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Updates: 

Update 7 to Geopolitical Entities and Codes, the successor to FIPS standard 10-4, was issued with the date 2012-02-01. It recognizes the new province of Lima, and changes the status of departments and the constitutional province to regions, in accord with the reform of 2002. ISO 3166-2 adopts the same new statuses as of 2014-11-03.

I've updated the populations to show data from the 2007 census, acquired from the INEI  site.

Newsletter II-2, an update to the ISO 3166-2 standard, is dated 2010-06-30. It assigns an ISO code to the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima, which was formerly covered by the code for Lima region.

Country overview: 

Short name	PERU
ISO code	PE
FIPS code	PE
Language	Spanish (es), Quechua (qu)
Time zone	-5
Capital	Lima

 

Ecuador and Peru have fought repeatedly over disputed territories in the Amazon basin. Ecuador's territorial claim extended as far as the Marañón River before 1942. In that year, the Protocol of Rio de Janeiro drew the border between Ecuador and Peru shown on most modern maps. However, Ecuador still claims some of the region adjudicated to Peru. Most of this area is now part of Loreto region.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Peru
2. Dutch: Peru, Republiek Peru (formal)
3. English: Republic of Peru (formal)
4. Finnish: Peru
5. French: Pérou m
6. German: Peru n
7. Icelandic: Perú
8. Italian: Perù m
9. Norwegian: Peru, Republikken Peru (formal)
10. Portuguese: Peru, República f do Peru m (formal)
11. Russian: Республика Перу (formal)
12. Spanish: Perú, República f del Perú m (formal)
13. Swedish: Peru
14. Turkish: Peru Cumhuriyeti (formal)

Origin of name: 

Corruption of village name Biruquete, possibly meaning "granary"

Primary subdivisions: 

Peru is divided into 25 regiones (sing. región) and one provincia (province).

Region	HASC	ISO	FIPS	NUTE	INEI	Population	Area(km.²)	Area(mi.²)	Capital
Amazonas	PE.AM	AMA	PE01	40201	01	375,993	39,249	15,154	Chachapoyas
Ancash	PE.AN	ANC	PE02	40502	02	1,063,459	35,826	13,832	Huaraz
Apurímac	PE.AP	APU	PE03	40903	03	404,190	20,896	8,068	Abancay
Arequipa	PE.AR	ARE	PE04	41004	04	1,152,303	63,344	24,457	Arequipa
Ayacucho	PE.AY	AYA	PE05	40905	05	612,489	43,815	16,917	Ayacucho
Cajamarca	PE.CJ	CAJ	PE06	40106	06	1,387,809	33,248	12,837	Cajamarca
Callao	PE.CL	CAL	PE07	40607	07	876,877	147	57	Callao
Cusco	PE.CS	CUS	PE08	40808	08	1,171,403	71,892	27,758	Cusco
Huancavelica	PE.HV	HUV	PE09	40909	09	454,797	22,131	8,545	Huancavelica
Huánuco	PE.HC	HUC	PE10	40410	10	762,223	36,887	14,242	Huánuco
Ica	PE.IC	ICA	PE11	41011	11	711,932	21,328	8,235	Ica
Junín	PE.JU	JUN	PE12	40712	12	1,225,474	44,410	17,147	Huancayo
La Libertad	PE.LL	LAL	PE13	40513	13	1,617,050	25,515	9,851	Trujillo
Lambayeque	PE.LB	LAM	PE14	40114	14	1,112,868	14,213	5,488	Chiclayo
Lima [Province]	PE.LP	LMA	PE26	40615	15	7,605,742	2,665	1,029	Lima
Lima	PE.LR	LIM	PE15	40615	15	839,469	32,137	12,408	Huacho
Loreto	PE.LO	LOR	PE16	40316	16	891,732	368,852	142,415	Iquitos
Madre de Dios	PE.MD	MDD	PE17	40817	17	109,555	85,183	32,889	Puerto Maldonado
Moquegua	PE.MQ	MOQ	PE18	41118	18	161,533	15,734	6,075	Moquegua
Pasco	PE.PA	PAS	PE19	40719	19	280,449	25,320	9,776	Cerro de Pasco
Piura	PE.PI	PIU	PE20	40120	20	1,676,315	35,891	13,858	Piura
Puno	PE.PU	PUN	PE21	41121	21	1,268,441	70,003	27,028	Puno
San Martín	PE.SM	SAM	PE22	40222	22	728,808	51,253	19,789	Moyobamba
Tacna	PE.TA	TAC	PE23	41123	23	288,781	16,076	6,207	Tacna
Tumbes	PE.TU	TUM	PE24	40124	24	200,306	4,669	1,803	Tumbes
Ucayali	PE.UC	UCA	PE25	40425	25	432,159	102,411	39,541	Pucallpa
26 divisions						27,412,157	1,283,092	495,404
Region: Lima [Province] is a province. HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes. ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2. FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. NUTE: Nomenclature of Statistical Territorial Units. INEI: Ubigeo department code. Population: 2007-10-21 census.

