The city is considered the political, cultural, financial and commercial center of Peru. Due to its geostrategic importance, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network has categorized it as a "beta" tier city. Both provinces have regional autonomy since The census projection indicates that the city of Lima has an estimated population of 10,, inhabitants, making it the most populated city in the country. From onwards, barriers known as "walls of shame" run across much of the city separating rich areas from the poor.
Lima was named by natives in the agricultural region known by native Peruvians as Limaq. It became the capital and most important city in the Viceroyalty of Peru. Around one-third of the national population now lives in its metropolitan area. In October , Lima was chosen to host the Pan American Games ; these games were held at venues in and around Lima, and were the largest sporting event ever hosted by the country.
According to early Spanish articles, the Lima area was once called Itchyma , [ citation needed ] after its original inhabitants. Modern scholars speculate that the word "Lima" originated as the Spanish pronunciation of the native name Limaq. Linguistic evidence seems to support this theory, as spoken Spanish consistently rejects stop consonants in word-final position.
The city was founded in under the name City of Kings Spanish: Ciudad de los Reyes , because its foundation was decided on January 6, date of the feast of the Epiphany.
This name quickly fell into disuse, and Lima became the city's name of choice; on the oldest Spanish maps of Peru, both Lima and Ciudad de los Reyes can be seen together.
