Cercado is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

in the central parts of the

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

n department

Tarija Tarija or San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa is a city in southern Bolivia. Founded in 1574, Tarija is the largest city and capital and municipality within the Tarija Department, with an airport ( Capitán Oriel Lea Plaza Airport, (TJA)) off ...

Location

''Cercado'' province is one of six provinces in the Tarija Department. It is located between 21° 15' and 21° 51'

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and between 64° 20' and 65° 00'

west West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. The province borders

Eustaquio Méndez Province Eustaquio Méndez is a province in the north-western parts of the Bolivian department of Tarija. Location ''Eustaquio Méndez'' province is one of six provinces in the Tarija Department. It is located between 20° 57' and 21° 36' south and bet ...

in the northwest, José María Avilés Province in the south-west, Aniceto Arce Province in the south, and Burnet O'Connor Province in the east. The province extends over 80 km from north to south, and 80 km from east to west.

Population

Main

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language, ...

of the province is

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

, spoken by 99.4%, and 0.6% Guaraní. The population increased from 108,241 inhabitants (1992

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

) to 153,457 (2001 census), an increase of 41.8%. - 39.4% of the population are younger than 15 years old. In the census 2012 the population increased to 205,346 inhabitants, migration mainly driven by gas extraction boom of the region. 26.0% of the population have no access to

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

, 39.4% have no

sanitary facilities Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

(1992). 12.2% of the population are employed in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

, 0.1% in

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

, 11.5% in industry, 76.2% in general services (2001). 89.6% of the population are

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, 6.3% are

Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

(1992).

Division

In contrast to the neighbouring provinces, the province comprises only one

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

Tarija Municipality. It is identical to the Cercado Province.

Places of interest

Cordillera de Sama Biological Reserve Cordillera de Sama Biological Reserve ( es, links=no, Reserva Biológica Cordillera de Sama) is a protected area in Bolivia located in the Tarija Department, in the Cercado Province, Eustaquio Méndez Province, and José María Avilés Province. I ...

External links

General map of provincePopulation data (Spanish)
{{coord, 21, 30, S, 64, 40, W, type:adm2nd_region:BO, display=title Provinces of Tarija Department