Lima Metropolitan Area 3.15

The Lima Metropolitan Area, is an area formed by the conurbation of the Peruvian cities of Lima and Callao. It is the largest of the metropolitan areas of Peru, the seventh largest in the Americas, the fourth largest in Latin America, and among the thirty largest in the world. The conurbation process started to be evident in the 1980s. The metropolitan area is composed of six subregions. These are the Lima Norte, Lima Sur, Lima Este, Residential Lima, Central Lima, and Callao. Its estimated 2015 population is 9,752,000 according to INEI statistics.HistoryThe city of Lima was founded by Spanish colonists on January 18, 1535. The port of Callao was founded similarly two years later (1537). The city of Lima began when Francisco Pizarro declared it at what is known in Christianity as the Epiphany. He declared it at the center of the city, the Plaza Mayor. It would become the most important city in South America.