 

Note: Peru has recently adopted a Código de Ubicación Geográfica (Ubigeo for short: Geographic Location Code). Its purpose is to assign a code to each politico-administrative division of the country, on every level, including departments, provinces, and districts. The codes are found in Tabla de Codificación Geográfica del Perú, which is published by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI). Each department receives a two-digit code. In every case, this department code is the same as the last two characters of the department's FIPS code. Provinces get a four-digit code, in which the first two digits indicate the department to which the province belongs. Similarly, districts are given a six-digit code, with the first four digits representing the province. The update procedure has been followed since 1993, which implies that Ubigeo has been around at least that long.

Further subdivisions:

See the Provinces of Peru page.

Since 2002, Peru has been divided into 25 regions and one province. The regions are subdivided into provincias (provinces), which are further subdivided into partidos or distritos (districts). Lima [Province] and Callao, however, are divided directly into districts. In 2002, there were 1,828 districts.

Peru undertook a different regionalization program in 1988. Departments were grouped into regions as follows. (Later, San Martín-La Libertad region was divided into San Martín region and La Libertad region.) These regions never quite caught on, and were finally abandoned.

Region	Date created	Departments
Amazonas	1988-03-03	Loreto
Andrés Avelino Cáceres	1989-04-14	Huánuco, Junín, Pasco
Arequipa	1989-04-14	Arequipa
Gran Chavín	1989-04-14	Ancash
Grau	1988-03-01	Piura, Tumbes
Inka	1989-01-19	Apurímac, Cusco, Madre de Dios
José Carlos Mariátegui	1989-04-14	Moquegua, Puno, Tacna
Lima y Callao	1821-08-04	Callao, Lima
Los Libertadores-Wari	1989-02-16	Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Ica
Nor Oriental del Marañón	1982-07-11	Amazonas, Cajamarca, Lambayeque
San Martín-La Libertad	1989-01-20	La Libertad, San Martín
Ucayali	1988-11-24	Ucayali

 

In addition, the first three digits of the NUTE codes define eleven NUTE regions, which are identified only as REG01, REG02, etc.

Territorial extent: 

The UN LOCODE page  for Peru lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Origins of names: 

1. Amazonas: Spanish name for the Amazon River (see Brazil for its derivation)
2. Ancash: from Quechua anca: eagle
3. Apurímac: probably Quechua apu rimak: the lord who speaks
4. Arequipa: according to tradition, Mayta Cápac was on a voyage of conquest when some of his troops asked if they could settle at that spot. He replied "ari, qquepay", Quechua for "yes, stay".
5. Ayacucho: valley of death, because conquistadores massacred natives there
6. Callao: Galician for pebble, or from native word meaning "cure for spiritual ills"
7. Catamarca: among several theories, may come from Aymara for "city of lightning", because Catequil, a lightning god, was their tutelary deity
8. Cusco: Quechua for navel (city considered the center of the world)
9. Huancavelica: several theories. May be named for a battle conducted by a Huanca chieftain near a mountain named Vilca
10. Huánuco: native word for dry
11. Junín: from Quechua words hunin and surin, meaning "broad pasture"
12. La Libertad: = liberty, named shortly after Peru gained its independence from Spain in 1821
13. Lima: Corruption of Rimaco (river name, meaning "speaking")
14. Madre de Dios: = Mother of God, an epithet of the Virgin Mary
15. Piura: Quechua pirhua: granary
16. San Martín: named for the revolutionary hero José de San Martín (1778-1850)
17. Tumbes: there are several theories; may be named for native chieftain Tumba

Change history (may not be complete before 1900): 

The uti possidetis of 1810 (a legal term meaning "as you now possess it", and describing a division of territory resulting from conquests) defined the boundaries of the virreinatos (viceroyalties) of Spain in South America. The viceroyalty of Lima corresponded fairly closely to modern Peru. At that time it was divided into eight intendencias (intendancies) and four gobiernos (governments). The intendancies were further subdivided into 58 partidos. The governments were Guayaquil (now in Ecuador), Callao, Mainas, and Quijos. The intendancies are those shown in the table below, plus Puno (source [2]).

An 1822 atlas states that the divisions of Peru before independence were seven intendancies, subdivided into 51 districts. The accompanying map shows an additional unorganized area in the Amazon basin, east of the intendancies. The intendancies are listed in this table, with populations as of 1795 (including indigenes, Europeans, and everyone else).

