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Lake Titicaca with Amantani island, Peru
Lake Titicaca with Amantani island in background as seen from Taquile island. It is the world's highest navigable lake (at 3,812 m), shared by Peru and Bolivia.
Image: Bcasterline
 
Flag of Peru
Flag of Peru
Location map of Peru. Where in South America is Peru?
Location map of Peru

A virtual guide to Peru, the third largest country in South America, with a 2,400 km long coastline at the South Pacific Ocean (what a beach). Countries with international borders to Peru are Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador.

The country extends along the Andes, the world's longest exposed mountain range, it covers an area of 1,285,216 km², making it 2.5 times the size of Spain, or slightly smaller than Alaska.

Peru's landscape is divided in three main regions: the coast (costa), the narrow coastal plains between the Ocean and the Andes, the highlands (sierra), with the Andes mountain range and the Andean Plateau (Altiplano, average height about 3,700 m) and the jungle (selva), the vast plain to the east on the other side of the Andes is covered by the Amazon rainforest. Highest peak in the country is Mount Huascarán at 6,768 m (22,205 ft.).

Peru has a population of more than 31 million inhabitants (in 2015). Capital and largest city is Lima. Principal languages are Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara.


Republic of Peru | República del Perú


Country Profile



Background:
Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by the Spanish conquistadores 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. FUJIMORI won reelection to a third term in the spring of 2000, but international pressure and corruption scandals caused him to resign in November of that year.
A caretaker government oversaw new elections in the spring of 2001, which ushered in Alejandro TOLEDO as the new head of government.
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a center-right former World Bank economist and investment banker known by his initials, “PPK,” narrowly defeated a populist campaign by former President Alberto Fujimori’s daughter in the presidential election of June 2016.
(Source: CIA - The World Factbook and The Heritage Foundation)

related countries: Spain
 

Official Name:
República del Perú
short form: Perú
int'l long form: Republic of Peru
int'l short form: Peru

ISO Country Code: pe, per

Time:
Local Time = UTC -5h
Actual Time: Sun-Mar-17  17:43

Country Calling Code: +51

Capital City: Lima; The Lima/Callao metropolitan area has a population of 8.27 million. (2000)

Other Cities: Arequipa, Trujillo.

Government:
Type: Constitutional republic.
Independence: 28 July 1821.
Constitution: 31 December 1993.

Geography:
Location: Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador.
Area: 1.28 million km² (496,225 sq. mi.);
third-largest country in South America.
Terrain: Varies widely between western coastal plains, central Andean highlands, and eastern tropical lowlands in Amazon Basin.

Climate: Arid and mild in coastal area, temperate to frigid in the Andes, and warm and humid in jungle lowlands.

People:
Nationality: Peruvian(s).
Population: 31 million (2015)
Ethnic groups: Indigenous (45%), mestizo (37%), European (15%), African, Japanese, Chinese, and other (3%).
Religion: Roman Catholic (90%).
Languages: Spanish is the principal language. Quechua, Aymara and other indigenous languages also have official status.
Literacy: 95% in urban areas, 77% in rural areas.

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

Agriculture products: Coffee, cotton, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, corn, plantains, grapes, oranges, coca; poultry, beef, dairy products; fish.

Industries: Mining and refining of minerals and metals, petroleum extraction and refining, natural gas, fishing and fish processing, textiles, clothing, food processing, steel, metal fabrication.

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 22.1%, USA 15.2%, Switzerland 8.1%, Canada 7% (2015)

Imports - commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, plastics, machinery, vehicles, 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: China 22.7%, USA 20.7%, Brazil 5.1%, Mexico 4.5% (2015)

Currency: Nuevo Sol (PEN)

Peru in numbers
Key statistic figures Peru.

Note: External links will open in a new browser window.

Official Sites of Peru

Congreso de la República del Perú
The Congress of the Republic of Peru.


Ministerio de Comercio Exterior y Turismo
Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (in Spanish).


Peru Online
The official site for the promotion of Peru.


Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MOFA Peru (in Spanish).

Diplomatic Missions
Embajada del Perú
Embassy of Peru in the U.S., Washington D.C. (in Spanish)
Peru's Diplomatic Missions Abroad
Address list of Embassies of Peru Abroad.
Foreign Diplomatic Missions in Peru
Address list of Foreign Diplomatic Missions in Peru



Statistics
Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática
The National institute of statistics.



Maps

Map of Peru
Political Map of Peru.
Administrative Map of Peru
Peru Map with administrative divisions.
Google Earth Google Earth Peru
Searchable map and satellite view of Peru.
Google Earth Google Earth Lima
Searchable map and satellite view of Peru's capital.
Map of South America
Reference map of South America.


