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 were 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 which led to his ouster in 2000. A caretaker government oversaw new elections in the spring of 2001 which ushered in Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique as the new head of government - Peru's first democratically elected president of Native American ethnicity. The presidential election of 2006 saw the return of Alan GARCIA Perez who after a disappointing presidential term from 1985 to 1990 has overseen a robust macroeconomic performance.

Geographic coordinates: 10 00 S 76 00 W

Map reference: South America

Area
Total: 1,285,216 km²
Rank: 20
Land: 1,279,996 km²
Water: 5,220 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Alaska

Land boundaries
Total: 7,461 km
Border countries: (5) Bolivia 1075 km; Brazil 2,995 km; Chile 171 km; Colombia 1800 km; Ecuador 1420 km

Coastline: 2,414 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm

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: Pacific Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Nevado Huascaran 6,768 m

Natural resources: copper silver gold petroleum timber fish iron ore coal phosphate potash hydropower natural gas

Land use
Arable land: 2.88%
Permanent crops: 0.47%
Other: 96.65% (2005)

Irrigated land: 11,950 km² (2008)

Total renewable water resources: 1913 km³ (2000)

Natural hazards: earthquakes tsunamis flooding landslides mild volcanic activity
Volcanism: Peru experiences volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains; Ubinas (elev. 5,672 m) which last erupted in 2009 is the country's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes include El Misti Huaynaputina Sabancaya and Yucamane

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

Population: 29,248,943 (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 42
Growth rate: 1.029% (2011 est.)
Growth rate rank: 114
Below poverty line: 34.8% (2009)

Nationality
Noun: Peruvian
Adjective: Peruvian

Ethnic groups: Amerindian 45% mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 37% white 15% black Japanese Chinese and other 3%

Languages: Spanish (official) 84.1% Quechua (official) 13% Aymara 1.7% Ashaninka 0.3% other native languages (includes a large number of minor Amazonian languages) 0.7% other 0.2% (2007 Census)

Religions: Roman Catholic 81.3% Evangelical 12.5% other 3.3% unspecified or none 2.9% (2007 Census)

Age structure
0-14 years: 28.5%
15-64 years: 65.1% (male 9,316,128/female 9,722,258)
65 years and over: 6.4% (male 885,703/female 978,611) (2011 est.)

Median age
Total: 26.2 years
Male: 25.5 years
Female: 26.8 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.029% (2011 est.)
Rank: 114

Birth rate: 19.41 births/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 95

Death rate: 5.93 deaths/1000 population (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 165

Net migration rate: -3.2 migrant(s)/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 176

Urbanization
Urban population: 77% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 1.6% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

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
International agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol Antarctic-Marine Living Resources Antarctic Treaty Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes Marine Dumping Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Tropical Timber 83 Tropical Timber 94 Wetlands Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.046 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 22.18 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 90
Male: 24.49 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 19.77 deaths/1000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 72.47 years
Rank: 127
Male: 70.55 years
Female: 74.48 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.32 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Rank: 96

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 0.92 physicians/1000 population (2009)
Rank: 106

Hospital bed density: 1.5 beds/1000 population (2009)
Rank: 122

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.4% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 70
People living with hivaids: 75,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 48
Deaths: 5,000 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 38

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: very high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Vectorborne disease: dengue fever malaria and yellow fever
Water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 16.3% (2000)
Rank: 29

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 5.4% (2005)
Rank: 81

Education expenditures: 2.7% of GDP (2008)
Rank: 143

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 92.9%
Male: 96.4%
Female: 89.4% (2007 Census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 13 years (2006)

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Peru
Conventional short form: Peru
Local long form: Republica del Peru
Local short form: Peru

Government type: constitutional republic

Capital
Name: Lima
Geographic coordinates: 12 03 S 77 03 W
Time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington DC during Standard Time)

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: 29 December 1993

Legal system: civil law system

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory until the age of 70

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Ollanta HUMALA Tasso ; First Vice President Marisol ESPINOZA Cruz (since 28 July 2011); Second Vice President Omar CHEHADE (since 28 July 2011); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Ollanta HUMALA Tasso (since 28 July 2011); First Vice President Marisol ESPINOZA Cruz (since 28 July 2011); Second Vice President Omar CHEHADE (since 28 July 2011)
Note: Prime Minister Oscar VALDES Dancuart (since 11 December 2011) does not exercise executive power; this power rests with the president
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for nonconsecutive reelection); presidential and congressional elections last held on 10 April 2011 with runoff election held on 6 June 2011 (next to be held in April 2016)
Election results: Ollanta HUMALA Tasso elected president in runoff election; percent of vote - Ollanta HUMALA Tasso 51.5% Keiko FUJIMORI Higuchi 48.5%

Legislative branch: unicameral Congress of the Republic of Peru or Congreso de la Republica del Peru (130 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Elections: last held on 10 April 2011 (next to be held in April 2016)
Election results: percent of vote by party - Gana Peru 25.3% Fuerza 2011 23% PP 14.8% Alliance for Great Change 14.4% National Solidarity 10.2% Peruvian Aprista Party 6.4% other 5.9%; seats by party - Gana Peru 47 Fuerza 2011 37 PP 21 Alliance for Great Change 12 National Solidarity 9 Peruvian Aprista Party 4