Intendancy	Population
Arequipa	136,801
Cuzco	216,382
Guamanga	111,559
Guancavelica	30,917
Lima	149,112
Tarma	201,259
Truxillo	230,967
Total	1,076,997

1. 1821-07-28: Peru declared independence from Spain. It consisted initially of the departments of Huailas, La Costa, Tarma, and Trujillo.
2. 1821-08-04: La Capital department created (later named Lima).
3. 1822-04-26: Constitutional Congress reorganized Peru into eleven departments: Arequipa, Cusco (also spelled Cuzco), Huailas, Huamanga (Guamanga), Huancavelica (Guancavelica), La Costa, Lima, Mainas y Quijos, Puno, Tarma, and Trujillo (Truxillo). At the time of elections, Arequipa, Cusco, Huamanga, Huancavelica, and Puno were under royalist control.
4. 1823-11-04: Huailas and Tarma departments merged to form Huánuco department, soon renamed Tarma. La Costa department merged with Lima. Mainas y Quijos department merged with Trujillo.
5. 1823-11-12: Constitution adopted. It provided that Peru would be divided into departamentos (departments), which would be subdivided into provincias (provinces), in turn subdivided into distritos (districts), and finally into parroquias (parishes). I infer from 19th-century descriptions of the divisions of Peru that, at some times, some provinces were not in any department; such provinces apparently had the status of provincia litoral (littoral province), provincia fluvial, or provincia constitucional.
6. 1825-01-24: Huancavelica department merged with Huamanga.
7. 1825-02-15: Name of Huamanga department changed to Ayacucho.
8. 1825-03-09: Name of Trujillo department changed to La Libertad; its capital renamed from Trujillo to Ciudad de Bolívar.
9. 1825-09-13: Name of Tarma department changed to Junín.
10. 1827-07-21: Name of capital of La Libertad changed back from Ciudad de Bolívar to Trujillo.
11. 1832-11-21: Amazonas department split from La Libertad.
12. 1835-04-25: Amazonas department merged with La Libertad.
13. 1836-03-17: Estado Sud-Peruano (South Peruvian State) formed by union of Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cusco, and Puno departments.
14. 1836-08-06: Estado Nor-Peruano (North Peruvian State) formed by union of Amazonas, Junín, La Libertad, and Lima departments.
15. 1836-08-20: Callao and Bellavista littoral provinces split from Lima department.
16. 1836-10-10: Huailas department split from Junín.
17. 1836-10-20: Bolivia merged with Peru to form Confederación Perú-Boliviana, by decree. The Constitution of the confederation took effect on 1837-05-01.
18. 1837-01-30: Piura littoral province split from La Libertad.
19. 1839: Moquegua department split from Arequipa.
20. 1839: Pataz province transferred from Amazonas to La Libertad.
21. 1839-01-20: Peru-Bolivian Confederation defeated in the Battle of Yungay, and dissolved shortly thereafter. North and South Peruvian States dissolved.
22. 1839-02-28: Name of Huailas department changed to Ancachs.
23. 1839-04-28: Huancavelica department split from Ayacucho.
24. 1839-11-08: Amazonas department split from La Libertad again.
25. 1853-04-15: Mainas fluvial province split from La Libertad department, with Moyobamba as its capital.
26. 1855-02-11: Cajamarca department split from Trujillo (ratified 1862-09-30).
27. 1855-06-25: Ica department split from Lima.
28. 1857-04-22: Status of Callao changed from littoral province to constitutional province.
29. 1861-01-07: Name and status of Mainas fluvial province changed to Loreto military department.
30. 1861-03-30: Status of Piura changed from littoral province to department.
31. 1866-02-07: Status of Loreto changed from military department to department.
32. 1869-01-24: Huánuco department created.
33. 1873-04-28: Apurímac department formed from parts of Ayacucho and Cusco.
34. 1874-12-01: Lambayeque department created.
35. 1875-06-25: Name of Moquegua department changed to Tacna.
36. 1883-10-20: By Treaty of Ancón, Peru ceded Tarapacá to Chile and allowed Chile to occupy Tacna for ten years. After the ten-year period, a plebiscite was to be held determining the final disposition of Tacna, but this never occurred. It may be that part of Tacna was detached and retained by Peru as Moquegua province, because we find Moquegua province listed as part of Peru in the 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica.
37. 1897-12-09: Capital of Loreto moved from Moyobamba to Iquitos.
38. 1901-12-20: Tumbes littoral province split from Piura department.
39. 1906-09-14: San Martín department split from Loreto.
40. 1911: According to this edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, Peru was divided into the departments of Amazonas, Ancachs, Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Cuzco, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Ica, Junin, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, Loreto, Piura, Puno, and San Martin, and the provinces of Callao, Moquegua, and Tumbes.
41. 1912-12-26: Madre de Dios department created from parts of Cusco and Puno.
42. 1929-06-03: Tacna restored to Peru by Chile.
43. 1936-04-03: Status of Moquegua changed from province to department.
44. ~1940: Name of Ancachs department changed to Ancash.
45. 1942-11-25: Status of Tumbes changed from littoral province to department.
46. 1944-11-27: Pasco department split from Junín (former capital: Cerro de Pasco).
47. 1980-06-18: Ucayali department split from Loreto.
48. 2002-11-16: By Organic Law of Regional Governments, status of departments and of constitutional province changed to regions. Province of Lima split from Lima region to form a province which is not part of any region, coextensive with the Municipalidad Metropolitana de Lima (Metropolitan Municipality of Lima). Huacho became provisional capital of Lima region. This supersedes the earlier plan for a division into twelve regions. Before this change, the HASC code for Lima department was PE.LI, its FIPS code was PE15, and its capital was Lima.

