Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Peru declared its independence 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 resignation in 2000. A caretaker government oversaw a new election in the spring of 2001, which installed Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique as the new head of government - Peru’s first democratically elected president of indigenous ethnicity. The presidential election of 2006 saw the return of Alan GARCIA Perez who, after a disappointing presidential term from 1985 to 1990, oversaw a robust economic rebound. Former army officer Ollanta HUMALA Tasso was elected president in June 2011, and carried on the sound, market-oriented economic policies of the three preceding administrations. Poverty and unemployment levels have fallen dramatically in the last decade, and today Peru boasts one of the best performing economies in Latin America. Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard won a very narrow presidential runoff election in June 2016. Facing impeachment after evidence surfaced of his involvement in a vote-buying scandal, President KUCZYNSKI offered his resignation on 21 March 2018. Two days later, First Vice President Martin Alberto VIZCARRA Cornejo was sworn in as president. On 30 September 2019, President VIZCARRA invoked his constitutional authority to dissolve Peru’s Congress after months of battling with the body over anticorruption reforms. New congressional elections took place on 26 January 2020 resulting in the return of an opposition-led legislature. President VIZCARRA was impeached by Congress on 9 November 2020 for a second time and removed from office after being accused of corruption and mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of vacancies in the vice-presidential positions, constitutional succession led to the President of the Peruvian Congress, Manuel MERINO, becoming the next president of Peru. His ascension to office was not well received by the population, and large protests forced his resignation on 15 November 2020. On 17 November, Francisco SAGASTI assumed the position of President of Peru after being appointed President of the Congress the previous day. Jose Pedro CASTILLO Terrones won the second round of presidential elections on 6 June 2021 and was inaugurated on 28 July.
land: 1,279,996 sq km
water: 5,220 sq km
border countries (5): Bolivia 1,212 km; Brazil 2,659 km; Chile 168 km; Colombia 1,494 km; Ecuador 1,529 km
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
mean elevation: 1,555 m
arable land: 3.1% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 1.1% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 14.6% (2018 est.)
forest: 53% (2018 est.)
other: 28.2% (2018 est.)
note 2: Peru is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world’s earthquakes and some 75% of the world’s volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire
note 3: on 19 February 1600, Mount Huaynaputina in the southern Peruvian Andes erupted in the largest volcanic explosion in South America in historical times; intermittent eruptions lasted until 5 March 1600 and pumped an estimated 16 to 32 million metric tons of particulates into the atmosphere reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the earth’s surface and affecting weather worldwide; over the next two and a half years, millions died around the globe in famines from bitterly cold winters, cool summers, and the loss of crops and animals
note 4: the southern regions of Peru and the extreme northwestern part of Bolivia are considered to be the place of origin for the common potato
32,440,172 (2023 est.)
noun: Peruvian(s)
adjective: Peruvian
Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 60.2%, Amerindian 25.8%, White 5.9%, African descent 3.6%, other (includes Chinese and Japanese descent) 1.2%, unspecified 3.3% (2017 est.)
Spanish (official) 82.9%, Quechua (official) 13.6%, Aymara (official) 1.6%, Ashaninka 0.3%, other native languages (includes a large number of minor Amazonian languages) 0.8%, other (includes foreign languages and sign language) 0.2%, none 0.1%, unspecified 0.7% (2017 est.)
major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Roman Catholic 60%, Christian 14.6% (includes Evangelical 11.1%, other 3.5%), other 0.3%, none 4%, unspecified 21.1% (2017 est.)
Peru’s urban and coastal communities have benefited much more from recent economic growth than rural, Afro-Peruvian, indigenous, and poor populations of the Amazon and mountain regions. The poverty rate has dropped substantially during the last decade but remains stubbornly high at about 30% (more than 55% in rural areas). After remaining almost static for about a decade, Peru’s malnutrition rate began falling in 2005, when the government introduced a coordinated strategy focusing on hygiene, sanitation, and clean water. School enrollment has improved, but achievement scores reflect ongoing problems with educational quality. Many poor children temporarily or permanently drop out of school to help support their families. About a quarter to a third of Peruvian children aged 6 to 14 work, often putting in long hours at hazardous mining or construction sites.Peru was a country of immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but has become a country of emigration in the last few decades. Beginning in the 19th century, Peru brought in Asian contract laborers mainly to work on coastal plantations. Populations of Chinese and Japanese descent - among the largest in Latin America - are economically and culturally influential in Peru today. Peruvian emigration began rising in the 1980s due to an economic crisis and a violent internal conflict, but outflows have stabilized in the last few years as economic conditions have improved. Nonetheless, more than 2 million Peruvians have emigrated in the last decade, principally to the US, Spain, and Argentina.
