Peru

Broadcast media

10 major TV networks of which only one, Television Nacional de Peru, is state-owned; multi-channel cable TV services are available; in excess of 2,000 radio stations including a substantial number of indigenous language stations (2010)

Internet country code

.pe

Internet hosts

234,102 (2012) country comparison to the world: 70

Internet users

9.158 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 31

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 12 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity, spurred by competition among multiple providers, exceeds 100 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)

Telephones - main lines in use

3.688 million (2011) country comparison to the world: 43

Telephones - mobile cellular

32.461 million (2011) country comparison to the world: 33

Agriculture - products

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

Budget

revenues: $58.15 billion expenditures: $56.42 billion (2012 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

0.9% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 29

Central bank discount rate

5.05% (31 December 2011) country comparison to the world: 94 3.8% (31 December 2010)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

19.7% (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 22 18.69% (31 December 2011 est.) note: domestic currency lending rate

Current account balance

-$4.856 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 166 -$2.267 billion (2011 est.)

Debt - external

$38.91 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 64 $37.39 billion (31 December 2011 est.) note: public debt component of total: $20.6 billion (31 December 2009)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

46 (2010) country comparison to the world: 34 51 (2005)

Economy - overview

Peru's economy reflects its varied geography - an arid lowland coastal region, the central high sierra of the Andes, the dense forest of the Amazon, with tropical lands bordering Colombia and Brazil. A wide range of important mineral resources are found in the mountainous and coastal areas, and Peru's coastal waters provide excellent fishing grounds. The Peruvian economy has been growing by an average of 6.4% per year since 2002 with a stable/slightly appreciating exchange rate and low inflation, which in 2013 is expected to be below the Central Bank target of 3 percent. Growth has been in the 6-9% range for the last three years, due partly to a leap in private investment, especially in the extractive sector, which accounts for more than 60% of Peru's total exports. 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. Peru's rapid expansion coupled with cash transfers and other programs have helped to reduce the national poverty rate by 23 percentage points since 2002, but inequality persists and continues to pose a challenge for the new Ollanta HUMALA administration, which has championed a policy of social inclusion and a more equitable distribution of income. Peru's free trade policy has continued under the HUMALA administration; since 2006, Peru has signed trade deals with the US, Canada, Singapore, China, Korea, Mexico, and Japan, concluded negotiations with the European Free Trade Association and Chile, and begun trade talks with Central American countries and others. Peru also has signed a trade pact with Chile, Colombia, and Mexico called the Pacific Alliance that rivals Mercosur in combined population, GDP, and trade. The US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement entered into force 1 February 2009, opening the way to greater trade and investment between the two economies. Trade agreements with South Korea, Japan, and Mexico also were signed in 2011. Although Peru has continued to attract foreign investment, political disputes and protests may impede development of some projects related to natural resource extraction.

Exchange rates

nuevo sol (PEN) per US dollar - 2.65 (2012 est.) 2.7541 (2011 est.) 2.8251 (2010 est.) 3.0115 (2009) 2.91 (2008)

Exports

$47.38 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 61 $46.27 billion (2011 est.)

Exports - commodities

copper, gold, lead, zinc, tin, iron ore, molybdenum, silver; crude petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas; coffee, asparagus and other vegetables, fruit, apparel and textiles, fishmeal, fish, chemicals, fabricated metal products and machinery, alloys

Exports - partners

China 18.3%, US 15.2%, Canada 11.4%, Japan 5.4%, Spain 5.3%, Chile 4.8%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4.1% (2011)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP (official exchange rate)

$200.3 billion (2012 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$325.4 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 41 $306.9 billion (2011 est.) $287 billion (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 7.8% industry: 33.9% services: 58.4% (2012 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$10,700 (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 109 $10,200 (2011 est.) $9,700 (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars

GDP - real growth rate

6% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 44 6.9% (2011 est.) 8.8% (2010 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1.4% highest 10%: 36.1% (2010 est.)

Imports

$41.15 billion (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 60 $36.97 billion (2011 est.)

Imports - 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

Imports - partners

US 24.5%, China 13.7%, Brazil 6.7%, Chile 5.9%, Ecuador 4.4%, South Korea 4% (2011)

Industrial production growth rate

5% (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 63

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.6% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 104 3.4% (2011 est.) note: data are for metropolitan Lima, annual average

Investment (gross fixed)

25.4% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 44

Labor force

15.9 million country comparison to the world: 39 note: individuals older than 14 years of age (2011 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 0.7% industry: 23.8% services: 75.5% (2005)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$121.6 billion (31 December 2011) country comparison to the world: 36 $160.9 billion (31 December 2010) $107.3 billion (31 December 2009)

Population below poverty line

31.3% (2010 est.)

