| Arica Province | |
| Native Name: | Provincia de Arica |
| Native Name Lang: | es |
| Settlement Type: | Province |
| Flag: | Bandera de Arica.svg |
| Mapsize: | 175px |
| Map Alt: | Location in Arica y Parinacota Region |
| Pushpin Map: | Chile |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 175 |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Chile |
| Coordinates: | -18.475°N -70.3144°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Chile |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Parts Type: | Communes |
| Parts: | Arica Camarones |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Arica |
| Government Footnotes: | [1] |
| Government Type: | Provincial |
| Leader Title: | Presidential Provincial Delegate |
| Leader Name: | None |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Footnotes: | [2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 8726.4 |
| Population Total: | 186488 |
| Population As Of: | 2002 Census |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Urban |
| Population Blank1: | 175,441 |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Rural |
| Population Blank2: | 11,047 |
| Demographics Type1: | Sex |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Men |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 92,487 |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Women |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 94,001 |
| Timezone: | CLT[3] |
| Utc Offset: | -4 |
| Timezone Dst: | CLST[4] |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -3 |
| Area Code: | 56 + 58 |
| Website: | Official website |
Arica Province (Spanish; Castilian: Provincia de Arica) is one of two provinces of Chile's northernmost region, Arica y Parinacota. The province is bordered on the north by the Tacna Province of Peru, on the south by the Tamarugal Province in the Tarapacá Region, on the east the Parinacota Province and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. Its capital is the port city of Arica.
Founded as Villa de San Marcos de Arica in 1541 on the site of a pre-Columbian settlement, it belonged to Peru until 1879, when it was captured by the Chileans, who gained control of the locality under the Treaty of Ancón (1883)
According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 8726.4sqkm and had a population of 186,488 inhabitants (92,487 men and 94,001 women), giving it a population density of 21.4PD/sqkm. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 9.5% (16,184 persons).[2]
As a province, Arica is a second-level administrative division of Chile, consisting of two communes (comunas): Arica in the northern portion and Camarones in the south. The coastal city of Arica serves as the provincial capital. The province is administered by the presidentially appointed regional delegate of Arica y Parinacota.[1]