Chiriquí Province


Chiriquí is a province of Panama located on the western coast; it is the second most developed province in the country, after the Panamá Province. Its capital is the city of David. It has a total area of 6,490.9 km², with a population of 462,056 as of the year 2019.
The province of Chiriquí is bordered to the north by the provinces Bocas del Toro and Ngobe-Buglé, to the west by Costa Rica, to the east by the province of Veraguas, and to the south by the Pacific Ocean, specifically the Gulf of Chiriquí.

History

Until the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores, Chiriquí was populated by a number of indigenous tribes, known collectively as the Guaymí people.
The first European to visit and describe Chiriquí was Gaspar de Espinosa, in 1519. The province was officially established on May 26, 1849, when Panama was still part of Colombia. Several years later, President Abraham Lincoln of the United States proposed Chiriquí as a favored location for Linconia, a colony for free blacks from the United States; some 349 traveled here but most blacks were not interested in colonization elsewhere.
Chiriquí was the province in which Manuel Noriega rose in the military ranks in the late 20th century; he helped bring Omar Torrijos back into the country after a coup d'état. Noriega had jeeps lined up with their lights on the runway in David to allow Torrijos's aircraft to land. Chiriqui was at the heart of a short-lived pro-democracy guerrilla movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s. After the dictatorship by Manuel Noriega from 1983 to 1989, Guillermo Endara became president of Panama; he appointed Edgar De Puy as governor of Chiriquí.

Administrative divisions

Chiriquí Province is divided into 13 distritos and sub-divided into 100 corregimientos, although a 14th district and an additional corregimiento will take effect from May 2019.
DistritoArea
Population

Estimate
2010		Population

Estimate
2019
Alanje44316,99617,433
Barú59557,42458,472
Boquerón29515,47516,229
Boquete48822,00223,313
Bugaba88080,52783,704
David868155,812172,384
Dolega25125,84826,805
Gualaca62610,03710,412
Remedios1674,1704,323
Renacimiento52921,12621,490
San Félix2186,4936,803
San Lorenzo6487,7298,024
Tierras Altas
Tolé48212,23812,674

District
Corregimientos
Cabecera
Alanje DistrictSantiago de Alanje, Canta Gallo, Divalá, El Tejar, Guarumal, Nuevo México, Palo Grande, Querévalo, Santo TomásSantiago de Alanje
Barú DistrictPuerto Tomás Armuelles, Baco, Limones, Progreso, Rodolfo Aguilar DelgadoPuerto Tomás Armuelles
Boquerón DistrictBoquerón, Bágala, Cordillera, Guabal, Guayabal, Paraíso, Pedregal, TijerasBoquerón
Boquete DistrictBajo Boquete, Alto Boquete, Caldera, Jaramillo, Los Naranjos, PalmiraBajo Boquete
Bugaba DistrictLa Concepción, Aserrío de Gariché, Bugaba, El Bongo, Gómez, La Estrella, San Andrés, Santa Marta, Santa Rosa, Santo Domingo, SortováLa Concepción
David DistrictSan José de David, Bijagual, Cochea, Chiriquí, Guacá, Las Lomas, Pedregal, San Carlos, San Pablo Nuevo, San Pablo ViejoSan José de David
Dolega DistrictSan Francisco de Dolega, Dos Ríos, Los Algarrobos, Los Anastacios, Potrerillos, Potrerillos Abajo, Rovira, TinajasSan Francisco de Dolega
Gualaca DistrictGualaca, Hornito, Los Angeles, Paja de Sombrero, RincónGualaca
Remedios DistrictNuestra Señora de los Remedios, El Nancito, El Porvenir, El Puerto, Santa LucíaNuestra Señora de los Remedios
Renacimiento DistrictRío Sereno, Breñón, Cañas Gordas, Dominical, Monte Lirio, Plaza de Caisán, Santa Clara, Santa CruzRío Sereno
San Félix DistrictLas Lajas, Juay, Lajas Adentro, San Félix, Santa CruzLas Lajas
San Lorenzo DistrictHorconcitos, Boca Chica, Boca del Monte, San Juan, San LorenzoHorconcitos
Tierras Altas DistrictVolcán, Cerro Punta, Cuesta de Piedra, Nueva California, Paso AnchoVolcán
Tolé DistrictTolé, Bella Vista, Cerro Viejo, El Cristo, Justo Fidel Palacios, Lajas de Tolé, Potrero de Caña, Quebrada de Piedra, VeladeroTolé

Note: Through Law 55 of 13 September 2013, the creation of Tierras Altas District had been approved, consisting of the corregimientos of Cerro Punta, Cuesta de Piedra, Nueva California, Paso Ancho and Volcán, which were split off from Bugaba District. The new district was to have Volcán as its main centre. Also through that same law, the corregimiento of Solano was created, after splitting off from the corregimiento of La Concepción, Bugaba. That new administrative division within Chiriquí Province was to come into effect by 2 May 2019.

Climate

The province features a variety of climates, from hot and humid lowlands to the cool and moist highlands. The district is home to Fortuna Forest Reserve.