Public debt

18.3% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 130 19.9% of GDP (2011 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

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$61.3 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 31 $48.93 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of broad money

$73.97 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 61 $64.6 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$3.597 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 66 $3.432 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$59.49 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 51 $49.8 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$37.63 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 67 $33.37 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of narrow money

$27.64 billion (31 December 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 60 $25.35 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

29% of GDP (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 104

Unemployment rate

7.7% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 89 7.9% (2011 est.) note: data are for metropolitan Lima; widespread underemployment

Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy

41.88 million Mt (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 68

Crude oil - exports

18,880 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 52

Crude oil - imports

99,590 bbl/day (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 47

Crude oil - production

152,600 bbl/day (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 43

Crude oil - proved reserves

586.1 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 49

Electricity - consumption

34.25 billion kWh (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 59

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 116

Electricity - from fossil fuels

59% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 141

Electricity - from hydroelectric plants

41% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 53

Electricity - from nuclear fuels

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 159

Electricity - from other renewable sources

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 173

Electricity - imports

6 million kWh (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 105

Electricity - installed generating capacity

7.982 million kW (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 64

Electricity - production

38.7 billion kWh (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 60

Natural gas - consumption

5.41 billion cu m (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 56

Natural gas - exports

3.59 billion cu m (2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 33

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2011) country comparison to the world: 116

Natural gas - production

31.12 billion cu m (2011) country comparison to the world: 28

Natural gas - proved reserves

352.8 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 38

Refined petroleum products - consumption

172,600 bbl/day (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 62

Refined petroleum products - exports

60,720 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 55

Refined petroleum products - imports

38,390 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 78

Refined petroleum products - production

173,700 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 59

Area

total: 1,285,216 sq km country comparison to the world: 20 land: 1,279,996 sq km water: 5,220 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Alaska

Climate

varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes

Coastline

2,414 km

Elevation extremes

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

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: 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 signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 20.13 cu km/yr (8%/10%/82%) per capita: 720 cu m/yr (2000)

Geographic coordinates

10 00 S, 76 00 W

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

Irrigated land

11,950 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

total: 7,461 km border countries: Bolivia 1,075 km, Brazil 2,995 km, Chile 171 km, Colombia 1,800 km, Ecuador 1,420 km

Land use

arable land: 2.88% permanent crops: 0.47% other: 96.65% (2005)

Location

Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador

Map references

South America

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm

Natural hazards

earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity volcanism: 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

Natural resources

copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas

Terrain

western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)

Total renewable water resources

1,913 cu km (2000)

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

Capital

name: Lima geographic coordinates: 12 03 S, 77 03 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Constitution

29 December 1993

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Peru conventional short form: Peru local long form: Republica del Peru local short form: Peru

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Rose M. LIKINS embassy: Avenida La Encalada, Cuadra 17 s/n, Surco, Lima 33 mailing address: P. O. Box 1995, Lima 1; American Embassy (Lima), APO AA 34031-5000 telephone: [51] (1) 618-2000 FAX: [51] (1) 618-2397

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Harold Winston FORSYTH Mejia chancery: 1700 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 833-9860 through 9869 FAX: [1] (202) 659-8124 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Hartford, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paterson (New Jersey), San Francisco

Executive branch

chief of state: President Ollanta HUMALA Tasso (since 28 July 2011); First Vice President Marisol ESPINOZA Cruz (since 28 July 2011); Second Vice President (vacant); 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 (vacant) note: Prime Minister Juan Federico JIMENEZ Mayor (since 23 July 2012) does not exercise executive power; this power rests with the president cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website) 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%

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

Government type

constitutional republic

Independence

28 July 1821 (from Spain)

International law organization participation

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

International organization participation

APEC, BIS, CAN, CD, CELAC, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the National Council of the Judiciary)

Legal system

civil law system

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; note - defections by members of National Assembly are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties

National anthem

name: "Himno Nacional del Peru" (National Anthem of Peru) lyrics/music: Jose DE LA TORRE Ugarte/Jose Bernardo ALZEDO note: adopted 1822; the song won a national contest for an anthem

