Subdivisions of Peru

Peru’s territory is divided successively into regions (25) (Spanish: regiones; singular: region), provinces (180) and districts (1747).

The Lima Province, located in the central coast of the country, is unique in that it doesn’t belong to any of the twenty-five regions. The city of Lima is located in this province, which is also known as Lima Metropolitana (Metropolitan Lima).

Until 2002, Peru was divided into 24 departments (departamentos) plus one constitutional province (Callao), and many people still use this term when referring to today’s regions, although it is now obsolete.

Current Peruvian regions are:

Amazonas
Ancash
Apurimac
Arequipa
Ayacucho
Cajamarca
Callao
Cusco
Huancavelica
Huanuco
Ica
Junin
La Libertad
Lambayeque
Lima
Loreto
Madre de Dios
Moquegua
Pasco
Piura
Puno
San Martin
Tacna
Tumbes
Ucayali

The Subdivisions 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.

Previous national subdivisions

Departments

Peru was divided into 24 departments (departamentos; singular: departamento) until the creation of the new regions in 2002. Many persons 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.