Arequipa: population, the economy and jobs

Arequipa is a department of Peru, number 4 of 25 by population. INEI projects the population of Arequipa at 1,656,746 on 30 June 2026, 4.8% of Peru's 34.66 million; 4th largest of Peru's 25 regions. The projection is based on the 2017 census.

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in Arequipa: Arequipa's economy produced 65.9 billion soles of gross value added at current prices in 2025, according to INEI's estimate, 5.9% of Peru's 1.11 trillion soles; 2nd largest of Peru's 25 regions.
• Health in Arequipa: The share of children under five with chronic malnutrition (low height for age, WHO standard) was 6.3% in Arequipa (4th lowest of 26 areas INEI reports) in 2025, according to INEI's Demographic and Family Health Survey (ENDES; Peru 12.1%). It was 4.9% in 2021.
• Education in Arequipa: In the Ministry of Education's 2025 census evaluation of students (ECE), the share of fourth-grade primary pupils at the satisfactory level in mathematics was 38.5% in Arequipa (4th highest of 26 areas INEI reports) (Peru 30.0%). The share was 44.2% in 2019.
• Poverty and living standards in Arequipa: 12.8% of the people of Arequipa lived in monetary poverty in 2025, according to INEI's National Household Survey (4th lowest of 26 areas INEI reports; Peru 25.7%).
• Government budget and revenue in Arequipa: The modified budget (PIM) of the regional government of Arequipa for 2025 was S/ 2.98 billion, and it accrued (devengado) S/ 2.90 billion, 97.5% of the budget, according to the MEF's Consulta Amigable (6th highest of 25 regional governments by execution; all regional governments 96.8%).

How departments are governed in Peru

Regions (24 departments + Constitutional Province of Callao). Regional governor and regional council directly elected for four years. Regional development, health, education, agriculture and infrastructure.

Every tier of government in Peru

Other departments of Peru

• Lima 11,618,679
• Piura 2,195,231
• La Libertad 2,181,593
• Cajamarca 1,439,748
• Cusco 1,414,069
• Junin 1,385,412
• Lambayeque 1,382,858
• Callao 1,247,227
• Ancash 1,208,895
• Puno 1,190,370
• Ica 1,104,956
• Loreto 1,069,225
• San Martin 965,964
• Huanuco 737,187
• Ayacucho 668,193
• Ucayali 663,630
• Amazonas 430,305
• Apurimac 423,128
• Tacna 407,996
• Huancavelica 319,894
• Tumbes 273,604
• Pasco 261,297
• Madre de Dios 209,165
• Moquegua 204,742

Up a level: Peru · government and power in Peru · cities

Sources

• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica (INEI): Peru: PBI por Departamentos 2007-2025 (cifras preliminares): Cuadros 1, 3 and 4 (value added by department at constant 2007 and current prices) and Cuadro 182 (2025 value added by activity and department), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a0dbecb43171…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica (INEI): Peru: Indicadores del Mercado Laboral a nivel departamental, 2022-2025 (Encuesta Permanente de Empleo Nacional, EPEN): Cuadros 1.1, 1.6, 2.3, 3.1, 5.1, 6.1, 6.7, 7.1 and annex tables, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 eb9c2fcd1b4f…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica (INEI): Peru: poblacion total proyectada al 30 de junio de cada ano, segun departamento, provincia y distrito, 2018-2026 (Cuadro 01), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 9436df29b883…)
• Ministerio de Economia y Finanzas (MEF): Consulta Amigable, consulta de ejecucion del gasto, 2025, all levels of government by department where the spending target is located (departamento meta) (export of 27 October 2026), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 d97244965e32…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica (INEI): Peru: Indicadores de Educacion segun Departamentos, 2015-2025 (ENAHO; ECE results from the Ministry of Education's Unidad de Medicion de la Calidad de los Aprendizajes): annex tables on enrolment, years of schooling and illiteracy, cuadros 8.2 and 8.4 (ECE results), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 90667da88878…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica (INEI): Peru: Encuesta Demografica y de Salud Familiar, ENDES 2025, statistical tables, chapter 3, fertility: cuadro 3.5 (total fertility rate); file "Cuadros_Estadisticos/Cap. 3" of the complementary-information zip published with the report (June 2026), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 bbd854005a99…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica (INEI): Peru: Encuesta Demografica y de Salud Familiar, ENDES 2025, statistical tables, chapter 8, maternal health: cuadros 8.2 (prenatal care by skilled personnel) and 8.9 (institutional births); file "Cuadros_Estadisticos/Cap. 8" of the complementary-information zip published with the report (June 2026), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 197faba567f7…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica (INEI): Peru: Encuesta Demografica y de Salud Familiar, ENDES 2025, statistical tables, chapter 9, child health: cuadro 9.10 (vaccination of children under 36 months); file "Cuadros_Estadisticos/Cap. 9" of the complementary-information zip published with the report (June 2026), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 2721fdf1980a…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica (INEI): Peru: Encuesta Demografica y de Salud Familiar, ENDES 2025, statistical tables, chapter 10, nutrition: cuadros 10.14.1 (anaemia in children aged 6-35 months), 10.16 (anaemia in women aged 15-49) and 10.18 (chronic child malnutrition, WHO standard); file "Cuadros_Estadisticos/Cap. 10" of the complementary-information zip published with the report (June 2026), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 bdc8d629c2fc…)
• Ministerio de Economia y Finanzas (MEF): Consulta Amigable, consulta de ejecucion del gasto, 2024, activities and projects: regional governments by budget unit (export of 27 October 2026), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 5f7ad0aa6e48…)
• Ministerio de Economia y Finanzas (MEF): Consulta Amigable, consulta de ejecucion del gasto, 2025, activities and projects: regional governments (sector 99) by budget unit (pliego), with PIA, PIM, commitments, accrued spending (devengado) and execution rate (export of 27 October 2026), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1448ee1b19e5…)
• Ministerio de Economia y Finanzas (MEF): Consulta Amigable, consulta de ejecucion del gasto, 2025, investment projects only: regional governments by budget unit (export of 27 October 2026), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 69b38fa1b56b…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informatica (INEI): Peru: Evolucion de la Pobreza Monetaria 2016-2025, Informe Tecnico (ENAHO): cuadros III.1 (poverty incidence by department), I.15 (real income per person by department), 4.2 and 4.4 (groups of departments with statistically similar total and extreme poverty), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 475cc9c6b9c3…)

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