National holiday

Independence Day, 28 July (1821)

National symbol(s)

vicuna (a camelid related to the llama)

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)

Political pressure groups and leaders

General Workers Confederation of Peru (Confederacion General de Trabajadores del Peru) or CGTP [Mario HUAMAN]; Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) or SL [Abimael GUZMAN Reynoso (imprisoned), Victor QUISPE Palomino (top leader at-large)] (leftist guerrilla group)

Suffrage

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

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 indigenous Quechuan 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. In June 2011, former army officer Ollanta HUMALA Tasso was elected president, defeating Keiko FUJIMORI Higuchi, the daughter of Alberto FUJIMORI. Since his election, HUMALA has carried on the sound, market-oriented economic policies of the three preceeding administrations.

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 7,385,588 females age 16-49: 7,727,623 (2010 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 5,788,629 females age 16-49: 6,565,097 (2010 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

male: 304,094 female: 298,447 (2010 est.)

Military branches

Peruvian Army (Ejercito Peruano), Peruvian Navy (Marina de Guerra del Peru, MGP (includes naval air, naval infantry, and Coast Guard)), Air Force of Peru (Fuerza Aerea del Peru, FAP) (2010)

Military expenditures

1.5% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 94

Military service age and obligation

18-50 years of age for male and 18-45 years of age for female voluntary military service; no conscription (2012)

Age structure

0-14 years: 28.1% (male 4,218,138/ female 4,074,436) 15-64 years: 65.4% (male 9,445,555/ female 9,882,537) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 916,029/ female 1,012,822) (2012 est.)

Birth rate

19.13 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 96

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

5.4% (2005) country comparison to the world: 81

Death rate

5.95 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 165

Demographic profile

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.

Education expenditures

2.7% of GDP (2008) country comparison to the world: 143

Ethnic groups

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.4% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 70

HIV/AIDS - deaths

5,000 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 38

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

75,000 (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 48

Health expenditures

4.6% of GDP (2009) country comparison to the world: 147

Hospital bed density

1.5 beds/1,000 population (2009)

Infant mortality rate

total: 21.5 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 89 male: 23.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.73 years country comparison to the world: 127 male: 70.78 years female: 74.76 years (2012 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.9% male: 96.4% female: 89.4% (2007 Census)

Major cities - population

LIMA (capital) 8.769 million; Arequipa 778,000 (2009)

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)

Maternal mortality rate

67 deaths/100,000 live births (2010) country comparison to the world: 91

Median age

total: 26.5 years male: 25.8 years female: 27.2 years (2012 est.)

Nationality

noun: Peruvian(s) adjective: Peruvian

Net migration rate

-3.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 176

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

16.3% (2000) country comparison to the world: 29

Physicians density

0.92 physicians/1,000 population (2009)

Population

29,549,517 (July 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 42

Population growth rate

1.016% (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 115

Religions

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

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 81% of population rural: 36% of population total: 68% of population unimproved: urban: 19% of population rural: 64% of population total: 32% of population

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 14 years male: 13 years female: 13 years (2006)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.29 children born/woman (2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 98

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 14% country comparison to the world: 82 male: 12.5% female: 15.6% (2008)

Urbanization

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

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

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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

IDPs: 150,000 (civil war from 1980-2000; most IDPs are indigenous peasants in Andean and Amazonian regions; as of 2011, no new information on the situation of these IDPs) (2007)

Airports

191 (2012) country comparison to the world: 32

Airports - with paved runways

total: 58 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 21 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 4 (2012)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 133 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 30 under 914 m: 83 (2012)

Heliports

4 (2012)

Merchant marine

total: 22 country comparison to the world: 92 by type: cargo 2, chemical tanker 5, liquefied gas 2, petroleum tanker 13 foreign-owned: 8 (Chile 6, Ecuador 1, Spain 1) registered in other countries: 9 (Panama 9) (2010)

Pipelines

extra heavy crude 533 km; gas 1,526 km; liquid petroleum gas 679 km; oil 1,033 km; refined products 15 km (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

Railways

total: 1,906 km country comparison to the world: 74 standard gauge: 1,772 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 134 km 0.914-m gauge (2010)

Roadways

total: 137,327 km country comparison to the world: 34 note: includes 26,017 km of national roads, 28,843 km of departmental roads, and 82,467 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) (2011) country comparison to the world: 14