Walls of the Saksaywaman ruins, Cusco, Peru
Saksaywaman, ruins of a fortified Inca complex with walls built out of huge, tightly-interlocking blocks of stones on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco.
Image: Håkan Svensson

Peru News


AccesoPeru
Peru portal site (in Spanish)
Caretas
News magazine (in Spanish)
El Comercio
National and international news (in Spanish)
El Heraldo
The Press Office of the Congress of Peru (in Spanish)
La Republica
National news (in Spanish)
 Peru.com
Peru related portal with news (in Spanish).


 

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Arts & Culture


El Rincón Musical Peruano
Sounds and lyrics of different styles of Peruvian Music.

Larco Museum
Museum in Lima with Pre-Columbian art of Peru.

Museum of the Nation
Peruvian history in Lima.

Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú
National Museum of the Archaeology, Anthropology, and History of Peru

Museo de Arqueología de la Universidad Católica de Santa María
The museum's exhibition showcases, among other artefacts, Juanita the famous mummy of a teenage girl possibly sacrificed by the Incas.
 
Owlman, Nazca lines, Peru
Aerial view of the "Owlman" aka "Astronaut", one of the famous Nazca lines in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru.
Image: Diego Delso

Business & Economy


Banco Central de Reserva del Perú
Central Reserve Bank of Peru
Bolsa de Valores de Lima
Lima Stock Exchange

American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AmCham Peru)
Cámara de Comercio de Lima
Lima Chamber of Commerce

Transportation 
Airlines
LATAM Perú
LATAM Perú is the major airline in Peru, it operates scheduled domestic and international services.
Peruvian Airlines
Peruvian Airlines is operating domestic routes out of Jorge Chávez International Airpor, Lima.
Aero-Condor
Aero-Condor was a domestic airline and the oldest Peruvian airline.

 
View of Machu Picchu, Peru
Machu Picchu, the 15th-century Inca citadel is presumably the most famous landmark in Peru.
Image: Martin St-Amant

Travel and Tour Consumer Information


Destination Peru - Travel and Tour Guides


Discover Peru: Andes mountains, Amazon rainforest, Colca Canyon, Coricancha, Cusco, Huaca Pucllana, Huascarán National Park, Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Islas Ballestas, Kuelap, Lake Titicaca, Lima, Pisco, Saksaywaman, Santa Catalina Monastery, Sacred Valley, Trujillo
Find accommodation, hotels, attractions, festivals, events, and much more.

Go2Peru.com
Peru's Official Travel Planning Web site.
Peru - Land of the Inkas
Peru's Official Site of Tourism, Travel and Promotion, the official Tourism and travel guide of Peru.

Cultures of the Andes
Quechua Songs & Poems, Stories, Photos...

Peru Explorer
Online Guide to Peru.
Rumbos Online
US based Peru travel magazine.

City Guide
Lima
The Municipality of Lima.
 



Education


Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
Private university founded in 1917.
Universidad de Lima
The University of Lima.
Universidad del Pacífico
UniversidadPeru.com
Educational portal focused on career resources for students.
 
 

Environment


Amazon Center for Environmental Education and Research
Site about ACEER's activities in research, education and land husbandry in the Upper Amazon Basin.
Ilzro Raps Peru (IRP)
Rural electrification programs using renewable energies in the Amazon Basin of Peru.
International Potato Center - CIP
 
Scientific research on potato, sweetpotato, other root and tuber crops, and on the improved management of natural resources in the Andes.
 
 

History


History of Peru
Wikipedia article about Peru's history.
History of Peru
Brief overview of Peru's history by Peru Gateway Travel.
WWW-VL History Index
Directory of online resources in English and Spanish pertaining to the history of Peru.
 
 

Sources and additional Information on Peru


Amnesty International: Peru

BBC Country Profile: Peru

FAO: Peru

GlobalEDGE: Peru

The Heritage Foundation: Peru

Human Rights Watch: Peru

OEC: Peru

Reporters Without Borders: Peru

Wikipedia: Peru

The World Factbook -- Peru  
 

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Other Countries of South America:
Argentina | Bolivia | Brazil | Chile | Colombia | Ecuador | French Guiana
Guyana | Paraguay | Suriname | Uruguay | Venezuela

Countries of Middle and Central America:
Belize | Costa Rica | El Salvador | Guatemala | Honduras | Mexico | Nicaragua | Panama
 
 
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