Ñuflo de Chávez is one of the fifteen provinces of the

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

n Santa Cruz Department and is situated in the northern central parts of the department. The name of the province honors the conquistador Ñuflo de Chaves (1518–1556) who founded the city of

Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; "Holy Cross of the Mountain Range"), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River in the eastern Tropical Lowlands of Bolivia ...

. Its capital is Concepción. The province was created by law of September 16, 1915, during the presidency of Ismael Montes. Originally it was part of the Chiquitos Province.Official site of Ñuflo de Chávez Province
(Spanish)

Location

Ñuflo de Chávez Province is located between 13° 45' and 17° 30'

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and between 61° 30' and 63° 25'

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. It extends over a length of 520 km from north to south, and up to 250 km from west to east. The province is situated in the Bolivian lowlands and borders

Beni Department Beni (), sometimes El Beni, is a northeastern department of Bolivia, in the lowlands region of the country. It is the second-largest department in the country (after Santa Cruz), covering 213,564 square kilometers (82,458 sq mi), and it was cre ...

in the north, Guarayos Province in the north-west,

Obispo Santistevan Province Obispo Santistevan (or: ''Santiesteban'') is one of the fifteen provinces of the Bolivian Santa Cruz department and is situated in the department's western parts. The province was founded on 2 December 1941, and its name honors Obispo Santistev ...

and Ignacio Warnes Province in the south-west, Andrés Ibáñez Province and Chiquitos Province in the south, and José Miguel de Velasco Province in the east.

Division

The province comprises six

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

which are further subdivided into cantons:

Population

The inhabitants of the Ñuflo de Chávez Province are mainly Chiquitos whose culture roots in the fusion of their ancient customs and the influence of the Jesuit missionaries. During the 2001 census the ethnic composition of the population was as follows:obd.descentralizacion.gov.bo / Observatorio Bolivia Democrático (inactive site) The population of the province has increased by more than 100% over the recent two decades: *1992: 61,008 inhabitants (

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

) *2001: 93,997 inhabitants (

) *2005: 111,813 inhabitants (est.) *2010: 131,856 inhabitants (est.)Instituto Nacional de Estadística - Proyecciones
/ref> 48.3% of the population are younger than 15 years old. ''(1992)'' The

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...

rate of the province is 72.6%. 87.3% of the population have no access to electricity, 50.4% have no sanitary facilities. ''(1992)'' 79.5% of the population are Catholics, 17.2% are Protestants. ''(1992)'' In 1992 91.6% of the population spoke

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

, 30.1% Quechua, 2.0% Aymara and 1.2 spoke Guaraní. During the 2001 census Spanish was spoken by 79,377 people, Quechua by 20,763, Aymara by 1,362, Guarani by 1,002, other native languages by 3,619 and foreign languages by 5,617 people. The following table shows the number of speakers per municipality:

Economy

The principal economic activities are devoted to

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, star ...

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

. Another important occupation is

handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

like the fabrication of hammocks,

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not t ...

s, hats, bags and baskets.

Environment

Increased agricultural use of the land has led to deforestation in the area.

Gallery

File:Kerk Conception Exterieur.jpg, Concepción mission church (now the Immaculate Conception Cathedral) File:San Javier church.JPG, San Javier mission church

References

External links

Population data (Spanish)Mancomunidad de Municipios Chiquitanos
(Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Nuflo De Chavez Province Provinces of Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia)