okresy

Okresy are territorial administrative units used in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. They form the middle tier of territorial administration, situated between kraje (regions) and obce (municipalities). Okresy are used for organizing state administration, delivering public services, and for statistical and planning purposes. Each okres has a district office (Czech: Okresní úřad; Slovak: Okresný úrad) that coordinates tasks such as civil registration, property records, social services, and the functioning of district courts and police authorities.

The term okres comes from the Czech and Slovak word for district and is borrowed from the German Bezirk, reflecting historical influence on Central European administration.

Historically, the okres system was established in the modern era of Czechoslovakia and has continued in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, reforms redistributed powers, transferring some tasks to municipalities with extended powers or to regional authorities, while districts persist as geographic and statistical units.

Today, okresy continue to play a role in administration, elections, regional planning, and the organization of public services. They are used in official statistics by national agencies to present data at a regional level and to coordinate various state functions across a defined geographic area.