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Official languages Spanish (main)1 Capital and largest city Lima President Alejandro Toledo Manrique Prime Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski Area
- Total
- % water World ranking: 20th
1,285,220 km²
8.80% Population
- Total (2005)
- Density World ranking: 39th
26,152,265 GDP
-GDP PPP year
-GDP PPP per capita
$155,388 million(47th)
$ 5,556 (99th) HDI (2003) 0.762 (79th) – medium Independence
- Declared From Spain
28 July 1821 Currency Nuevo Sol (S/.) Time zone UTC -5 National anthem "Somos libres, seámoslo siempre" "We are free, may we always be so" Internet TLD .pe Calling Code 51 Member UN, CAN, SCN, APEC, others. |
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Peru Information
Main article: Economy of Peru
 Pedestrian street leading to Lima's Plaza de Armas (main square).
Pedestrian street leading to Lima's Plaza de Armas (main square).
The Peruvian economy has become increasingly market oriented, with major privatizations completed since 1990 in the mining, electric/power, and telecommunications industries. Thanks to strong foreign investment and the cooperation between the former Fujimori administration, the IMF, and the World Bank, growth was strong in 1994–97 and inflation was brought under control. In 1998, El Niño's impact on agriculture, the financial crisis in Asia, and instability in Brazilian markets undercut growth. 1999 was another lean year for Peru, with the aftermath of El Niño and the Asian financial crisis working its way through the economy. Lima did manage to complete negotiations for an Extended Fund Facility with the IMF in June 1999, although it subsequently had to renegotiate the targets. Pressure on spending grew in the run-up to the 2000 elections. Growth up to 2005 has been driven by construction, investment, domestic demand, and exports to different world regions. Peru's economy is one of the better-managed in Latin America. Over the next few years, the country is likely to attract both domestic and foreign investment in the tourism, agriculture, mining, construction, industry, petroleum and natural gas, and power industries.
It has taken steps to consolidate a possible free trade agreement with United States of America by April 2006; both countries wait for the approval of the terms by their respective congresses. Peru is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with South Korea. It is also pushing for a free trade agreement with the European Union. All these negotiations will broadly expand the markets in which the Peruvian products are traded. Peru has a great export potential in agricultural products (coffee, asparagus, paprika, artichokes, bananas, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, tropical fruits-such as oranges, lemons, limes, papayas, pineapples, peaches, coconuts, sugar, cotton, potatoes -where it is originally from- flowers, avocadoes, olives, mangoes, apples, grapes, ethanol -byproduct of sugar cane), textiles and clothing, shoes, petroleum derivatives (gasolines, light oil, plastics, synthetic fibers, etc), natural gas, minerals (copper, gold, molibdenum, silver, zinc, plumbum, antimonium, etc), as well as fish and seafood products (oil fish, tuna, shrimp, Peruvian King crab, etc), tourism, and manufacturing (electrical and electronic equipment and machinery, automobiles, assembly parts for equipment, hydraulic pumps, ships, small aircraft, sub-assemblies, etc). In 2005 Peruvian exports reached US$ 17.1 billion (an increase of 34.6% compared to 2004) and it is expected to grow 35% for this year reaching US$23.5 billion at the end of 2006. Also, the economy has shown a healthy grow in all its sectors (energy, construction, commerce, fishing, manufacturing, tourism, etc) in 2005 growing over 6.67% (one the fastest growth rates in Southamerica) and it is projected to grow a strong 7% for 2006 considering that commodity prices, which Peru is a great producer, will have an estimated increment of 25% on average. Unfortunately poverty in Peru is still very high, with a rate of 51,6% of the total population, however the poverty rate is being reduced slowly and it is expected to be reduced to 25% of population in 15 years.
For the next five years (until 2010) the Peruvian government has registered over US$ 10 billion in private investment (both domestic and foreign) in the mining and energy sectors, as well as investments of US$ 15 billion in other sectors such as industry, commerce, tourism, seafood and agriculture, which will keep the economy growing at healthy levels of 5% or more, anually. It is possible that with the Free Trade Agreement with the USA these levels of investment will sky rocket developing and transforming the country in a few years.
