A parish as a country subdivision or administrative subdivision exists in several countries' political systems. In England and in Louisiana it is sometimes called "civil parish" to distinguish it from the religious parish.

Countries with parishes as subnational entity

• Andorra (parròquies)
• Antigua and Barbuda, West Indies;
• see Parishes and dependencies of Antigua and Barbuda
• Australia
• see Cadastral divisions of Australia There are more than 15,000 parishes altogether in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania; but only as geographical subdivisions used almost exclusively in legal documents relating to land transactions. They no longer have any connection to Local Government bodies or boundaries.
• Barbados, West Indies
• see Parishes of Barbados
• Bermuda (UK)
• Canada
• see List of parishes in New Brunswick
• see Parish municipality (Quebec)
• Dominica, West Indies
• see Parishes of Dominica
• Estonia
• see Municipalities of Estonia
• Grenada, West Indies
• see Parishes of Grenada
• Guernsey (Crown dependency), Channel Islands
• Jamaica, West Indies;
• see Parishes of Jamaica
• Jersey (Crown dependency), Channel Islands
• see Parishes of Jersey
• Macao (PRC) (freguesias);
• see List of cities and parishes in Macao
• Montserrat (UK), West Indies
• see Parishes of Montserrat
• Portugal (freguesias);
• see List of parishes of Portugal
• Saint Kitts and Nevis, West Indies
• see Parishes of Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, West Indies
• see Parishes of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Spain
• see Galicia (parroquias or freguesías)
• Asturias (parroquies or parroquias)
• Sweden
• see Parishes of Sweden
• United Kingdom;
• see Civil parish (England), Local government in England, List of civil parishes in England
• Wales
• United States
• A parish in Louisiana is the equivalent of a county in other states.

In these areas, it originated as a religious subdivision, but over time has come to be either a purely civil one, or (in some jurisdictions in which the church is not separate from the state) one that is simultaneously ecclesiastical and civil.

Scotland, Wales and Ireland

In Wales the equivalent body to a Parish council is termed a Community council.

The counties of Scotland were sub-divided into parishes, but the councils of these were abolished in 1930. Scotland has now bodies called Community councils, but these are not equivalent to and have fewer powers than the English parishes and Welsh communities.

In Ireland, counties are divided into civil parishes. Irish civil parishes are divided into approximately 60,000 townlands. Counties are also divided into larger subdivisions called baronies, which are made up of a number of parishes or parts of parishes. Both civil parishes and baronies are now largely obsolete (except for some purposes such as legal transactions involving land) and are no longer used for local government purposes. From the 17th to mid-19th centuries civil parishes were based on early Christian and medieval monastic and church settlements. As the population grew, new parishes were created and the civil parish covered the same area as the established Church of Ireland. The Roman Catholic Church adapted to a new structure based on towns and villages. There 2,508 civil parishes in Ireland, which frequently break both barony and county boundaries.

State of Louisiana, United States

In Louisiana, a civil parish is a geographical unit of administration. In this case the Parish is equivalent to the counties found throughout the rest of the country. This is due to its history as a Spanish and French colony. Louisiana and Alaska - which uses the term borough - are the only two states to refer to county level geographical units as something other than county.

The lowlands of South Carolina were also previously divided into parishes, rather than counties, well into the nineteenth century.

•  • [ e] Types of country subdivision

Administrative division   Political division   Census division   Electoral division Contemporary Amt Arrondissement Bailiwick Bakhsh Baladiyah Banner Autonomous banner Barangay Bairro Barrio Bezirk / Regierungsbezirk Block Borough County borough Metropolitan borough Capital Federal capital Canton Census division Census geographic unit Census metropolitan area Census subdivision Circle Circuit City Autonomous city Independent city Co-Principality Colony Comarca Commonwealth Commune Comune Community Autonomous community Residential community Condominium Constituency County Administrative county Autonomous county Metropolitan county Council Croft Department Dependent territory Federal dependency District Autonomous district Capital district City district Federal district Metropolitan district Municipal district Division Dara Duchy Eldership Frazione Freguesia Governorate Hamlet Insular area Judeţ Local administrative unit Local government area Liwa Localit Municipality District municipality Regional municipality Regional county municipality Rural municipality Neighbourhood Oblast Okrug Ostān Parish Civil parish Periphery Prefecture Autonomous prefecture Principality Protectorate Province Autonomous province Quarter Regency Region Autonomous region Capital region Special administrative region Republic Autonomous republic Ranchera Reservation Indian reserve Shabiyah Shahr Shahrestān Shire State Subdistrict Subprefecture Suzerainty Taluka Tehsil Territory Autonomous territorial unit Capital territory Union territory National territory Town Townland Township Civil township Urban (urbanized) area Village Vingtaine Voivodeship Wilayah Ward Historical Agency Barony Burgh Cantref City-State Commote Free Imperial City Hundred Imperial Circle Imperial province March Pargana Presidency Residency Riding Rural district Sanitary district (rural urban) Urban district Viscounty Viscountcy Boldface indicates a type used by ten or more countries; loanwords in italics.