Ucayali () is an inland department and region of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. Located in the Amazon rainforest, its name is derived from the

Ucayali The Ucayali River ( es, Río Ucayali, ) is the main headstream of the Amazon River. It rises about north of Lake Titicaca, in the Arequipa region of Peru and becomes the Amazon at the confluence of the Marañón close to Nauta city. The city ...

River. Its capital is the city of Pucallpa. It is the second largest department in Peru, after Loreto. Pucallpa Plaza San Martín Fountain by Night

Geography

Boundaries

The department of Ucayali is bordered by the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian state of

Acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

on the east; the department of Madre de Dios on the southeast;

Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru ...

on the south; Junín, Pasco and Huánuco on the west; and Loreto on the north.

Demographics

Population

According to the 2007 Census, the Ucayali department has a population of 432,159 inhabitants, 51.4% of which (222,132) are male and 48.6% (210,027) are female. 75.3% of the population (325,347) live in urban areas while the remaining 24.7% (106,812) live in rural areas. , the

Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática The Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI) ("National Institute of Statistics and Informatics") is a semi-autonomous Peruvian government agency which coordinates, compiles, and evaluates statistical information for the country ...

estimated the department's population to be 468,922.

Languages

Spanish is spoken as a first language by 87.6% of the population, while 4.1% speak Asháninka, 1.5% speak Quechua and 0.1% speak Aymara. Other

indigenous language An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. Indigenous languages are not neces ...

s, including Shipibo, are spoken by 6.6% of the population and 0.0% speak foreign languages.

Immigration

Persons originating from other departments of the country make up 34.7% of the population and 0.2% of residents were born abroad. The largest immigrant groups come from the Loreto Region (12.5% of the total population).

Age

The population is spread out, with 53.9% under the age of 20, 9.3% from 20 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 8.8% from 45 to 64, and 2.5% who are 65 years of age or older.

Education

Secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...

has been attended by 29% of the population and 2.3% also have graduated from non-

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

higher education, while 1.7% have complete university studies. 49.3% only have attended primary education and 9.1% have not had any education. The

illiteracy 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 Writing, written form in some specific context of use. In other wo ...

rate in the region is 14.2%

Political division

The department is divided into 4 provinces ( es, provincias, singular: ''provincia''), which are composed of 14 districts (''distritos'', singular: ''distrito'').

Provinces

The provinces, with their capitals in parentheses, are: *

Atalaya Atalaya (Spanish for watchtower) may refer to: Places Spain * Atalaya, Badajoz, a municipality in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura * Atalaya (Madrid), a ward in Madrid * Atalaya del Cañavate, a municipality in the province of Cuenca, Castile- ...

(

) * Coronel Portillo ( Pucallpa) * Padre Abad (

Aguaytía Aguaytía is a town situated in Peru, capital of the province Padre Abad in the region Ucayali. It is situated on the banks of the Aguaytía River (a tributary of the Ucayali River) at the highway between Pucallpa and Tingo María Tingo María ...

) * Purús ( Esperanza)

Places of interest

* El Sira Communal Reserve *

Gran Pajonal The Gran Pajonal (Great Scrubland or Great Savanna) is an isolated interfluvial plateau in the Amazon Basin of Peru. It is located in the departments of Ucayali, Pasco and Junín. The plateau is inhabited by the Asháninka or Ashéninka people ...

Purús Communal Reserve The Purús Communal Reserve (''Reserva Communal Purús'') is a protected area in the Amazonian part of Peru. Located in the Madre de Dios Region and in the Ucayali Region Ucayali () is an inland department and region of Peru. Located in the Ama ...

Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pucallpa The Immaculate Conception Cathedral (also known as Pucallpa Cathedral or the Cathedral of Ucayali; es, Catedral de la Inmaculada Concepción) is the most important Catholic church in the Department of Ucayali in Peru. The cathedral was inaugura ...

References

External links

*
Gobierno Regional de Ucayali
– Ucayali Regional Government website Regions of Peru {{Ucayali-geo-stub