Chiriquí, officially the Chiriquí Province (, ), is a province of Panama located on the western coast; it is the second most developed province in the country, after Panamá Province. Its capital is the city of David. It has a total area of 6,490.9 km2, with a population of 471,071 as of the year 2023. The province of Chiriquí is bordered to the north by the province of Bocas del Toro, 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 26 May 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. Only 349 accepted the offer. Most blacks were not interested.

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 As of the 2023 Census, Chiriquí Province is divided into 14 distritos (districts) and sub-divided into 105 corregimientos. DistritoArea(km2)Population 2000Population 2010Population 2023 Alanje45515,49716,50818,877 Barú60060,55155,77556,307 Boquerón29812,27515,02921,001 Boquete49016,94321,37023,562 Bugaba51751,52278,20968,870 David892124,280144,858156,498 Dolega25117,24325,10237,678 Gualaca6198,3489,7509,831 Remedios1723,4894,0524,388 Renacimiento52718,25720,52422,429 San Félix2265,2766,3046,881 San Lorenzo6896,4987,5078,031 Tierras Altas36017,04820,47123,525 Tolé48511,56311,88513,193

District Corregimientos (Subdivisions) Cabecera (Seat) Alanje District Santiago de Alanje, Canta Gallo, Divalá, El Tejar, Guarumal, Nuevo México, Palo Grande, Querévalo, Santo Tomás Santiago de Alanje Barú District Puerto Tomás Armuelles, Baco, Limones, Progreso, Rodolfo Aguilar Delgado, El Palmar, Manaca Puerto Tomás Armuelles Boquerón District Boquerón, Bágala, Cordillera, Guabal, Guayabal, Paraíso, Pedregal, Tijeras Boquerón Boquete District Bajo Boquete, Alto Boquete, Caldera, Jaramillo, Los Naranjos, Palmira Bajo Boquete Bugaba District La Concepción, Aserrío de Gariché, Bugaba, El Bongo, Gómez, La Estrella, San Andrés, Santa Marta, Santa Rosa, Santo Domingo, Solano, Sortová, San Isidro La Concepción David District San José de David, Bijagual, Cochea, Chiriquí, Guacá, Las Lomas, Pedregal, San Carlos, San Pablo Nuevo, San Pablo Viejo, David Este, David Sur San José de David Dolega District San Francisco de Dolega, Dos Ríos, Los Algarrobos, Los Anastacios, Potrerillos, Potrerillos Abajo, Rovira, Tinajas San Francisco de Dolega Gualaca District Gualaca, Hornito, Los Angeles, Paja de Sombrero, Rincón Gualaca Remedios District Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, El Nancito, El Porvenir, El Puerto, Santa Lucía Nuestra Señora de los Remedios Renacimiento District Río Sereno, Breñón, Cañas Gordas, Dominical, Monte Lirio, Plaza de Caisán, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz Río Sereno San Félix District Las Lajas, Juay, Lajas Adentro, San Félix, Santa Cruz Las Lajas San Lorenzo District Horconcitos, Boca Chica, Boca del Monte, San Juan, San Lorenzo Horconcitos Tierras Altas District Volcán, Cerro Punta, Cuesta de Piedra, Nueva California, Paso Ancho Volcán Tolé District Tolé, Bella Vista, Cerro Viejo, El Cristo, Justo Fidel Palacios, Lajas de Tolé, Potrero de Caña, Quebrada de Piedra, Veladero Tolé

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.«Presidente sanciona Ley que crea distrito de Tierras Altas en Chiriquí», Article from 16 September 2013 on the Ministry of Presidency of Panama website.

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.

References

External links Knowing more about Chiriqui in My Panama Live K. Holmberg 2010 'Placing Immateriality: Situating the Material of Highland Chiriquí', Internet Archaeology 28. The Art of Precolumbian Gold: The Jan Mitchell Collection, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Chiriqui