The region was a formerPeruvian province, which was occupied by Chile under the 1883Treaty of Ancón at the close of theWar of the Pacific, and then formally annexed in 1929 by theTreaty of Lima. Following annexation, Arica y Parinacota went through a process of forcedacculturation known asChilenization with the aim of creating a dominance of Chilean traditions and culture.
In 2007, the region was subdivided to create the Arica y Parinacota region and the present dayTarapacá Region to the south. The region is further subdivided into two provinces:Arica andParinacota.
According to data from the 2017 Census of theNational Statistics Institute, the region is populated by 224,548 inhabitants. Its density reaches 13.3 inhabitants per km².
This region holds the largest population ofAymara[10] and a significant number of immigrants from neighboringPeru andBolivia.[11] Included are those of Asian descent, such as Chinese and Japanese; andArabs fromLebanon,Palestine andSyria. Most of the country'sAfro-Chileans live in the Arica province, descended from slaves in the 17th and 18th centuries.[12] There are a large number ofRoma people or Gypsies in the Arica province as well, originated from Eastern Europe in the late 19th century.[13]
At the level of cities, the most populated are:Arica, with 175,441 inhabitants andPutre, with 1235 inhabitants.
The region lies within theNorte Grande (Far North)natural region. It combines deserts, green valleys, the steep and volcanicAndes mountains, and theAltiplano (high plain) to the east. A narrow coastal strip of low-lying land no more than 2 kilometres (1 mi) wide separates the Pacific'sNazca Plate from the Andes. ItsParinacota volcano is the region's highest elevation at 6,348 metres (20,827 ft) and lies on the northern border with Bolivia inLauca National Park.
The region's two main rivers are theLauca, which drains into Bolivia's Coipasa salt flat (Lago Coipasa), and theLluta, which flows into the Pacific Ocean.Lake Chungará at 4,517 metres (14,820 ft) above sea level ranks as one of the highest in the world.[1]
A desert climate dominates the region. Near the coast, cloudiness can limit the temperature swing throughout the day, but in other drier areas, temperatures can vary greatly as is typical in deserts. A marginal desert region can be found over 3,000 m (9,843 ft) above sea level, which sees milder temperatures and summer rains.[1]
Maritime claims of Ecuador and Peru, showing areas in dispute with Chile.The maritime boundary between Chile and Peru as defined by the International Court of Justice on 27 January 2014.
On 26 January 2007, Peru's government issued a protest against Chile's demarcation of the coastal frontier the two countries share. According to thePeruvian Foreign Ministry, the Chilean legislatures had endorsed a plan regarding the Arica y Parinacota region which did not comply with the current established territorial demarcation. Moreover, it is alleged that the proposed Chilean law included an assertion ofsovereignty over 19,000 m2 (204,514 sq ft) of land in Peru'sDepartment of Tacna. According to the Peruvian Foreign Ministry, Chile has defined a new region "without respecting the Concordia demarcation."[14]
For its part, the Chilean government has asserted that the region in dispute is not a coastal site named Concordia, but instead refers to boundary stone No. 1, which is located to the northeast and 200 meters inland.[14] A possible border dispute was averted when the Chilean Constitutional Court formally ruled on 26 January 2007, against the legislation. While agreeing with the court's ruling, the Chilean government reiterated its stance that the maritime borders between the two nations were not in question and have been formally recognized by the international community.[15] The Peruvian government has stated that it might turn to the international court atThe Hague to solve the dispute.[16]
On 27 January 2014, in the final ruling of theInternational Court of Justice located inThe Hague, Peru gained some maritime territory. The maritime boundary extends only to 80 nautical miles off of the coast. From that point, the new border runs in a southwest direction to a point that is 200 miles equidistant from the coast of the two countries.
Under the ruling, Chile lost control over part of its formerly claimed maritime territory and gives additional maritime territory to Peru.
From the 27 January 2014 court press release:
The Court concludes that the maritime boundary between the Parties starts at the intersection of the parallel of latitude passing through Boundary Marker No. 1 with the low-water line, and extends for 80 nautical miles along that parallel of latitude to Point A. From this point, the maritime boundary runs along the equidistance line to Point B, and then along the 200-nautical-mile limit measured from the Chilean baselines to Point C. In view of the circumstances of the case, the Court has defined the course of the maritime boundary between the Parties without determining the precise geographical co-ordinates.[17][18]
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