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Ancash: Ancachs (obsolete)
2. Cajamarca: Caxamarca (obsolete)
3. Callao: El Callao (variant)
4. Cusco: Cuzco, Qosqo (variant)
5. La Libertad: Libertad (variant)
6. Tumbes: Tumbez (obsolete)

Population history:

Department	1876	1907 (1)	1940-06-09	1961-06-02	1972-06-02	1981-07-12	1993-07-11	2007-10-21
Amazonas	34,245	70,676	89,560	129,003	196,469	268,121	354,171	375,993
Ancash	284,091	428,703	465,135	605,548	726,665	862,495	983,677	1,063,459
Apurímac	119,246	177,387	280,213	303,648	307,805	342,964	396,098	404,190
Arequipa	160,282	229,007	270,996	407,163	530,528	738,482	939,062	1,152,303
Ayacucho	142,205	302,469	414,208	430,289	459,747	523,821	512,438	612,489
Cajamarca	213,391	442,412	568,118	786,599	916,331	1,063,474	1,297,835	1,387,809
Callao	34,492	52,843	84,438	219,420	315,605	454,313	647,565	876,877
Cusco	238,445	438,646	565,458	648,168	708,719	874,463	1,066,495	1,171,403
Huancavelica	104,155	223,796	265,557	315,730	331,155	361,548	400,376	454,797
Huánuco	78,856	145,309	276,833	355,003	420,764	498,417	677,910	762,223
Ica	60,111	90,962	144,547	261,126	357,973	446,902	578,766	711,932
Junín	209,871	394,393	500,161	548,662	691,216	896,962	1,092,993	1,225,474
La Libertad	147,541	250,931	404,024	609,105	806,368	1,011,631	1,287,383	1,617,050
Lambayeque	85,984	124,091	199,660	353,657	515,363	708,820	950,842	1,112,868
Lima	226,922	228,740	849,171	2,093,435	3,485,411	4,993,032	6,478,957	8,445,211
Loreto	61,125	100,596	321,341	411,340	494,895	516,371	736,161	891,732
Madre de Dios		16,000	25,212	25,269	21,968	35,788	69,854	109,555
Moquegua	28,786	42,694	35,709	53,260	74,573	103,283	130,192	161,533
Pasco				150,575	176,750	229,701	239,191	280,449
Piura	135,502	213,909	431,487	692,414	854,668	1,155,682	1,409,262	1,676,315
Puno	256,594	537,345	646,385	727,309	779,594	910,377	1,103,689	1,268,441
San Martín		(1)	120,913	170,456	224,310	331,692	572,352	728,808
Tacna		50,449	37,512	67,800	95,623	147,693	223,768	288,781
Tumbes		8,602	26,473	57,378	75,399	108,064	158,582	200,306
Ucayali						178,135	331,824	432,159
Totals	2,621,844	4,569,970	7,023,111	10,422,357	13,567,899	17,762,231	22,639,443	27,412,157

 

Note (1): These figures are given in the Rand McNally World Atlas, Commonwealth Edition, dated 1928, followed by a population estimate of 5,550,000 for 1921. Obviously the total population of 4,569,970 represents a date significantly earlier than 1921. Interpolating the population figures, I arrived at an estimated date of 1907 for these data. The total for this column is 10 more than the actual sum of the department populations; this discrepancy is copied from the atlas. The atlas notes that the population of San Martín is included in Puno.

Sources: 

1. [1] Library of Congress country study  (retrieved 1999).
2. [2] García Rosell, Cesar. "Los Pueblos del Perú". Lima, 1944.
3. [3] Webb, Richard, and Graciela Fernández Baca de Valdez. "Perú en Números 1992: Anuario Estadístico". Cuánto S.A., Lima, 1992.