Regency (Indonesia)

A regency (; ), sometimes incorrectly referred to as a district and previously known as second-level region regency,, this was the official name until the implementation of Act Number 22 of 1999.}} is an administrative division of Indonesia, directly under a province and on the same level with city (''kota''). Regencies are divided into districts (''Kecamatan'', ''Distrik'' in Papua region, or ''Kapanewon'' and ''Kemantren'' in the Special Region of Yogyakarta). The average area of Indonesian regencies is about , with an average population of 670,958 people. Most regencies on the island of Java has their regency capitals as the titular name of their regency.

The English name "regency" comes from the Dutch colonial period, when regencies were ruled by (or regents) and were known as in Dutch ( in Javanese and subsequently Indonesian). had been regional lords under the precolonial monarchies of Java. When the Dutch abolished or curtailed those monarchies, the bupati were left as the most senior indigenous authority. They were not, strictly speaking, "native rulers" because the Dutch claimed full sovereignty over their territory, but in practice, they had many of the attributes of petty kings, including elaborate regalia and palaces and a high degree of impunity. Provided by Wikipedia