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 Peruportal |
The administrative divisions of Peru have changed from time to time since the nation gained independence from Spain in the early 19th century. The old territorial subdivisions have split or merged due to several reasons, the most common ones being the need for decentralization and population increase, especially in Lima.
Peru was divided into 24 departments (departamentos; singular: departamento) until the creation of the regions in 2002. These regions are governed by Regional Governments. Many people still use the old departamentos term when referring to the current regions of Peru, although it is now obsolete. The departments were identical to today's regions, with the exception of two new regions (Callao and Lima). Before the 2002 changeover, the province of Lima (which is basically the city of Lima) was part of the Lima department, and the city of Callao had the special status of Provincia Constitucional (constitutional province). When the regionalization law was passed, the Callao region was created from the former constitutional province, and the province of Lima separated from the rest of the Lima department, which in turn came to form the new Lima Region. A failed attempt to divide the country into twelve autonomous regions had previously been made during the 1980s under the government of Alan García.
For a new district to be legally established, a 1982 law requires a minimum number of residents to live in the area: 3,500 if it is located in the rainforest, 4,000 in the Andes highlands, and 10,000 in the coastal area.
In the dry Andean area, many districts have fewer than 3,500 inhabitants. In some cases, their populations have decreased in comparison to the days when they were founded. Districts that are located at very high altitudes tend to be scarcely populated. These districts are usually large in area but have little available level land for use. Many basic government services do not reach all residents of these districts due to their difficult geography. Many such districts lack the financial means to govern their whole jurisdictions and often have high emigration rates.
A similar pattern can be observed in many districts located in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. Once important settlements created during the era of colonization, they now do not offer much space for agriculture. Deeper into the jungle, the districts of the selva baja (lower jungle) have higher populations living in geographically large districts. Districts located outside the former colonized area have very low populations, which are entirely composed of native Amazonian tribes.
All over the country, many districts have higher populations than the minimum required by law. This is true of the colonized areas of the rainforest and the northern Andes, as well as in the southern Andes from Huancayo to the shores of Lake Titicaca, which is the historical heartland of the Peruvian highlands. These districts are old centers of civilization; they tend to be smaller in area, with high population densities since pre-Hispanic times.
Districts in the Chala (coastal area) tend to be mid-sized, except in low-density areas such as the Sechura Desert and part of the southern coast. All have gained large populations due to emigration from other regions of the country, which has turned the Peruvian coast into the country's main economic powerhouse.
Districts with a population of more than 10,000 inhabitants should ideally be subdivided, particularly if they are also large in area, as is the case in part of the Amazon rainforest. Settlement can happen quickly and boundaries of districts are often not modified, except in large urban areas. This is less of a problem on the coast, where communication is easier. However, reaching large populations remain a problem in this area. [1]
Peru's territory, according to the Regionalization Law, which was passed on November 18, 2002, is divided into 26 units: 25 regions (regiones; singular: región) and the Lima Province. The regions are subdivided into provinces (provincias), which are composed of districts (distritos). There are 196 provinces and 1,869 districts in Peru. [2]
The Lima Province , located in the central coast of the country, is unique in that it does not belong to any of the twenty-five regions. (The city of Lima , which is the nation's capital, is located in this province.)
Callao is also its own region, containing only one province, the Constitutional Province of Callao.
Peru is a country on the central western coast of South America facing the Pacific Ocean. It lies wholly in the Southern Hemisphere, its northernmost extreme reaching to 1.8 minutes of latitude or about 3.3 kilometres (2.1 mi) south of the equator. Peru shares land borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile, with its longest land border shared with Brazil.
This is a demography of the population of Peru including population density, ethnicity, education level, the health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Lima, founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes, is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of the country, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The city is considered the political, cultural, financial and commercial center of Peru. Due to its geostrategic importance, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network has categorized it as a "beta" tier city. Jurisdictionally, the metropolis extends mainly within the province of Lima and in a smaller portion, to the west, within the Constitutional Province of Callao, where the seaport and the Jorge Chávez Airport are located. Both provinces have regional autonomy since 2002.
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pacific Ocean. Peru is a megadiverse country, with habitats ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coastal region in the west, to the peaks of the Andes mountains extending from the north to the southeast of the country, to the tropical Amazon basin rainforest in the east with the Amazon River. Peru has a population of over 32 million, and its capital and largest city is Lima. At 1,285,216 km2 (496,225 sq mi), Peru is the 19th largest country in the world, and the third largest in South America.
Tacna, officially known as San Pedro de Tacna, is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only 35 km (22 mi) north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland from the Pacific Ocean and in the valley of the Caplina River. It is Peru's tenth most populous city.
La Libertad is a department and region in northwestern Peru. Formerly it was known as the Department of La Libertad. It is bordered by the Lambayeque, Cajamarca and Amazonas regions on the north, the San Martín Region on the east, the Ancash and Huánuco regions on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital is Trujillo, which is the nation's third biggest city. The region's main port is Salaverry, one of Peru's largest ports. The name of the region is Spanish for "freedom" or "liberty"; it was named in honor of the Intendancy of Trujillo's proclaiming independence from Spain in 1820 and fighting for that. It is the ninth smallest department in Peru, but it is also its second-most populous department after Piura and its second-most densely populated department after Lambayeque.
