| Huancavelica | |
| Native Name: | Departamento de Huancavelica (Spanish) Wankawillka suyu (Quechua) |
| Settlement Type: | Department |
| Coordinates: | -13.02°N -75.09°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Peru |
| Subdivision Type1: | Subdivisions |
| Subdivision Name1: | 7 provinces and 94 districts |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Huancavelica |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Name: | Maciste Díaz Abad |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 22131.47 |
| Elevation Footnotes: | (Capital) |
| Population Total: | 347639 |
| Population As Of: | 2017 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Postal Code Type: | UBIGEO |
| Postal Code: | 09 |
| Area Code Type: | Dialing code |
| Iso Code: | PE-HUV |
Huancavelica (pronounced as /es/) is a department and region in Peru with an area of and a population of 347,639 (2017 census). The capital is the city Huancavelica. The region is bordered by the departments of Lima and Ica in the west, Junín in the north, and Ayacucho in the east.
The department is divided into seven provinces.
Province (Capital)
The main cities are Huancavelica, Pampas and Lircay. There are many little districts like Querco in Huancavelica. Querco is a nice little town. Most of the residents are agricultors. They own cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, mules, llamas, goats, chickens, and donkeys.
The region is mostly inhabited by indigenous people of Quechua descent.
According to the 2007 Peru Census, the language learnt first by most of the residents was Quechua (64.03%) followed by Spanish (35.67%). The Quechua variety spoken in Huancavelica is Chanka Quechua. The following table shows the results concerning the language learnt first in the department of Huancavelica by province:[1]
| Province | Quechua | Aymara | Asháninka | Another native language | Spanish | Foreign language | Deaf or mute | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acobamba | 51,338 | 49 | 11 | 10 | 8,261 | align="right" | - | 78 | 59,747 |
| Angaraes | 40,669 | 62 | 7 | 7 | 10,922 | align="right" | - | 56 | 51,723 |
| Castrovirreyna | 4,093 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 14,168 | align="right" | - | 73 | 18,352 |
| Churcampa | 33,025 | 27 | 4 | 19 | 8,542 | 3 | 127 | 41,747 | |
| Huancavelica | 73,340 | 117 | 28 | 13 | 59,544 | 4 | 157 | 133,203 | |
| Huaytara | 5,670 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 16,218 | 2 | 28 | 21,938 | |
| Tayacaja | 63,950 | 91 | 23 | 15 | 33,900 | 1 | 242 | 98,222 | |
| Total | 272,085 | 373 | 78 | 70 | 151,555 | 10 | 761 | 424,932 | |
| % | 64.03 | 0.09 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 35.67 | 0.00 | 0.18 | 100.00 | |
The National University of Huancavelica is the only university in the region and it has branches in Pampas, Lircay, Acobamba and Castrovirreyna.
The region has two hospitals located in Huancavelica and Pampas. There are clinics and medical post in most of the towns.
The region is connected with the neighboring regions by national roads, which are paved in most cases. There are regional and local roads that are serving the towns of the regions. Huancavelica has a train service with the city of Huancayo.