Arica y Parinacota Region

The **XV Arica and Parinacota Region** () is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It is the country's newest region, created under Law 20.175. It became operational on 8 October 2007.

## History

Chile's former Tarapacá region was a former Peruvian province, which was occupied by Chile under the 1883 Treaty of Ancón at the close of the War of the Pacific, and then formally annexed in 1929 by the Treaty of Lima.

## Geography

The Arica and Parinacota borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the east and Chile's Tarapacá region to the south.

The region is within the Norte Grande (_Far North_) natural region. It combines deserts, green valleys, the steep and volcanic Andes mountains, and the Altiplano (high plain) to the east. A narrow coastal strip of low-lying land no more than  wide separates the Pacific's Nazca plate from the Andes. Its Parinacota volcano is the region's highest elevation at  and is on the northern border with Bolivia in Lauca National Park.

The two main rivers of the region are the Lauca, which flows into the Coipasa lake in Bolivia, and the Lluta, which flows into the Pacific Ocean. Lake Chungará at  above sea level ranks as one of the highest in the world

## Population

As of 2015, there were (estimated) 239,126 persons living in the region, for a population density of  inhabitants/km².

The largest city in the region is Arica, with 210,936 inhabitants.

## Administration

In 2007, the region was subdivided to create the Arica y Parinacota region and the present day Tarapacá Region to the south. The region is further subdivided into two provinces: Arica and Parinacota.

|Province|Code|Comuna|Area <small>(km²)</small>|Population <small>(2002)</small>||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|Arica (151)|||||
|15101|Arica|align="right"|4,799.4|align="right"|185,268|
|15102|Camarones|align="right"|3,927.0|align="right"|1,220|
|colspan=3 align="right"|**Total of the Arica province**|align="right"|8,726.4|align="right"|186,488|
|rowspan="3" valign="top"|Parinacota (152)|||||
|15201|Putre|align="right"|5,902.5|align="right"|1,977|
|15202|General Lagos|align="right"|2,244.4|align="right"|1,179|
|colspan=3 align="right"|**Total of the Parinacota province**|align="right"|8,146.9|align="right"|3,156|

## Related pages

- Atacama Desert
- Regions of Chile

## Other websites

- Territorial division of Chile
- Official website of the Local Government
- Arica Region

## Infobox (settlement)

- **official name**: Arica y Parinacota Region
- **native name**: <small>Región de Arica y Parinacota</small>
- **native name lang**: es
- **settlement type**: Regions of Chile, Region of Chile
- **seat type**: Capital
- **seat**: Arica
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **parts type**: Provinces of Chile, Provinces
- **parts**: Arica Province, Arica, Parinacota Province, Parinacota
- **leader title**: Intendant
- **leader name**: Roberto Erpel
- **leader party**: Independent Democratic Union, UDI
- **image skyline**: 20120623 Chile 2759 Volcano Parinacota (7704192574).jpg
- **image caption**: Parinacota Volcano and Chungará Lake
- **image flag**: Flag of Arica y Parinacota, Chile.svg
- **flag size**: 120px
- **flag alt**: Flag of Arica y Parinacota Region
- **image shield**: Coat of arms of Arica y Parinacota, Chile.svg
- **shield size**: 75px
- **shield alt**: Coat of Arms of Arica y Parinacota Region
- **image map**: Arica y Parinacota in Chile 2018.svg
- **mapsize**: 250px
- **map caption**: Map of Arica y Parinacota Region
- **area total km2**: 16873.3
- **area rank**: 12
- **elevation max point**: Parinacota Volcano
- **elevation max m**: 6342
- **elevation min m**: 0
- **population total**: 224548
- **population as of**: 2017
- **population rank**: 14
- **population density km2**: auto
- **blank name sec1**: Human Development Index, HDI (2019)
- **blank info sec1**: 0.882

- **iso code**: ISO 3166-2:CL, CL-AP