Provinces of Peru
Second level administrative subdivision of Peru
The provinces of Peru (Spanish: provincias) are the second-level administrative subdivisions of the country. They are divided into districts (Spanish: distritos). There are 196 provinces in Peru, grouped into 24 departments (or regions), while two provinces, Lima and Callao, are subject to a special regime, with the latter not belonging to any department. This makes an average of seven provinces per department. The department with the fewest provinces is the Constitutional Province of Callao (one province equal in status to a department) and the one with the most is Ancash (twenty).
While provinces in the sparsely populated Amazon rainforest of eastern Peru tend to be larger, there is a large concentration of them in the north-central area of the country. The province with the fewest districts is Purús Province, with just one district. The province with the most districts is Lima Province, with 43 districts. The most common number of districts per province is eight; a total of 29 provinces share this number of districts.
01Provincial organization
The current provincial system dates back to the 1823 constitution, which replaced the partidos of the former Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1824, seven departments were created, divided into 56 provinces in total.
Until the 20th century, a number of provinces were granted the designation of littoral province (Spanish: provincia litoral), an autonomous regime equal in status to a department. The most notable example is that of Callao, which operated under this regime from 1836 to 1857, when this status was changed to a constitutional province (Spanish: provincia constitucional), a designation with no practical difference, on April 22 of that year.
According to the 2002 law for the decentralisation of the country, there are two provinces under a special regime (Spanish: régimen especial): Lima and Callao. The latter does not belong to any department since 1836.
As of 2025, Peru has 196 provinces in total. The latest to be created is that of Putumayo, on April 10, 2014.
02List of provinces
The table below shows all provinces with their capitals and the department in which they are located. The UBIGEO code uniquely identifies each province. Capitals in bold are also a departmental capital. Provinces in which the department's capital is located all have an UBIGEO code ending in 01.
By population
| Province | Population | Department | Name of City | Districts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lima | 7,605,742 | Lima | Lima | 43 |
| Constitutional Province of Callao | 876,877 | None | Callao | 6 |
| Arequipa | 864,250 | Arequipa | Arequipa | 29 |
| Trujillo | 811,979 | La Libertad | Trujillo | 11 |
| Chiclayo | 757,452 | Lambayeque | Chiclayo | 20 |
| Piura | 665,991 | Piura | Piura | 9 |
| Maynas | 492,992 | Loreto | Iquitos | 13 |
| Huancayo | 466,436 | Junín | Huancayo | 28 |
| Santa | 396,434 | Ancash | Chimbote | 9 |
| Cusco | 367,791 | Cusco | Cusco | 8 |
| Coronel Portillo | 333,890 | Ucayali | Pucallpa | 7 |
| Ica | 321,332 | Ica | Ica | 14 |
| Cajamarca | 316,152 | Cajamarca | Cajamarca | 12 |
| Sullana | 287,680 | Piura | Sullana | 8 |
| Huánuco | 270,233 | Huánuco | Huánuco | 11 |
| Tacna | 262,731 | Tacna | Tacna | 10 |
| Lambayeque | 258,747 | Lambayeque | Lambayeque | 12 |
| San Román | 240,776 | Puno | Juliaca | 4 |
| Puno | 229,236 | Puno | Puno | 15 |
| Huamanga | 221,469 | Ayacucho | Ayacucho | 15 |
Former provinces
| Province | Capital city | Established | Disestablished | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arica | Arica | 1823 | 1929 | Incorporated into Chile |
| Callao | Callao | 1836 | 1857 | Elevated to Constitutional Province |
| Chancay | Huacho | 1821 | 1988 | Dismembered |
| Conchucos | Piscobamba | 1821 | 1861 | Dismembered |
| Huánuco | Huánuco | 1867 | 1869 | Elevated to department |
| Ica | Ica | 1855 | 1563 | Elevated to department |
| Iquique | Iquique | 1878 | 1883 | Incorporated into Chile |
| Loreto | Moyobamba | 1853 | 1866 | Elevated to department |
| Moquegua | Moquegua | 1823 | 1936 | Reorganised |
| Tumbes | Tumbes | 1901 | 1942 | Elevated to department |
| Tinta | Tinta | 1825 | 1833 | Dismembered |
| Tarapacá | Tarapacá | 1837 | 1883 | Incorporated into Chile |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Provinces of Peru”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
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