Facts about Peru

Machu Picchu in Peru

1. Corn: In Peru, more than 55 varieties of corn are grown, which is the highest number of varieties in the world. As a result, in Peru you can get corn in almost every color imaginable – including yellow, pink, purple, red, brown, white and black!

2. Potatoes: The potato originated in Peru and today there are over 3000 varieties in the country. An old saying among proud Peruvians is “Soy mas Peruano que la papa”, which means: “I am more Peruvian than a potato”

3. Grilled guinea pigs: Guinea pig is a traditional dish in Peru, served crispy fried with the whole thing – head, tail and legs. In Peruvian, guinea pigs are called ‘cuy’ because they make the sound “cuy, cuy”. The guinea pigs are grilled and typically served with boiled potatoes and possibly other side dishes such as peppers or beans

4. Natural resources: Peru is the world’s 6th largest coffee producer and also the world’s 6th largest producer of gold. In addition, Peru is one of the world’s leading producers of silver, copper, lead and zinc. Peru also has one of the world’s oldest petroleum industries and produces some of the world’s finest cotton (Pima and Tanguis).

5. National drink : Peru’s national drink is called ‘Pisco sour’ and is made from Pisco brandy, lemons, sugar, water, eggs, ice and topped with bitters

Fact: Guinea pig is a traditional dish in Peru
Attribution: Nestor’s Blurrylife + morrissey – Flickr.com

Fact: In Peru, grilled guinea pig is a traditional dish typically eaten with boiled potatoes

 

6. Cerro Blanco: The world’s highest sand dune is called Cerro Blanco and is located in the Sechura Desert in Peru. From top to bottom it measures 1,176 meters!

7. The Incarnate Kingdom: The Inca Empire emerged in the 14th century and had their headquarters in the city of Cusco, located in the south of Peru. The Spanish arrived in Cusco in 1533 and made it part of their empire. In 1535, the Spanish established the current capital Lima

8. Lima: Over 25% of Peru’s population currently live in Lima. The population is primarily Peruvians descended from Europeans or the so-called ‘mestits’ (i.e. a mixture of the original Indians and the European outsiders)

9. Iquitos: The highlands in and around the Andes make up 2/3 of the country’s area and are inhabited almost exclusively by Indians who speak Quechua (the same language spoken by the Incas). East of the Andes is a sparsely populated jungle where the largest city is called ‘Iquitos’. The city can practically only be reached by ocean-going boats, which have to travel around 3,700 km along the rivers of the Amazon to get there

10. Peru today: Peru’s recent history has seen alternating periods of democracy and dictatorship. The poverty among the indigenous population gave rise to the guerrilla movement Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path), which was almost completely crushed. Of course, this has not solved the problems of poverty and drug production

Fact: Peru has a long tradition of corn production
Attribution: Jenny Mealing – Flickr.com

Fact: In Peru there are more than 55 varieties of corn

Geographic facts

  • Location: The western part of South America. The coastline is towards the Pacific Ocean
  • Country borders: Bolivia (1,075 km), Brazil (2,995 km), Chile (171 km), Colombia (1,800 km) and Ecuador (1,420 km)
  • Coastline: 2,414 km
  • Climate: Ranging from tropical in the east to dry desert climates in the west. In the Andes, the climate is temperate to cold
  • Landscape: Coastal plains in the west, high and jagged mountains in the center (Andes) and a lowland jungle in the east (Amazon)
  • Lowest point: 0 m (Pacific Ocean)
  • Highest point: 6,768 m (Nevado Huascaran)
  • Natural resources: Copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphates, potash, hydropower and natural gas
  • Largest city: Lima
  • Capital city: Lima
  • Total area (square kilometers): n/a
  • Land areas (km2): n/a
  • Urban areas (km2): n/a
  • Agricultural land (km2): n/a
  • Agricultural area (% of total area): n/a
  • Forest area (% of land area): n/a
  • Plant species (higher), endangered: n/a
  • CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita): n/a

Demographic facts

Population

  • Population density (people per km2 total area): 1,65 (2021)
  • Population of largest city: 26,34 (2021)
  • Population growth (annual %): 11.204.382,00 (2023)
  • Population, total: 0,89 (2023)
  • Population growth in urban areas (annual %): 1,16 (2023)
  • Population in urban areas (% of total population): 48,10 (2022)
  • Population in rural areas (% of total population): -0,12 (2023)
  • Population growth in rural areas (annual %): 107,49 (2023)
  • Etniske grupper: 45% Native American (originating in Peru), 37% Mestizo (a mix of indigenous Indians and whites), 15% white, 3% other
  • Sprog: The official languages are Spanish (84.1%), Quechua (13%) and Aymara (1.7%). Other languages are Ashaninka (0.3%), other indigenous languages (0.7%) and other languages (0.2%)
  • Religioner: 81.3% Roman Catholics, 12.5% Evangelicals, 3.3% other and 2.9% unspecified (or none)
  • Net immigration: 11,70 (2022)

