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Peru Location:
Physical. Peru is located in western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, Chile and Ecuador. It covers an area slightly smaller than Alaska. The climate varies from tropical in the east to dry desert in the west. The terrain includes a western coastal plain, a high and rugged Andes mountain range in the center and the eastern lowland jungle of the Amazon Basin. Some natural resources include copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, potash and phosphates.
Peru Geography:
Geography
Area: 496,087 square miles
Capital: Lima (pop 6,743,000)
Environmental concerns: deforestation; over grazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution
Geographical features: western coastal plain; high and rugged Andes Mountains in the center; eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin
Climate: tropical in east: dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes
Peru People:
People. About 27.5 million people live in Peru. Spanish and Quechua are the official languages, while some inhabitants also speak Aymara. Ethnically, the population is composed of diverse groups: Amerindian (45%), Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white 37%), and white (15%). The main religious group is Roman Catholic. The capital, Lima, has long dominated the country, which has an indigenous majority.
28,302,603 people; Indian (45%); Mestizo (37%); white (15%)
Annual growth rate: 1.39%
Major language: Spanish; Quechua; Aymara
Religions: Roman Catholic (90+%)
Peru Government:
Government. In April 2000, Alejandro Toledo organized a massive national protest when then-President Fujimori was re-elected in what observers saw as an election rife with fraud. Violence in the streets, press censorship and revelations of massive corruption forced Fujimori to resign and flee the country. As president, Toledo’s attempts to deal with corruption were hampered by the archaic court system unable to handle the caseload and corruption. His failure to deliver on campaign promises to clean up the government, increase the number of jobs and improve healthcare reduced his popularity. President Alan Garcia was elected in 2006.
Peru is a constitutional republic that gained its independence from Spain on July 28, 1821.
President Alan Garcia is both the head of state and government
8 major political parties
Suffrage: universal at 18
Peru Communication:
Communication and transportation
1,766,100 main telephone lines
2.5 million Internet users
44,803 miles of highway
1,267 miles of railroad
234 airfields
775,000 motor vehicles
Peru Economy:
Economy. Varied geography and climate provide challenges to the agriculture sector, with only about 7% of the land able to produce crops. Peru contains the lowest per capita amount of arable land in South America. Governments in Lima have attempted to impose a variety of development models on the inhabitants of the sierra without an understanding of existing agrarian systems or appreciation for the logic of their systems. Toledo’s attempts to stimulate the economy with an infusion of foreign investments, privatization, and a renegotiation of outstanding trade agreements with the IMF were overshadowed by political scandal.
Currency: nuevo sols
Per capita income: $5,200
GDP: $146 billion
GDP growth rate: 4%
Inflation rate: 2.2%
Labor force: agriculture (5.9%); mining and quarrying (0.4%); manufacturing (12.6%); construction (5.3%); commerce (26.3%); household work (4.9%); other services (44.6%) (2004)  |