0-14 years: 26.04% (male 4,311,243/female 4,136,849)
15-64 years: 65.94% (male 10,452,598/female 10,937,233)
65 years and over: 8.02% (2023 est.) (male 1,134,587/female 1,467,662)
total dependency ratio: 53
youth dependency ratio: 37.1
elderly dependency ratio: 13.1
potential support ratio: 7.9 (2021 est.)
total: 30.1 years (2023 est.)
male: 29.1 years
female: 31.1 years
0.5% (2023 est.)
17 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
11 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-0.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
approximately one-third of the population resides along the desert coastal belt in the west, with a strong focus on the capital city of Lima; the Andean highlands, or sierra, which is strongly identified with the country’s Amerindian population, contains roughly half of the overall population; the eastern slopes of the Andes, and adjoining rainforest, are sparsely populated
urban population: 78.9% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
11.204 million LIMA (capital), 959,000 Arequipa, 904,000 Trujillo (2023)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
21.9 years (2013 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
69 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 10.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 11.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 9.7 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 68.9 years (2023 est.)
male: 65.4 years
female: 72.7 years
2.18 children born/woman (2023 est.)
1.06 (2023 est.)
77.4% (2020)
improved: urban: 97.2% of population
rural: 82.4% of population
total: 94% of population
unimproved: urban: 2.8% of population
rural: 17.6% of population
total: 6% of population (2020 est.)
6.3% of GDP (2020)
1.37 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
1.6 beds/1,000 population (2017)
improved: urban: 93.6% of population
rural: 65.3% of population
total: 87.4% of population
unimproved: urban: 6.4% of population
rural: 34.7% of population
total: 12.6% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: very high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and Bartonellosis (Oroya fever)
19.7% (2016)
total: 5.74 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 3.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 2.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 8.1% (2020 est.)
male: 13.2% (2020 est.)
female: 3% (2020 est.)
2.1% (2021)
51.2% (2023 est.)
women married by age 15: 2%
women married by age 18: 14.1% (2020 est.)
4% of GDP (2021 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.5%
male: 97%
female: 92% (2020)
total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 15 years (2017)
deforestation (some the result of illegal logging); overgrazing leading to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes; overfishing
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes
agricultural land: 18.8% (2018 est.)
arable land: 3.1% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 1.1% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 14.6% (2018 est.)
forest: 53% (2018 est.)
other: 28.2% (2018 est.)
urban population: 78.9% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.12% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 29.07 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 57.41 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 30.17 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 8,356,711 tons (2014 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 334,268 tons (2012 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 4% (2012 est.)
fresh water lake(s): Lago Titicaca (shared with Bolivia) - 8,030 sq km
Amazon river source (shared with Brazil [m]) - 6,400 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km)
Amazon Basin
municipal: 2.24 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 3.51 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 32.8 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
1.88 trillion cubic meters (2020 est.)
upper middle-income South American economy; hit hard by political instability and COVID-19 but rebounding quickly; second-largest cocaine producer; current account balance improving; persistent income inequality; diversified exporter
$421.937 billion (2021 est.)
$372.245 billion (2020 est.)
$418.03 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
13.35% (2021 est.)
-10.95% (2020 est.)
2.24% (2019 est.)
$12,500 (2021 est.)
$11,200 (2020 est.)
$12,700 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$230.707 billion (2019 est.)
4.27% (2021 est.)
2% (2020 est.)
