Guide to Peru Introduction Background: Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by the Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Peruvian independence was declared in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces defeated in 1824. After a dozen years of military rule, Peru returned to democratic leadership in 1980, but experienced economic problems and the growth of a violent insurgency. President Alberto FUJIMORI's election in 1990 ushered in a decade that saw a dramatic turnaround in the economy and significant progress in curtailing guerrilla activity. Nevertheless, the president's increasing reliance on authoritarian measures and an economic slump in the late 1990s generated mounting dissatisfaction with his regime. FUJIMORI won reelection to a third term in the spring of 2000, but international pressure and corruption scandals led to his ouster by Congress in November of that year. A caretaker government oversaw new elections in the spring of 2001, which ushered in Alejandro TOLEDO as the new head of government; his presidency has been hampered by allegations of corruption.
Geography Location: Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador
Geographic coordinates: 10 00 S, 76 00 W
Map references: South America
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Alaska
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 2,414 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
Climate: varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes
Terrain: western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 11,950 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity
Environment - current issues: deforestation (some the result of illegal logging); overgrazing of the slopes of the costa and sierra leading to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia; a remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316 m peak, is the ultimate source of the Amazon River
People Population: 27,925,628 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 1.36% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 20.87 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 6.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 2.56 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.5% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 82,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4,200 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: Amerindian 45%, mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 37%, white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese, and other 3%
Religions: Roman Catholic 81%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.4%, other Christian 0.7%, other 0.6%, unspecified or none 16.3% (2003 est.)
Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages
Literacy: definition
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: constitutional republic
Capital: Lima
Administrative divisions: 25 regions (regiones, singular - region) and 1 province* (provincia); Amazonas, Ancash, Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Callao, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Ica, Junin, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, Lima*, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco, Piura, Puno, San Martin, Tacna, Tumbes, Ucayali
Independence: 28 July 1821 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 July (1821)
Constitution: 31 December 1993
Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory until the age of 70; note - members of the military and national police may not vote
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: unicameral Congress of the Republic of Peru or Congreso de la Republica del Peru (120 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the National Council of the Judiciary)
Political parties and leaders: Independent Moralizing Front or FIM [Fernando OLIVERA Vega]; National Unity (Unidad Nacional) or UN [Lourdes FLORES Nano]; Peru Posible or PP [David WAISMAN]; Peruvian Aprista Party or PAP (also referred to by its original name Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana or APRA) [Alan GARCIA]; Popular Action or AP [Javier DIAZ Orihuela]; Solucion Popular [Carlos BOLANA]; Somos Peru or SP [Alberto ANDRADE]; Union for Peru or UPP [Roger GUERRA Garcia]
Political pressure groups and leaders: leftist guerrilla groups include Shining Path [Abimael GUZMAN Reynoso (imprisoned), Gabriel MACARIO (top leader at-large)]; Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement or MRTA [Victor POLAY (imprisoned), Hugo AVALLENEDA Valdez (top leader at-large)]
International organization participation: APEC, CAN, CSN, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), white, and red with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a shield bearing a vicuna, cinchona tree (the source of quinine), and a yellow cornucopia spilling out gold coins, all framed by a green wreath
Economy Economy - overview: Peru's economy reflects its varied geography - an arid coastal region, the Andes further inland, and tropical lands bordering Colombia and Brazil. Abundant mineral resources are found in the mountainous areas, and Peru's coastal waters provide excellent fishing grounds. However, overdependence on minerals and metals subjects the economy to fluctuations in world prices, and a lack of infrastructure deters trade and investment. After several years of inconsistent economic performance, the Peruvian economy grew by an average 4 percent per year during the period 2002-2004, with a stable exchange rate and low inflation. Risk premiums on Peruvian bonds on secondary markets reached historically low levels in late 2004, reflecting investor optimism regarding the government's prudent fiscal policies and openness to trade and investment. Despite the strong macroeconomic performance, the TOLEDO administration remained unpopular in 2004, and unemployment and poverty have stayed persistently high.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $155.3 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.5% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 11 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 9%, industry 18%, services 73% (2001)
Unemployment rate: 9.6% in metropolitan Lima; widespread underemployment (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: 54% (2003 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 49.8 (2000)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.8% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 17.8% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 44.1% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: coffee, cotton, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, corn, plantains, grapes, oranges, coca; poultry, beef, dairy products; fish
Industries: mining and refining of minerals and metals, petroleum extraction and refining, natural gas, fishing and fish processing, textiles, clothing, food processing, steel, metal fabrication
Industrial production growth rate: 5.2% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production: 22.88 billion kWh (2004 est.)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 20.22 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2003)
Oil - production: 95,500 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption: 161,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: 49,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - imports: NA
Oil - proved reserves: 408.8 million bbl (2004 est.)
Natural gas - production: 910 million cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 910 million cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 245.1 billion cu m (2004)
Current account balance: $-30 million (2004 est.)
Exports: $12.3 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: copper, gold, zinc, crude petroleum and petroleum products, coffee
Exports - partners: US 29.5%, China 9.9%, UK 9%, Chile 5.1%, Japan 4.4% (2004)
Imports: $9.6 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, plastics, machinery, vehicles, iron and steel, wheat, paper
Imports - partners: US 30.3%, Spain 11.5%, Chile 7.2%, Brazil 5.4%, Colombia 5.2% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $12.7 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $29.79 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $491 million (2002)
Currency (code): nuevo sol (PEN)
Currency code: PEN
Exchange rates: nuevo sol per US dollar - 3.4132 (2004), 3.4785 (2003), 3.5165 (2002), 3.5068 (2001), 3.49 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 1,839,200 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2,908,800 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 472, FM 198, shortwave 189 (1999)
Radios: 6.65 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 13 (plus 112 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 3.06 million (1997)
Internet country code: .pe
Internet hosts: 65,868 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 10 (2000)
Internet users: 2.85 million (2003)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 8,808 km note
Pipelines: gas 388 km; oil 1,557 km; refined products 13 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Callao, Iquitos, Matarani, Pucallpa, Yurimaguas note
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 234 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Heliports: 1 (2004 est.)
Military Military branches: Army (Ejercito Peruano), Navy (Marina de Guerra del Peru; includes Naval Air, Naval Infantry, and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea del Peru; FAP)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service (1999)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $829.3 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.4% (2004)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: Peru proposes changing its latitudinal maritime boundary with Chile to an equidistance line with a southwestern axis; organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia have penetrated Peru's shared border; Peru does not support Bolivia's claim to restore maritime access through a sovereign corridor through Chile along the Peruvian border
Refugees and internally displaced persons: IDPs
Illicit drugs: until 1996 the world's largest coca leaf producer; emerging opium producer; cultivation of coca in Peru fell 15 percent to 31,150 hectares between 2002 and the end of 2003; much of the cocaine base is shipped to neighboring Colombia for processing into cocaine, while finished cocaine is shipped out from Pacific ports to the international drug market; increasing amounts of base and finished cocaine, however, are being moved to Brazil and Bolivia for use in the Southern Cone or transshipped to Europe and Africa
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
| Weather Statistics | Puerto Maldonado |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | | Mean | 27 C | 26 C | 26 C | 26 C | 25 C | 24 C | 24 C | 25 C | 27 C | 27 C | 27 C | 27 C | | Prcp | 345mm | 310mm | 285mm | 176mm | 95mm | 50mm | 55mm | 68mm | 108mm | 179mm | 244mm | 284mm |
| Source: Global Historical Climatology Network |
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