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: Alliance for Great Change (Alianza por el Gran Cambio) (a coalition of the Alliance for Progress Humanist Party National Restoration Party and Popular Christian Party) [Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI]; Fuerza 2011 [Keiko FUJIMORI]; Gana Peru (a coalition of Lima Para Todos Peruvian Communist Party Peruvian Nationalist Party and Peruvian Socialist Party) [Ollanta HUMALA Tasso]; National Solidarity (Solidaridad Nacional) or SN (a coalition of Cambio 90 Siempre Unidos Todos por el Peru and Union for Peru or UPP) [Luis CASTANEDA Lossio]; Peru Posible or PP (a coalition of Accion Popular and Somos Peru) [Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique]; Peruvian Aprista Party (Partido Aprista Peruano) or PAP [Alan GARCIA Perez] (also referred to by its original name Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana or APRA)

International organization participation: APEC BIS CAN FAO G-15 G-24 G-77 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC LAES LAIA Mercosur (associate) MIGA MINUSTAH MONUSCO NAM OAS OPANAL OPCW PCA RG UN UNASUR UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO Union Latina UNMIL UNMISS UNOCI UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Harold Winston FORSYTH Mejia
In the us chancery: 1700 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 833-9,860 through 9,869
In the us fax: [1] (202) 659-8,124
In the us consulate general: Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Hartford Houston Los Angeles Miami New York Paterson (New Jersey) San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Rose M. LIKINS
From the us embassy: Avenida La Encalada Cuadra 17 s/n Surco Lima 33
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 1995 Lima 1; American Embassy (Lima) APO AA 34,031-5,000
From the us telephone: [51] (1) 618-2000
From the us fax: [51] (1) 618-2,397

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 (representing fauna) a cinchona tree (the source of quinine signifying flora) and a yellow cornucopia spilling out coins (denoting mineral wealth); red recalls blood shed for independence white symbolizes peace

National symbols: vicuna (a camelid related to the llama)

National anthem
Name: 'Himno Nacional del Peru'
Lyricsmusic: Jose DE LA TORRE Ugarte/Jose Bernardo ALZEDO
Note: adopted 1822; the song won a national contest for an anthem

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. The Peruvian economy grew by almost 6% per year during the period 2002-06 with a stable exchange rate and low inflation. Growth jumped to nearly 9% per year in 2007 and 10% in 2008 driven by private investment and government spending but then fell to less than 1% in 2009 in the face of the world recession a sharp fall of private investment and a substantial increase in counter-cyclical government spending. Growth resumed in 2010 at above 8% due partly to a leap in private investment and continued high government spending. Peru's rapid expansion coupled with the government's conditional cash transfers and other programs have helped to reduce the national poverty rate by over 19 percentage points since 2002 though underemployment remains high. Inflation in 2010 was within the Central Bank's 1%-3% target range. Despite Peru's strong macroeconomic performance dependence on minerals and metals exports and imported foodstuffs subjects the economy to fluctuations in world prices. Poor infrastructure hinders the spread of growth to Peru's non-coastal areas. A growing number of Peruvians are sharing in the benefits of growth but despite President GARCIA's pursuit of sound trade and macroeconomic policies inequality persists. Nevertheless he remains committed to Peru's free-trade path. Since 2006 Peru has signed trade deals with the United States Canada Singapore China Korea and Japan concluded negotiations with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Chile and begun trade talks with Central American countries and others. The US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (PTPA) entered into force 1 February 2009 opening the way to greater trade and investment between the two economies. Rising world prices of foodstuffs and fuel coupled with strong domestic demand are immediate concerns for 2011. Peru has continued to attract foreign investment. However political disputes may impede development of some projects related to natural resource extraction.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 43
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 11

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 114
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 10%
Industry: 35%
Services: 55% (2010 est.)

Agriculture products: asparagus coffee cocoa cotton sugarcane rice potatoes corn plantains grapes oranges pineapples guavas bananas apples lemons pears coca tomatoes mango barley medicinal plants palm oil marigold onion wheat dry beans; poultry beef dairy products; fish; guinea pigs

Industries: mining and refining of minerals; steel metal fabrication; petroleum extraction and refining natural gas and natural gas liquefaction; fishing and fish processing cement textiles clothing food processing

Industrial production growth rate: 13.6% (2010 est.)
Rank: 13

Labor force: 10.58 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 48
By occupation agriculture: 0.7%
By occupation industry: 23.8%
By occupation services: 75.5% (2005)

Unemployment rate: 8.9% (2009 est.)
Rank: 61
Note: data are for metropolitan Lima; widespread underemployment

Population below poverty line: 34.8% (2009)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.4%
Highest 10: 35.9% (2009)

Distribution of family income gini index: 46.2 (1996)
Rank: 27

Budget
Revenues: $44.53 billion
Expenditures: $45.46 billion (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -0.6% of GDP (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 53