2.25% (2019 est.)
note: data are for metropolitan Lima, annual average
Fitch rating: BBB+ (2013)
Moody’s rating: A3 (2014)
Standard & Poors rating: BBB+ (2013)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 7.6% (2017 est.)
industry: 32.7% (2017 est.)
services: 59.9% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 64.9% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 11.7% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 21.7% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: -0.2% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 24% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -22% (2017 est.)
sugar cane, potatoes, rice, plantains, milk, poultry, maize, cassava, oil palm fruit, grapes
mining and refining of minerals; steel, metal fabrication; petroleum extraction and refining, natural gas and natural gas liquefaction; fishing and fish processing, cement, glass, textiles, clothing, food processing, beer, soft drinks, rubber, machinery, electrical machinery, chemicals, furniture
16.44% (2021 est.)
18.352 million (2021 est.)
note: individuals older than 14 years of age
4.83% (2021 est.)
7.18% (2020 est.)
3.38% (2019 est.)
note: data are for metropolitan Lima; widespread underemployment
total: 11.2% (2021 est.)
male: 9.2%
female: 13.2%
20.2% (2019 est.)
43.8 (2020 est.)
on food: 26.3% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 2.4% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 36.1% (2010 est.)
revenues: $45.983 billion (2019 est.)
expenditures: $49.134 billion (2019 est.)
-3.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
34.67% of GDP (2020 est.)
26.54% of GDP (2019 est.)
25.7% of GDP (2018 est.)
note: data cover general government debt, and includes debt instruments issued by government entities other than the treasury; the data exclude treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities
13.2% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
-$5.273 billion (2021 est.)
$2.398 billion (2020 est.)
-$1.68 billion (2019 est.)
$66.098 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$45.624 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$54.676 billion (2019 est.)
China 29%, United States 12%, Canada 5%, South Korea 5%, Switzerland 5% (2019)
copper, gold, refined petroleum, zinc, fishmeal, tropical fruits, lead, iron, molybdenum (2019)
$58.611 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$42.093 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$51.778 billion (2019 est.)
China 24%, United States 22%, Brazil 6% (2019)
refined petroleum, crude petroleum, cars, broadcasting equipment, delivery trucks (2019)
$74.779 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$67.711 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$60.333 billion (31 December 2018 est.)
$81.333 billion (2019 est.)
$75.467 billion (2018 est.)
nuevo sol (PEN) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
3.881 (2021 est.)
3.495 (2020 est.)
3.337 (2019 est.)
3.287 (2018 est.)
3.26 (2017 est.)
population without electricity: (2020) less than 1 million
electrification - total population: 95.6% (2021)
electrification - urban areas: 98.9% (2021)
electrification - rural areas: 83.5% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 15.34 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 49,121,370,000 kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
imports: 60 million kWh (2019 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 6.408 billion kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 38.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 1.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 3.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 55.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 1.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 696,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 396,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 252,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 262,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 102 million metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 122,500 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 265,500 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 6,500 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 112,900 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 858.9 million barrels (2021 est.)
166,600 bbl/day (2015 est.)
62,640 bbl/day (2015 est.)
65,400 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 12,079,211,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
consumption: 8,278,048,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
exports: 5.446 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
proven reserves: 300.158 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
54.996 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 1.171 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 35.119 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 18.706 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
36.465 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 6 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 62
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 17,758,527 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 313.26 million (2018) mt-km
OB
191 (2021)
59
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
132
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
5 (2021)
786 km extra heavy crude, 1,526 km gas, 679 km liquid petroleum gas, 1,106 km oil, 15 km refined products (2022)
total: 1,854.4 km (2017)
standard gauge: 1,730.4 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge (34 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 124 km (2014) 0.914-m gauge
total: 18,699 km (2018)
paved: 18,699 km
note: includes 27,109 km of national roads (21,434 km paved), 247,505 km of departmental roads (3,623 km paved), and 113,857 km of local roads (1,858 km paved)
8,808 km (2011) (8,600 km of navigable tributaries on the Amazon River system and 208 km on Lago Titicaca)
total: 101 (2022)
by type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 8, other 92
major seaport(s): Callao, Matarani, Paita
oil terminal(s): Conchan oil terminal, La Pampilla oil terminal
container port(s) (TEUs): Balboa (3,563,432); Callao (2,486,425) (2021)
river port(s): Iquitos, Pucallpa, Yurimaguas (Amazon)
manyapis