Birth and death rates

  • Fertility rate, total (births per woman): 2,16 (2022)
  • Birth rate, gross (per 1,000 inhabitants): 17,38 (2022)
  • Teenage mothers (% of women aged 15-19 who have had children or are pregnant): 6,45 (2020)
  • Death rate, gross (per 1,000 people): 7,51 (2022)
  • Life expectancy at birth, women (years): 75,50 (2022)
  • Life expectancy at birth, men (years): 71,33 (2022)
  • Life expectancy at birth, all (years): 73,39 (2022)
  • Mortality caused by traffic accidents (per 100,000 inhabitants): 122,03 (2022)
  • Mortality, women (per 1,000 adult women): 13,60 (2019)
  • Mortality, male (per 1,000 adult males): 124,40 (2022)
  • Suicide rate, women (per 100,000 women): 187,20 (2022)
  • Mortality, infant (per 1,000 live births): 4,20 (2019)

Work, income and education

  • Wage earners, total (% of total labor force): n/a
  • Income share of the highest 10%: 30,70 (2022)
  • Income share of the lowest 10%: 2,10 (2022)
  • Unemployment, total (% of total labor force): 8,10 (2020)
  • Labor force, total: 18.529.435,00 (2023)
  • Workforce with basic education (% of the workforce): 66,58 (2023)
  • Labor force with medium education (% of labor force): 75,00 (2023)
  • Number of poor cf. national poverty limits (% of the population): 34.352.719,00 (2023)
  • Proportion of the population with moderate or severe food insecurity (%): 1.639,00 (1998)
  • School enrolments, primary school (gross %): 22,78 (2022)
  • Youth unemployment, all young people (% of total labor force aged 15 - 24): 78,92 (2023)
  • Young people not in education, employment or training, total (% of all young people): 4,90 (2023)
  • Literacy/literacy, total adults (% of population over 15): 866.129,93 (2022)

    Spending

  • Household (and NPIS) consumption expenditure (US$): 327.218.199.827,04 (2023)
  • Electricity consumption (kWh per inhabitant): 1.334,19 (2014)
  • Inhabitants using the Internet (% of the population): 74,68 (2022)
  • Mobile subscriptions (per 100 people): 53,00 (2018)
  • Number of smokers, total (over 15 years): 13,20 (2012)
  • Alcohol consumption per capita (litres of pure alcohol, expected estimates, +15 years): 8,90 (2023)

Business and tourism

  • Employers, total (% of total labor force): 3,35 (2022)
  • New companies (number of registrations): 4,69 (2022)
  • New businesses (new registrations per 1,000 inhabitants aged 15 - 64): -61.442,00 (2023)
  • Listed companies, total: 186,00 (2022)
  • Business conditions (0 = lowest grade to 100 = highest grade): 127,00 (1998)
  • International tourism, number of arrivals: 1.119.000,00 (2020)
  • International tourism, number of departures: 791.000,00 (2020)
  • Railway lines (total route kilometers): 127,00 (1998)
  • Railways, number of passengers transported (million passenger-kilometres): 21,08 (2023)

Health

  • Hospital beds (per 1,000 inhabitants): 1,60 (2021)
  • Suicide rate, men (per 100,000 men): 1,40 (2019)
  • Nurses and midwives (per 1,000 inhabitants): 104.701,00 (2022)
  • Doctors (per 1,000 inhabitants): 2,61 (2021)
  • Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population aged 15 - 49): 159,82 (2023)

Facts Peru's economy

GDP and GNI

  • BNP (US$): 4,82 (2022)
  • GDP growth (annual %): 68,70 (2019)
  • GDP per capita (US$): 267.603.248.655,25 (2023)
  • GDP, KPP (US$): -0,55 (2023)
  • BNI (US$): 7.789,87 (2023)
  • GNI growth (annual %): 574.287.564.176,55 (2023)
  • Gross savings (% of GDP): 253.910.571.698,58 (2023)

Inflation, interest rates and consumer prices

  • Deposit rate (%): 16,94 (2021)
  • Lending rate (%): 6,46 (2023)
  • Inflation, consumer prices (annual %): 35,01 (2022)
  • Consumer Price Index (2010 = 100): 159,82 (2023)

Trade and production

  • Trade (% of GDP): 24,36 (2022)
  • Vareeksport (US$): 12,45 (2022)
  • Vareimport (US$): 30.685.383.558,17 (2022)
  • Food exports (% of merchandise exports): 22,73 (2022)
  • Food imports (% of goods imports): 11,91 (2022)
  • Food Production Index (2004 - 2006 = 100): 128,07 (2022)
  • Index of animal production (2004 - 2006 = 100): 11,00 (2019)

Industry

  • Industry (including construction), value added (% of GDP): 1,25 (2023)
  • Industry (including construction), value added (US$): 19,49 (2023)
  • Industry, value added (% of GDP): 12,60 (2022)
  • Industry, value added (US$): 123,10 (2022)

Military

  • Armed forces, total: 158.000,00 (2020)
  • Military expenditure (% of GDP): 60.756.000.000,00 (2023)
  • Military Expenditure (US$): 52.306.000.000,00 (2023)

Others

  • Current health expenditure (% of GDP): 16,94 (2021)
  • Labor tax and contribution (% of company profit): 86.285.106.230,97 (2022)
  • Development Assistance (ODA) received per capita (US$): 1,15 (2022)
  • Social contributions (% of income): 2.845.428.884,23 (2022)