Wakayama Prefecture (和歌山県, Wakayama-ken) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Wakayama Prefecture has a population of 944,320 (as of 1 October 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,724 square kilometres (1,824 sq mi). Wakayama Prefecture borders Osaka Prefecture to the north, and Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture to the northeast.

Wakayama is the capital and largest city of Wakayama Prefecture, with other major cities including Tanabe, Hashimoto, and Kinokawa. Wakayama Prefecture is located on the southwestern coast of the Kii Peninsula on the Kii Channel, connecting the Pacific Ocean and Seto Inland Sea, across from Tokushima Prefecture on the island of Shikoku.

Present-day Wakayama is mostly the western part of the province of Kii.

On July 17–18, 1953, a torrential heavy rain occurred, followed by collapse of levees, river flooding and landslides in a wide area. Many bridges and houses were destroyed. According to an officially confirmed report by the Government of Japan, 1,015 people died, with 5,709 injured and 7,115 houses lost.

As of 31 March 2020, 13 percent of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Setonaikai and Yoshino-Kumano National Parks; Kongō-Ikoma-Kisen and Kōya-Ryūjin Quasi-National Parks; and Enju Kaigan, Hatenashi Sanmyaku, Hikigawa, Jōgamori Hokodai, Kōyasanchō Ishimichi-Tamagawakyō, Kozagawa, Nishiarida, Oishi Kōgen, Ōtōsan, Ryūmonzan, Shiramisan-Wadagawakyō, and Shirasaki Kaigan Prefectural Natural Parks.

Nine cities are in Wakayama Prefecture:

Name		Area (km)	Population	Map
Rōmaji	Kanji
Arida	有田市	36.91	27,963
Gobō	御坊市	43.78	27,483
Hashimoto	橋本市	130.31	62,941
Iwade	岩出市	38.5	53,280
Kainan	海南市	101.18	51,112
Kinokawa	紀の川市	228.24	61,850
Shingū	新宮市	255.43	26,815
Tanabe	田辺市	1,026.91	70,410
Wakayama (capital)	和歌山市	210.25	360,664

These are the towns and villages in each district:

Name		Area (km)	Population	District	Type	Map
Rōmaji	Kanji
Aridagawa	有田川町	351.77	26,245	Arida District	Town
Hidaka	日高町	46.42	7,666	Hidaka District	Town
Hidakagawa	日高川町	331.61	9,615	Hidaka District	Town
Hirogawa	広川町	65.35	7,059	Arida District	Town
Inami	印南町	113.63	7,949	Hidaka District	Town
Kamitonda	上富田町	57.49	15,047	Nishimuro District	Town
Katsuragi	かつらぎ町	151.73	16,686	Ito District	Town
Kimino	紀美野町	128.31	8,989	Kaisō District	Town
Kitayama	北山村	48.21	432	Higashimuro District	Village
Kōya	高野町	137.08	3,279	Ito District	Town
Kozagawa	古座川町	294.52	2,749	Higashimuro District	Town
Kudoyama	九度山町	44.19	4,295	Ito District	Town
Kushimoto	串本町	135.78	16,243	Higashimuro District	Town
Mihama	美浜町	12.79	7,391	Hidaka District	Town
Minabe	みなべ町	120.26	12,561	Hidaka District	Town
Nachikatsuura	那智勝浦町	183.45	17,261	Higashimuro District	Town
Shirahama	白浜町	201.04	23,325	Nishimuro District	Town
Susami	すさみ町	174.71	4,011	Nishimuro District	Town
Taiji	太地町	5.96	3,428	Higashimuro District	Town
Yuasa	湯浅町	20.8	11,960	Arida District	Town
Yura	由良町	30.74	5,738	Hidaka District	Town

Since 1996, population of Wakayama Prefecture has kept declining, and since 2010, it has been the only prefecture in Kansai region with population below 1,000,000. In 2017, Wakayama is ranked 40th by population in Japan with a population of 944,320. In the 2020 census, close to 32% of the population was over 65 years of age - the highest percentage in Japan and one of the highest for national subdivisions worldwide.

The current governor Shūhei Kishimoto was elected on 27 November 2022.

As of 17 May 2023

Political party	Number of seats
Liberal Democratic Party	28
Reform Club (改新クラブ)	5
Komeito	3
Nippon Ishin no Kai	3
Japanese Communist Party	1
Independent society	1
Independent	1

State-appointed governors:

Publicly-elected governors:

Mount Kōya (高野山, Kōya-san) in the Ito District is the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism. It is home to one of the first Japanese style Buddhist temples in Japan and remains a pilgrimage site and an increasingly popular tourist destination as people flock to see its ancient temples set amidst the towering cedar trees at the top of the mountain. The Sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountain Range extend for miles throughout the prefecture and together have been recognized as Japan's 11th UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Kumano Shrines are on the southern tip of the prefecture. Tomogashima (a cluster of four islands) is part of the prefecture.

Wakayama Prefecture ranks first in the production of oranges in Japan. Wakayama has its own brand of oranges, which is produced in Arida District and called 'Arida-Orange'. Arida District, where oranges have been produced for more than 400 years, yields about half of the orange crops in Wakayama today. Furthermore, the yield of Arida-Oranges accounts for about 10 percent of Japanese domestic production of oranges.

According to the survey by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, Wakayama stands first in the production of Japanese apricots (梅, Ume) in Japan. As of 2016, Wakayama made up about 70 percent of Japanese domestic production of Japanese apricots.

Wakayama Prefecture has friendship and sister relationships with six places outside Japan:

• Florida, United States
• Galicia, Spain
• Pyrénées-Orientales, France
• Shandong, People's Republic of China
• Sichuan, People's Republic of China
• Sinaloa, Mexico

Wakayama Prefecture has hot springs such as Shirahama, Kawayu, and Yunomine Onsen.

• 
  Saikazaki, Wakanoura
• 
  Wakayama Castle
• 
  The Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama
• 
  Konpon Daido
  (Mount Kōya)
• 
  Chōhō-ji
• 
  Nanki-Katsuura Onsen
• 
  Nachi Falls
• 
  Daimonzaka
  (Kumano Kodō)

• JR Central
  • Kisei Line
• JR West
  • Hanwa Line
  • Kinokuni Line
  • Wakayama Line
• Kishu Railway
• Nankai
  • Kada Line
  • Koya Line
  • Nankai Line
• Wakayama Electric Railway

• Hanwa Expressway
• Keinawa Expressway
• Nachi Katsuura Road
• Yuasa Gobo Road

• Route 24
• Route 26
• Route 42
• Route 168 (Shingu-Gojo-Ikoma-Hirakata)
• Route 169 (Shingu-Kumano-Kawakami-Yoshino-Asuka-Kashihara-Nara)
• Route 311 (Kamitonda-Tanabe-Shingu-kumano-Owase)
• Route 370 (Kainan-Hashimoto-Gojo-Uda-Nara)
• Route 371 (Kawachinagano-Hashimoto-Koya-Kushimoto)
• Route 424

• Wakayama-Tokushima

• Nanki Shirahama Airport

• Kinki University
• Koyasan University
• Wakayama Medical University
• Wakayama University

• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5; OCLC 58053128

• Official Wakayama Prefecture Web Site
• The Official Wakayama, Kansai Travel Guide

34°3′N 135°21′E / 34.050°N 135.350°E / 34.050; 135.350