Taxes and other revenues: 29.1% of GDP (2010 est.)
Rank: 95

Public debt: 27.3% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 102

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.9% (2009 est.)
Rank: 44
Note: data are for metropolitan Lima

Central bank discount rate: 2.05% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 107

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 21.033% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 17
Note: domestic currency lending rate

Stock of narrow money: $17.48 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 63

Stock of broad money: $45.41 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 64

Stock of domestic credit: $36.97 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 67

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 38

Current account balance: $210.6 million (2009 est.)
Rank: 162

Exports: $26.96 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 61
Commodities: copper gold zinc tin iron ore molybdenum; crude petroleum and petroleum products natural gas; coffee potatoes asparagus and other vegetables fruit apparel and textiles fishmeal
Partners: China 18.4% US 16.1% Canada 11.7% Japan 6.6% Germany 4.5% Spain 4% (2010)

Imports: $21.01 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 62
Commodities: petroleum and petroleum products chemicals plastics machinery vehicles color TV sets power shovels front-end loaders telephones and telecommunication equipment iron and steel wheat corn soybean products paper cotton vaccines and medicines
Partners: US 24.7% China 13% Brazil 7.4% Ecuador 4.7% Chile 4.3% Colombia 4.2% (2010)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $33.23 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 38

Debt external: $34.25 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Rank: 61
Note: public debt component of total: $20.6 billion (31 December 2009)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $36.91 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 55

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $1.88 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 67

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 35.79 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 60
Consumption: 31.74 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 58
Exports: 111.9 million kWh (2010 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2010 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 7.24 billion m³ (2010)
Production rank: 46
Consumption: 3.65 billion m³ (2010)
Consumption rank: 66
Exports: 3.59 billion m³
Exports rank: 30
Exports note: in 2010 Peru became a net exporter of LNG (2010 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2010)
Imports rank: 169
Proven reserves: 345.5 billion m³ (1 January 2011 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 36

Telephones
Main lines in use: 3.16 million (2010)
Main lines in use rank: 49
Mobile cellular: 29.115 million (2010)
Mobile cellular rank: 33

Telephone system
General assessment: adequate for most requirements; nationwide microwave radio relay system and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations
Domestic: fixed-line teledensity is only about 10 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity spurred by competition among multiple providers has increased to roughly 85 telephones per 100 persons
International: country code - 51; the South America-1 (SAM-1) and Pan American (PAN-AM) submarine cable systems provide links to parts of Central and South America the Caribbean and US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2009)

Broadcast media: 10 major television networks of which only one Television Nacional de Peru is state-owned; multi-channel cable TV services are available; in excess of 2000 radio stations including a substantial number of indigenous language stations (2010)

Internet
Country code: .pe
Hosts: 268,225 (2010)
Hosts rank: 62
Users: 9.158 million (2009)
Users rank: 31

Military expenditures: 1.5% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 99

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for voluntary male and female military service; no conscription (2008)

Airports: 211 (2010)
Rank: 29
With paved runways total: 58
With paved runways over 3047 m: 6
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 20
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 15
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 13
With paved runways under 914 m: 4 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 153
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 24
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 40
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 87 (2010)

Heliports: 1 (2010)

Pipelines: extra heavy crude 533 km; gas 1526 km; liquid petroleum gas 679 km; oil 1033 km; refined products 15 km (2010)

Railways
Total: 2020 km
Rank: 73
Standard gauge: 1886 km 1.435-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 134 km 0.914-m gauge (2010)

Roadways
Total: 102,887 km
Rank: 41
Note: includes 23,838 km of national roads 19,049 km of departmental roads and 60,000 km of local roads (2007)

Waterways: 8,808 km (there are 8,600 km of navigable tributaries on the Amazon system and 208 km on Lago Titicaca) (2010)
Rank: 14

Merchant marine
Total: 13
Rank: 106
By type: cargo 2 chemical tanker 2 liquefied gas 2 petroleum tanker 7
Foreign owned: 1 (Bahamas 1)
Registered in other countries: 13 (Belize 1 Panama 12) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Callao Iquitos Matarani Paita Pucallpa Yurimaguas; note - Iquitos Pucallpa and Yurimaguas are on the upper reaches of the Amazon and its tributaries
Oil terminals: Conchan oil terminal La Pampilla oil terminal

Disputes international: Chile and Ecuador rejected Peru's November 2005 unilateral legislation to shift the axis of their joint treaty-defined maritime boundaries along the parallels of latitude to equidistance lines which favor Peru; organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia have penetrated Peru's shared border; Peru rejects Bolivia's claim to restore maritime access through a sovereign corridor through Chile along the Peruvian border

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Idps: 60,000-150,000 (2007)

Illicit drugs: until 1996 the world's largest coca leaf producer Peru is now the world's second largest producer of coca leaf though it lags far behind Colombia; cultivation of coca in Peru was estimated at 40,000 hectares in 2009 a slight decrease over 2008; second largest producer of cocaine estimated at 225 metric tons of potential pure cocaine in 2009; 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 Chile Argentina and Bolivia for use in the Southern Cone or transshipment to Europe and Africa; increasing domestic drug consumption (2011)