Department of Cusco

Last updated
Cusco
Qusqu (Aymara and Quechua)
Department
Machu Picchu, 2023 (012).jpg
Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Inca
Flag of Cusco (2021).svg
Flag
Cusco Emblem.svg
Coat of arms
Peru - Cuzco Department (locator map).svg
Location of Cusco within Peru
Coordinates: 13°16′S72°07′W / 13.26°S 72.11°W / -13.26; -72.11
Country Peru
EstablishedApril 26, 1822
Capital Cusco
Provinces
List
Government
 • Type Regional Government
 • GovernorJean Paul Benavente García [1]
Area
 • Total
71,986 km2 (27,794 sq mi)
Elevation
(Capital)
3,399 m (11,152 ft)
Highest elevation
4,801 m (15,751 ft)
Lowest elevation
532 m (1,745 ft)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
Increase2.svg 1,380,600
Demonym cusqueño/a
UBIGEO
08
Dialing code 0484
ISO 3166 code PE-CUS
Principal resources Gold, maize, barley, quinoa, and tea
Poverty rateDecrease Positive.svg 20.3%
Percentage of Peru's GDP 4.4%
Website www.regioncusco.gob.pe/

Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkusko] ; Aymara and Quechua: Qusqu [ˈqɔsqɔ] ), is a department of Peru. It is the fourth-largest in the country, after Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto, and borders the departments of Ucayali on the north; Madre de Dios and Puno on the east; Arequipa on the south; and Apurímac, Ayacucho and Junín on the west. It is administered by a regional government. Its capital is Cusco, the historical capital of the Inca Empire. [2]

Contents

History

The department was created by the Reglamento Provisional de Elecciones, published on April 26, 1822, which established the department of Cuzco alongside those of Arequipa, Huamanga, Huancavelica and Puno. [3]

Geography

The plain of Anta contains some of the best communal cultivated lands of the Department of Cusco. It is located about 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level and is used to cultivate mainly high altitude crops such as potatoes, tarwi (edible lupin), barley and quinoa.[ citation needed ]

Provinces

Political division of the Cusco Region Division Politica del Cusco.jpg
Political division of the Cusco Region

Languages

According to the 2007 Peru Census, the language learnt first by most of the residents was Quechua (51.40%), followed by Spanish (46.86%). The Quechua variety spoken in this department is Cusco Quechua.

The following table shows the results concerning the language learnt first in the Department of Cusco by province: [4]

Province Quechua Aymara Asháninka Another native language Spanish Foreign languageDeaf or muteTotal
Acomayo22,26212243,117-5225,449
Anta36,5124231015,248813251,955
Calca43,008101411718,1281314261,513
Canas32,790316112,910-4035,788
Canchis53,6951075737,702212091,638
Chumbivilcas64,087102916,063210470,368
Cusco63,67578194306282,6101,521466349,453
Espinar40,5941208118,11667158,916
La Convención62,1452762,8029,27881,111120318156,050
Paruro26,70753512,19214229,001
Paucartambo35,99695152075,68296542,069
Quispicanchi57,587152111218,562208676,430
Urubamba27,5231044925,0758236853,606
Total566,5811,9762,9689,964516,5162,5251,7061,102,236
%51.400.180.270.9046.860.230.15100.00

Toponyms

Many of the toponyms of the Department of Cusco originate from Quechua and also Aymara. These names are overwhelmingly predominant throughout the region. Their Spanish-based orthography, however, is in conflict with the normalised alphabets of these languages. According to Article 20 of Decreto Supremo No 004-2016-MC (Supreme Decree) which approves the Regulations to Law 29735, published in the official newspaper El Peruano on July 22, 2016, adequate spellings of the toponyms in the normalised alphabets of the indigenous languages must progressively be proposed with the aim of standardising the naming used by the National Geographic Institute The National Geographic Institute realises the necessary changes in the official maps of Peru. [5]

The Ministry of Culture additionally proposes to the municipalities of the provinces to recover ancient indigenous toponyms and that these names should be spread by the local and communal authorities on posters and other signage. [5]

Notable residents

See also

Sources

  1. ↑ "Gobernador Regional del Cusco". Gobierno Regional del Cusco. Gobierno Regional del Cusco. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  2. ↑ "Official page (in Spanish)". Archived from the original on 2009-03-06. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  3. ↑ "¿Qué se celebra el 26 de abril y por qué es importante para cinco departamentos peruanos?". Andina . 2025-04-26.
  4. ↑ inei.gob.pe Archived January 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine INEI, Peru, Censos Nacionales 2007
  5. 1 2 "Decreto Supremo que aprueba el Reglamento de la Ley N° 29735, Ley que regula el uso, preservación, desarrollo, recuperación, fomento y difusión de las lenguas originarias del Perú, Decreto Supremo N° 004-2016-MC" . Retrieved July 17, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.