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, 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.

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

10 00 S, 76 00 W

South America

slightly smaller than Alaska

2,414 km

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

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

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

12,000 sq km (2003)

1,913 cu km (2000)

earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity

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

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

29,907,003 (July 2010 est.)

1.193% (2010 est.)

19 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

6.13 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

-0.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

2.32 children born/woman (2010 est.)

0.5% (2007 est.)

76,000 (2007 est.)

3,300 (2007 est.)

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

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

Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages

2.5% of GDP (2006)

constitutional republic

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

28 July 1821 (from Spain)

Independence Day, 28 July (1821)

29 December 1993

based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

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

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)

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

Alliance For Progress (Alianza Para El Progreso) [Cesar ACUNA Peralta]; Alliance For The Future (Alianza Por El Futuro) or AF (a coalition of pro-FUJIMORI parties including Cambio 90, Nueva Mayoria, and Si Cumple); Central Front (Frente Del Centro) or FC (a coalition of Accion Popular, Somos Peru, and Coordinadora Nacional de Independientes) [Victor Andres GARCIA Belaunde]; National Renovation Party (Partido Renovacion Nacional) [Rafael REY]; National Restoration Party (Restauracion Nacional) or RN [Humberto LAY Sun]; National Solidarity Party (Partido Solidaridad Nacional) or SN [Luis CASTANEDA Lossio]; Peru Possible (Peru Posible) or PP [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); Peruvian Nationalist Party (Partido Nacionalista Peruano) or PNP [Ollanta HUMALA Tasso]; Popular Christian Party (Partido Popular Cristiano) or PPC [Lourdes FLORES Nano]; Union for Peru (Union por el Peru) or UPP [Aldo ESTRADA Choque]

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)

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

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

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 more than 4% per year during the period 2002-06, with a stable exchange rate and low inflation. Growth jumped to 9% per year in 2007 and 2008, driven by higher world prices for minerals and metals and the government's aggressive trade liberalization strategies, but then fell to less than 1% in 2009 in the face of the world recession and lower commodity export prices. Peru's rapid expansion has helped to reduce the national poverty rate by about 15% since 2002, though underemployment remain high; inflation has trended downward in 2009, to below the Central Bank's 1-3% target. Despite Peru's strong macroeconomic performance, overdependence on minerals and metals subjects the economy to fluctuations in world prices, and poor infrastructure precludes the spread of growth to Peru's non-coastal areas. Not all Peruvians therefore have shared in the benefits of growth. President GARCIA's pursuit of sound trade and macroeconomic policies has cost him political support since his election. Nevertheless, he remains committed to Peru's free-trade path. Since 2006, Peru has signed trade deals with the United States, Canada, Singapore, and China, concluded negotiations with the European Union, and begun trade talks with Korea, Japan, 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.

$253 billion (2009 est.)

$250.8 billion (2008 est.)

$228.4 billion (2007 est.)

$128.9 billion (2009 est.)

0.9% (2009 est.)

9.8% (2008 est.)

8.9% (2007 est.)

$8,600 (2009 est.)

$8,600 (2008 est.)

$7,900 (2007 est.)

10.26 million (2009 est.)

9% (2009 est.)

8.1% (2008 est.)

44.5% (2006)

52 (2008)

46.2 (1996)

20.8% of GDP (2009 est.)

26.1% of GDP (2009 est.)

24% of GDP (2008 est.)

1.2% (2009 est.)

6.7% (2008 est.)

1.25% (31 November 2009)

7.25% (31 December 2008)

23.67% (31 December 2008)

24.1% (December 2008)

$15.42 billion (31 December 2008)

$14.66 billion (31 December 2007)

$25.32 billion (31 December 2008)

$19.95 billion (31 December 2007)

$21.98 billion (31 December 2008)

$17.88 billion (31 December 2007)

$55.63 billion (31 December 2008)

$106 billion (31 December 2007)

$59.66 billion (31 December 2006)

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

mining and refining of minerals; steel, metal fabrication; petroleum extraction and refining, natural gas; fishing and fish processing, textiles, clothing, food processing

-5.5% (2009 est.)

30.57 billion kWh (2008 est.)

28.97 billion kWh (2008 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

120,200 bbl/day (2008 est.)

160,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)

68,640 bbl/day (2007 est.)

133,100 bbl/day (2007 est.)

415.8 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

3.39 billion cu m (2008 est.)

3.39 billion cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

335.3 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

-$817 million (2009 est.)

-$4.18 billion (2008 est.)

$23.07 billion (2009 est.)

$31.53 billion (2008 est.)

copper, gold, zinc, crude petroleum and petroleum products, coffee, potatoes, asparagus, textiles, fishmeal

US 20%, China 15.2%, Canada 8.3%, Japan 7%, Chile 5.8%, Brazil 4.2% (2008)

$20.3 billion (2009 est.)

$28.44 billion (2008 est.)

petroleum and petroleum products, plastics, machinery, vehicles, iron and steel, wheat, paper

US 23.4%, China 10.5%, Brazil 8.7%, Ecuzador 6.4%, Chile 5%, Argentina 5%, Mexico 4.5% (2008)

$29.75 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$31.25 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$30.04 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$34.59 billion (31 December 2008)

$34.02 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$30.31 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$NA (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.694 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

nuevo sol (PEN) per US dollar - 2.88 (2009), 2.91 (2008), 3.1731 (2007), 3.2742 (2006), 3.2958 (2005)

2.878 million (2008)

20.952 million (2008)

AM 472, FM 198, shortwave 189 (1999)

13 (plus 112 repeaters) (1997)

.pe

274,592 (2009)

7.128 million (2008)

201 (2009)

1 (2009)

extra heavy crude 533 km; gas 1,083 km; liquid petroleum gas 677 km; oil 1,018 km; refined products 15 km (2009)

8,808 km

Callao, Iquitos, Matarani, Paita, Pucallpa, Yurimaguas; note - Iquitos, Pucallpa, and Yurimaguas are on the upper reaches of the Amazon and its tributaries

Army of Peru (Ejercito Peruano), Navy of Peru (Marina de Guerra del Peru, MGP (includes naval air, naval infantry, and Coast Guard)), Air Force of Peru (Fuerza Aerea del Peru, FAP) (2008)

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

1.5% of GDP (2006)

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

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 declined to 36,000 hectares in 2007; second largest producer of cocaine, estimated at 210 metric tons of potential pure cocaine in 2007; 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