| Huánuco | |
| Native Name: | Departamento de Huánuco (Spanish) Wanuku suyu (Quechua) |
| Settlement Type: | Department |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Peru |
| Subdivision Type1: | Subdivisions |
| Subdivision Name1: | 11 provinces and 76 districts |
| Subdivision Type3: | Largest city |
| Subdivision Name3: | Huánuco |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Huánuco |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Name: | Rubén Alva Ochoa (2015–2018) |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 36848.85 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | (Capital) |
| Elevation Max M: | 3839 |
| Elevation Min M: | 167 |
| Population Total: | 730871 |
| Population As Of: | 2005 Census |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Postal Code Type: | UBIGEO |
| Postal Code: | 10 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Area Code: | 062 |
| Iso Code: | PE-HUC |
| Website: | www.regionhuanuco.gob.pe |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Principal resources |
| Blank Info Sec1: | – |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | Poverty rate |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | 78.9% |
| Blank3 Name Sec1: | Percentage of Peru's GDP |
| Blank3 Info Sec1: | 1% |
Huánuco (pronounced as /es/) is a department and region in central Peru.[1] It is bordered by the La Libertad, San Martín, Loreto and Ucayali regions in the north, the Ucayali Region in the east, the Pasco Region in the south and the Lima and Ancash regions in the west. Its capital is the city Huánuco.
Huánuco has a rough topography comprising parts of the Sierra and the High Jungle (mountain rim) regions. Being equidistant from the north and the south of the country, it has the privilege of having a mild weather with an average annual temperature of 20 °C (68 °F).
This region is important for its geographical location, history, and for the richness of its land, where the presence of man goes back to ancient times. El Hombre de Lauricocha (Man of Lauricocha) is among the most distinctive examples, dating from 10,000 BC, as well as Kotosh, where vestiges of the oldest settlement in the Americas (4200 BC) took place.
Several ethnic groups inhabited this region. However, after a severe resistance, they started to incorporate as part of the Inca empire. Huánuco then became part of the Cusco-Cajamarca-Cusco route.
In the beginning of the 19th century, during the emancipation process, Huánuco was one of the first cities to promote Peru's independence. Moreover, a first oath took place in this city on December 15, 1820, after several uprisings in Huamalíes, Huallanca and Ambo.
The region is divided into 11 provinces (Spanish; Castilian: provincias, singular: provincia), which are composed of 75 districts (distritos, singular: distrito).
The provinces, with their capitals in parentheses, are:
According to the 2007 Peru Census, the language learned first by most of the residents was Spanish (70.92%) followed by Quechua (28.56%). The Quechua variety spoken in Huánuco is Huánuco Quechua. The following table shows the results concerning the language learnt first in the Huánuco Region by province:[2]
| Province | Quechua | Aymara | Asháninka | Another native language | Spanish | Foreign language | Deaf or mute | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambo | 13,141 | 30 | 9 | 5 | 38,840 | 2 | 86 | 52,113 | |
| Dos de Mayo | 17,399 | 20 | 5 | 11 | 26,102 | 6 | 91 | 43,634 | |
| Huacaybamba | 14,920 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 3,869 | 1 | 106 | 18,919 | |
| Huamalies | 32,873 | 44 | 6 | 6 | 28,511 | 4 | 226 | 61,670 | |
| Huanuco | 60,281 | 177 | 73 | 62 | 192,886 | 54 | 369 | 253,902 | |
| Leoncio Prado | 8,990 | 78 | 30 | 82 | 99,915 | 19 | 178 | 109,292 | |
| Marañon | 6,073 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 18,367 | align="right" | - | 82 | 24,541 |
| Pachitea | 26,229 | 56 | 9 | 14 | 29,415 | align="right" | - | 107 | 55,830 |
| Puerto Inca | 1,582 | 81 | 545 | 731 | 25,541 | 2 | 59 | 28,541 | |
| Lauricocha | 3,415 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 29,481 | align="right" | - | 23 | 32,948 |
| Yarowilca | 18,308 | 30 | 6 | 2 | 11,633 | align="right" | - | 49 | 30,028 |
| Total | 203,211 | 560 | 693 | 930 | 504,560 | 88 | 1,376 | 711,418 | |
| % | 28.56 | 0.08 | 0.10 | 0.13 | 70.92 | 0.01 | 0.19 | 100.00 | |