civil parishes continue to exist for statutory purposes only.
Northern IrelandCivil parish
Scotland (formerly)Civil parish
ScotlandCommunity
WalesCommunity
United StatesLouisianaParishThe term "county" is used in 48 US states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes and boroughs respectively.[6]
South Carolina (formerly)ParishUntil the late 19th century, the South Carolina Lowcountry was divided into parishes. Today all of South Carolina is divided into counties.[7]
VenezuelaParroquia

See also

References