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Peru is bordered by Bolivia and Bolivia lies Lake Titicaca- the highest navigable lake in the world. The Altiplano plateau is a dry basin located along the slopes of the Andes in southeastern Peru. Along the border with Chile,the Atacama Desert is the driest place on the planet. The Pacific Ocean is home to a large amount and variety of fish life. The Sechura Desert is located in northwestern Peru along the Pacific coastline. The main rivers of the Peru include the Ucayali, Marañon, Amazon (which is formed by the confluence of the Marañon and the Ucayali), Putumayo, Pastaza, Napo, Jurua, and the Purus.
The largest cities include Iquitos, Chimbote, Huancayo, Cusco (the capital of the ancient Inca Empire), Pucallpa, and Cajamarca.
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 Rainbow at Cuzco's Plaza
Rainbow at Cuzco's Plaza
The art of Peru was shaped by the melting between Machu Picchu and the buildings at Cuzco are excellent examples of Inca architectural design.
Peru has passed early 20th century brought "indigenismo," expressed in a new awareness of Indian culture. Since World War II, Peruvian writers, artists, and intellectuals such as Cesar Vallejo and Jose Maria Arguedas have participated in worldwide intellectual and artistic movements, drawing especially on U.S. and European trends.
During the colonial period, Spanish baroque fused with the rich Inca tradition to produce creole art. The Cuzco school of largely anonymous Indian artists followed the Spanish baroque tradition with influence from the Italian, Flemish, and French schools. Painter Francisco Fierro made a distinctive contribution to this school with his portrayals of typical events, manners, and customs of mid-19th-century Peru. Francisco Lazo, forerunner of the indigenous school of painters, also achieved fame for his portraits. Peru's 20th-century art is known for its extraordinary variety of styles and stunning originality.
In the decade after National School of Arts in Fernando de Szyszlo, an internationally recognized Peruvian artist, became the main advocate for abstract painting and pushed Peruvian art toward modernism. Peru remains an art-producing center with painters such as Fernando de Szysslo, Gerardo Chavez, Jose Tola, Alberto Quintanilla, and Jose Carlos Ramos, along with sculptor Victor Delfin, gaining international stature. Promising young artists continue to develop now that Peru's economy allows more promotion of the arts.
 View of the beach in Punta Sal, Tumbes Region
View of the beach in Punta Sal, Tumbes Region
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Soccer: The most popular Peruvian sport is soccer (World Cup appeareances: 1930,1970,1978,1982 two Copa America tournaments). Although the National team has not been very successful, most of the population of Peru follow the World Cup tournament on television. Soccer legends from Peru include Hugo Sotil, Cesar Cueto, and Teofilo Cubillas, Peru's best striker in World Cup Finals with 10 goals. Current renowned players include midfielder Nolberto Solano (Newcastle United since 1998, with a 2-year parenthesis in Aston Villa), and strikers Claudio Pizarro, Paolo Guerrero (Bayern Munich) and Jefferson Farfán (PSV Eindhoven).
Volleyball: Other popular sport is Women’s Volleyball (Silver medal in Seoul 1988 Olympic Games and 14 times South American champion).
Surfing: Sofia Mulanovich, Women’s World Surf Champion in 2004 and 2005.
Sailing: Peru is the only country of the region that has won for six consecutive years the world Cup in the Sunfish Class. In addition, Peru has won the Central American, South American & Caribbean Championships for the same category. In the Optimist Class, it was three times World Champion in Team-Racing in 1997, 1998, and 1999.
Shooting: Peruvian shooters have won 3 of Peru's 4 olympic medals. Edwin Vásquez won Peru's only gold medal in London 1948 Olympic Games, while Francisco Boza (Los Angeles 1984), and Juan Giha (Barcelona 1992) both won silver medals.
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