Department of Ayacucho

Coordinates: 13°09′47″S 74°13′28″W / 13.16306°S 74.22444°W / -13.16306; -74.22444
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Ayacucho Department)
Ayacucho
Departamento de Ayacucho (Spanish)
Ayakuchu suyu (Quechua)
Sara Sara and Lake Parinacochas in front of it
Sara Sara and Lake Parinacochas in front of it
Flag of Ayacucho
Official seal of Ayacucho
Location of the Department of Ayacucho in Peru
Location of the Department of Ayacucho in Peru
CountryPeru
Subdivisions11 provinces and 111 districts
Largest cityAyacucho
CapitalAyacucho
Government
 • GovernorCarlos Rua Carbajal
(2019–2022)
Area
 • Total43,814.8 km2 (16,917.0 sq mi)
Elevation
(Capital)
2,746 m (9,009 ft)
Highest elevation
5,505 m (18,061 ft)
Lowest elevation
1,800 m (5,900 ft)
Population
 (2017)
 • Total616,176
 • Density14/km2 (36/sq mi)
UBIGEO
05
Dialing code066
ISO 3166 codePE-AYA
Principal resourcesPotatoes, wheat, olluco, barley, sheep and handicrafts.
Poverty rate72.5%
Percentage of Peru's GDP0.65%
Websitewww.regionayacucho.gob.pe

Ayacucho (Spanish pronunciation: [aʝaˈkutʃo] ), known as Huamanga from its creation in 1822 until 1825,[1][2] is a department and region of Peru, located in the south-central Andes of the country. Its capital is the city of Ayacucho. The region was one of the hardest hit in the 1980s during the guerrilla war waged by Shining Path known as the internal conflict in Peru.

A referendum was held on 30 October 2005, in order to decide whether the department would merge with the departments of Ica and Huancavelica to form the new Ica-Ayacucho-Huancavelica Region, as part of the decentralization process in Peru. The proposal failed and no merger was carried out.[citation needed]

Political division[edit]

Map of the Ayacucho region showing its provinces

The department is divided into 11 provinces (Spanish: provincias, singular: provincia), which are composed of 111 districts (distritos, singular: distrito).

Provinces[edit]

The provinces, with their capitals in parentheses, are:

  1. Cangallo (Cangallo)
  2. Huamanga (Ayacucho)
  3. Huanca Sancos (Huanca Sancos)
  4. Huanta (Huanta)
  5. La Mar (San Miguel)
  6. Lucanas (Puquio)
  7. Parinacochas (Coracora)
  8. Paucar del Sara Sara (Pausa)
  9. Sucre (Querobamba)
  10. Víctor Fajardo (Huancapi)
  11. Vilcas Huamán (Vilcas Huamán)

Demographics[edit]

Languages[edit]

According to the 2007 Peru Census, the language learnt first by most of the residents was Quechua (63.05%) followed by Spanish (36.57%). The Quechua variety spoken in Ayacucho is Chanka Quechua. The following table shows the results concerning the language learnt first in the department by province:[3]

Province Quechua Aymara Asháninka Another native language Spanish Foreign language Deaf or mute Total
Cangallo 29,356 24 4 11 3,132 3 37 32,567
Huamanga 104,644 223 42 118 102,452 72 218 207,769
Huanca Sancos 8,017 29 1 - 1,858 - 18 9,923
Huanta 58,333 89 92 40 28,184 5 105 86,848
La Mar 64,815 64 127 58 12,950 1 111 78,126
Lucanas 26,153 152 7 49 35,282 10 78 61,731
Parinacochas 15,491 68 - 30 12,576 2 29 28,196
Paucar del Sara Sara 5,223 19 1 15 5,140 - 16 10,414
Sucre 9,059 25 - - 2,749 - 13 11,846
Víctor Fajardo 20,647 37 2 9 3,213 - 38 23,946
Vilcas Huaman 19,884 14 2 11 2,232 1 44 22,188
Total 361,622 744 278 341 209,768 94 707 573,554
% 63.05 0.13 0.05 0.06 36.57 0.02 0.12 100.00

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Caracterización del departamento de Ayacucho" (PDF). BCRP.
  2. ^ "Copia de Decreto que cambia nombre a Huamanga". Biblioteca Bicentenario. 1825-02-15.
  3. ^ inei.gob.pe Archived January 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine INEI, Peru, Censos Nacionales 2007

External links[edit]

13°09′47″S 74°13′28″W / 13.16306°S 74.22444°W / -13.16306; -74.22444