Pucallpa is a city in eastern Peru located on the banks of the Ucayali River, a major tributary of the Amazon River. It is the capital of the Ucayali region, the Coronel Portillo Province and the Calleria District. This city is categorized as the only metropolis in Ucayali, being the largest populated center of the region. According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática, it is the tenth most populated city in Peru and second largest in the Peruvian Amazon after Iquitos. In 2013 it housed a population of 211,611 inhabitants.
San Vicente de Cañete, commonly known as San Vicente or Cañete, is a city and capital of the Cañete Province, in southern Lima Region. With a population of 85,533.
The provinces of Peru are the second-level administrative subdivisions of the country. They are divided into districts. There are 196 provinces in Peru, grouped into 25 regions, except for Lima Province which does not belong to any region. This makes an average of seven provinces per region. The region with the fewest provinces is Callao (one) and the region with the most is Ancash (twenty).
Lima Province is located in the central coast of Peru and is the only province in the country not belonging to any of the twenty-five regions, thus being quasi-autonomous. Its capital is Lima, which is also the nation's capital.
The Lima Metropolitan Area is an area formed by the conurbation of the Peruvian provinces of Lima and Callao. It is the largest of the metropolitan areas of Peru, the seventh largest in the Americas, the fourth largest in Latin America, and among the thirty largest in the world. The conurbation process started to be evident in the 1980s.
Huancayo is the capital of the Junín Region and Huancayo Province, in the central highlands of Peru, in the Mantaro Valley and is crossed by the Shullcas, Chilca and Mantaro rivers. It was founded as a reduction by the name Santísima Trinidad de Huancayo on 1 June 1572, by Don Jerónimo de Silva, a Spanish conquistador. It is the fifth largest city in Peru, with a population of 500,000 and is among the highest cities in Peru, with an altitude of 3,256 meters above sea level. It is considered the economic and social center of central Peru
Paita is a city in northwestern Peru. It is the capital of the Paita Province which is in the Piura Region. It is a leading seaport in the region. Paita is located 1,089 km northwest of the country's capital Lima, and 57 km northwest of the regional capital of Piura. Starting in 2014, the city has considered ideas for separating from the Piura Region, proclaiming itself as the "Miguel Grau Region".
The districts of Peru are the third-level country subdivisions of Peru. They are subdivisions of the provinces, which in turn are subdivisions of the larger regions or departments. There are 1,838 districts in total.
Peru has many languages in use, with its official languages being Spanish, Quechua and Aymara. Spanish has been in the country since it began being taught in the time of José Pardo instead of the country's Native languages, especially the languages in the Andes. In the beginning of the 21st century, it was estimated that in this multilingual country, about 50 very different and popular languages are spoken: which reduces to 44 languages if dialects are considered variants of the same language. The majority of these languages are Indigenous, but the most common language is Spanish, the main language that about 94.4% of the population speaks. Spanish is followed by the country's Indigenous languages, especially all types of Quechua and Aymara (1.7%), who also have co-official status according to Article 48 of the Constitution of Peru, as well as the languages of the Amazon and the Peruvian Sign Language. In urban areas of the country, especially the coastal region, most people are monolingual and only speak Spanish, while in many rural areas of the country, especially in the Amazon, multilingual populations are prevalent.
Yurimaguas is a port town in the Loreto Region of the northeastern Peruvian Amazon. Historically associated with the Mainas missions, the culturally diverse town is affectionately known as the "Pearl of the Huallaga". Yurimaguas is located at the confluence of the majestic Huallaga and Paranapura Rivers in the steamy rainforests of northeastern Peru. It is the capital of both Alto Amazonas Province and Yurimaguas District, and had a population estimated at 62,903 inhabitants (2017).
Carabayllo is one of the 43 districts of the province Lima in Peru. It is located in the Cono Norte area of the province and was created district by General José de San Martín in August 4, 1821 at which time it was the only district to occupy the area north of the Rímac River up to the province Canta.
Chincha Alta is a Peruvian city located in the Ica Region. A major port at the mouth of the Chincha River, it is the capital of Chincha Province. The city has a population of about 233,000, making it the 17th largest city in Peru.
Peruvians are the citizens of Peru. What is now Peru has been inhabited for several millennia by cultures such as the Caral before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Peruvian population decreased from an estimated 5–9 million in the 1520s to around 600,000 in 1620 mainly because of infectious diseases carried by the Spanish. Spaniards and Africans arrived in large numbers in 1532 under colonial rule, mixing widely with each other and with Native Peruvians. During the Republic, there has been a gradual immigration of European people. Chinese and Japanese arrived in large numbers at the end of the 19th century.
According to the Organic Law of Regional Governments, the regions are, with the departments, the first-level administrative subdivisions of Peru. Since its 1821 independence, Peru had been divided into departments but faced the problem of increasing centralization of political and economic power in its capital, Lima.
