Districts of Peru

Third level administrative subdivision of Peru

Districts of Peru

The districts of Peru (Spanish: distritos) 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.[1]

## Overview

[edit]

A 1982 law requires a minimum of residents in an area for a new district to be legally established: 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 less than 3,500 inhabitants due to low population density in the area. 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 usually are large in area, have few available land for use. Many basic government services do not reach all residents of these districts due to their difficult geography. Many lack financial means to govern their whole jurisdictions and they 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 nowadays do not offer much space for agriculture. Deeper into the jungle, the districts of the 'selva alta' (lower jungle) have higher populations living on geographically large districts. Districts located outside the colonized area have very low populations that 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, 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 and tend to be smaller in area with high population densities since prehispanic 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, but all of them feature large populations due to emigration from other regions of the country that 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. Colonization happens quickly and boundaries of districts are often not modified, except in large urban areas. This is less of a problem in the coast where communication is easier. However, reaching to large populations remain a problem in this area.[2]

## Top 20 district rankings

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This is a list of the top twenty Peruvian districts by population, population density, area and elevation (of the district's capital).[3]

### By population

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#  | District  | Province  | Region  | Population

|
|
|
|

1  | San Juan de Lurigancho | Lima | Lima | 1,038,495
2  | San Martín de Porres | Lima | Lima | 654,083
3  | Ate | Lima | Lima | 599,196
4  | Comas | Lima | Lima | 520,450
5  | Callao | Callao | Callao | 451,260
6  | Villa María del Triunfo | Lima | Lima | 398,433
7  | Villa El Salvador | Lima | Lima | 393,254
8  | San Juan de Miraflores | Lima | Lima | 355,219
9  | Puente Piedra | Lima | Lima | 329,675
10  | Santiago de Surco | Lima | Lima | 329,152
11  | Los Olivos | Lima | Lima | 325,884
12  | Ventanilla | Callao | Callao | 315,600
13  | Trujillo | Trujillo | La Libertad | 314,939
14  | Chorrillos | Lima | Lima | 314,241
15  | Chiclayo | Chiclayo | Lambayeque | 270,496
16  | Lima | Lima | Lima | 268,352
17  | Juliaca | San Román | Puno | 228,726
18  | Chimbote | Santa | Ancash | 206,213
19  | Piura | Piura | Piura | 158,495
20  | Callería | Coronel Portillo | Ucayali | 149,999

Source: INEI[2]

### By population density

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#  | District  | Province  | Region  | Population
density
(/km2)

|
|
|
|

1  | Breña | Lima | Lima | 24,492
2  | Surquillo | Lima | Lima | 24,336
3  | La Victoria | Lima | Lima | 21,764
4  | La Perla | Callao | Callao | 21,674
5  | Arequipa | Arequipa | Arequipa | 21,431
6  | Carmen de la Legua Reynoso | Callao | Callao | 19,075
7  | Florencia de Mora | Trujillo | La Libertad | 18,803
8  | Lince | Lima | Lima | 17,202
9  | Pueblo Libre | Lima | Lima | 16,414
10  | Bellavista | Callao | Callao | 15,956
11  | Los Olivos | Lima | Lima | 15,701
12  | Santa Anita | Lima | Lima | 15,040
13  | Rímac | Lima | Lima | 14,810
14  | San Martín de Porres | Lima | Lima | 14,228
15  | San Juan de Miraflores | Lima | Lima | 13,980
16  | Independencia | Lima | Lima | 13,551
17  | Magdalena del Mar | Lima | Lima | 13,420
18  | San Luis | Lima | Lima | 13,254
19  | El Agustino | Lima | Lima | 13,192
20  | Lima | Lima | Lima | 13,187

Source: INEI[2]

### By area

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#  | District  | Province  | Region  | Area
(km2)

|
|
|
|

1  | Putumayo | Maynas | Loreto | 34,942.9
2  | Napo | Maynas | Loreto | 24,298.1
3  | Tambopata | Tambopata | Madre de Dios | 22,218.6
4  | Tigre | Loreto | Loreto | 19,785.7
5  | Echarate | La Convención | Cusco | 19,135.5
6  | Purús | Purús | Ucayali | 17,847.8
7  | Urarinas | Loreto | Loreto | 15,778.4
8  | Iñapari | Tahuamanu | Madre de Dios | 14,853.7
9  | Raimondi | Atalaya | Ucayali | 14,508.5
10  | Alto Nanay | Maynas | Loreto | 14,290.8
11  | Masisea | Coronel Portillo | Ucayali | 14,102.2
12  | Yavarí | Mariscal Ramón Castilla | Loreto | 13,807.5
13  | Parinari | Loreto | Loreto | 12,951.7
14  | Trompeteros | Loreto | Loreto | 12,246.0
15  | Andoas | Datem del Marañón | Loreto | 11,549.8
16  | Pebas | Mariscal Ramón Castilla | Loreto | 11,437.0
17  | Puerto Bermúdez | Oxapampa | Pasco | 10,988.1
18  | Fitzcarrald | Manú | Madre de Dios | 10,955.3
19  | Yaquerana | Requena | Loreto | 10,947.2
20  | Morona | Datem del Marañón | Loreto | 10,777.0

Source: INEI[2]

### By elevation

[edit]

#  | District  | Province  | Region  | Elevation
(m)

|
|
|
|

1  | Suykutambo | Espinar | Cusco | 4801
2  | Condoroma | Espinar | Cusco | 4737
3  | San Antonio | Puno | Puno | 4700
4  | Ananea | San Antonio de Putina | Puno | 4660
5  | Morococha | Yauli | Junín | 4550
6  | San Antonio de Chuca | Caylloma | Arequipa | 4525
7  | Santa Ana | Castrovirreyna | Huancavelica | 4473
8  | Marcapomacocha | Yauli | Junín | 4415
9  | Capazo | El Collao | Puno | 4400
10  | Paratia | Lampa | Puno | 4390
11  | Cojata | Huancané | Puno | 4355
12  | Yanacancha | Pasco | Pasco | 4350
13  | Chaupimarca | Pasco | Pasco | 4338
14  | Macusani | Carabaya | Puno | 4315
15  | Huayllay | Pasco | Pasco | 4310
16  | Caylloma | Caylloma | Arequipa | 4310
17  | Vilavila | Lampa | Puno | 4300
18  | Tanta | Yauyos | Lima | 4278
19  | Tinyahuarco | Pasco | Pasco | 4275
20  | Suitucancha | Yauli | Junín | 4255

Source: INEI[2]

## Districts table

[edit]

District  | Province  | Region  | Capital  | UBIGEO

|
|
|
|

## See also

[edit]

* Regions of Peru
* Provinces of Peru
* Administrative divisions of Peru

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Sistema Nacional de Estadística Archived 2007-03-21 at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ a b c d e (in Spanish) Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática. Perú en Mapas Archived 2009-11-13 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 1, 2009.
3. ^ (in Spanish) Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática. Banco de Información Distrital Archived April 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 5, 2008.

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