The Political division of Peru has changed from time to time, beginning during the time after the nation obtained independence from Spain, until the present-day country. 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.

Current division

Peru's territory, according to the Regionalization Law which was passed on November 18th, 2002, is divided into 25 regions (regiones; singular: región). These regions are subdivided into provinces, which are composed of districts. There are 194 provinces and 1821 districts in Peru.

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, which is the nation's capital, is located in this province.

1. Tumbes (Tumbes)
2. Piura (Piura)
3. Lambayeque (Chiclayo)
4. La Libertad (Trujillo)
5. Ancash (Huaraz)
6. Lima (Huacho)
7. Callao (Callao)
8. Ica (Ica)
9. Arequipa (Arequipa)
10. Moquegua (Moquegua)
11. Tacna (Tacna)
12. Cajamarca (Cajamarca)
13. Huánuco (Huánuco)
14. Pasco (Cerro de Pasco)
15. Junín (Huancayo)
16. Huancavelica (Huancavelica)
17. Ayacucho (Ayacucho)
18. Apurímac (Abancay)
19. Cusco (Cusco)
20. Puno (Puno)
21. Amazonas (Chachapoyas )
22. San Martín (Moyobamba)
23. Ucayali (Pucallpa)
24. Madre de Dios (Puerto Maldonado)
25. Loreto (Iquitos)

&nbsp &nbsp * &nbsp &nbsp Lima Province

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 change, 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.

The twelve regions

Main article: Former Regions of Peru

A failed attempt to divide the country into twelve autonomous regions was made during the Alan García government.

External links

• Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática
• Peru Info: Information by regions