Peru

• approximately one-third of the population resides along the desert coastal belt in the west, with a strong focus on the capital city of Lima;
• the Andean highlands, or sierra, which is strongly identified with the country's Amerindian population, contains roughly half of the overall population;
• the eastern slopes of the Andes, and adjoining rainforest, are sparsely populated

• earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity volcanism: volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains;
• Ubinas (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
  ;
• see note 2 under "Geography - note"

• 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;
• overfishing

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

noun:

Peruvian(s)

adjective:

Peruvian

0-14 years:

26.01% (male 4,147,404 /female 4,001,069)

15-24 years:

17.96% (male 2,820,562 /female 2,806,280)

25-54 years:

40.47% (male 6,081,748 /female 6,597,405)

55-64 years:

7.95% (male 1,201,272 /female 1,289,734)

65 years and over:

7.61% (male 1,125,850 /female 1,259,904) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

53.2 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

42.7 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

10.5 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

9.6 (2015 est.)

total:

28.4 years (2018 est.)

male:

27.6 years

female:

29.1 years

• approximately one-third of the population resides along the desert coastal belt in the west, with a strong focus on the capital city of Lima;
• the Andean highlands, or sierra, which is strongly identified with the country's Amerindian population, contains roughly half of the overall population;
• the eastern slopes of the Andes, and adjoining rainforest, are sparsely populated

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.92 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.89 male(s)/female

total population:

0.96 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

total:

17.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

male:

19.9 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

15.6 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

74.2 years (2018 est.)

male:

72.1 years

female:

76.4 years

conventional long form:

Republic of Peru

conventional short form:

Peru

local long form:

Republica del Peru

local short form:

Peru

etymology:

exact meaning is obscure, but the name may derive from a native word "biru" meaning "river"

name:

Lima

geographic coordinates:

12 03 S, 77 03 W

time difference:

UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

• the word "Lima" derives from the Spanish pronunciation of "Limaq," the native name for the valley in which the city was founded in 1535;
• "limaq" means "talker" in coastal Quechua and referred to an oracle that was situated in the valley but which was eventually destroyed by the Spanish and replaced with a church

• 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

note: Callao, the largest port in Peru, is also referred to as a constitutional province, the only province of the Callao region

history:

several previous; latest promulgated 29 December 1993, enacted 31 December 1993

amendments:

• proposed by Congress, by the president of the republic with the approval of the "Cabinet, " or by petition of at least 0.3% of voters;
• passage requires absolute majority approval by the Congress membership, followed by approval in a referendum;
• a referendum is not required if Congress approves the amendment by greater than two-thirds majority vote in each of two successive sessions;
• amended many times, last in 2018 (2018)

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent only:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

2 years

chief of state:

• President Martin Alberto VIZCARRA Cornejo (since 23 March 2018);
• First Vice President (vacant);
• Second Vice President (vacant);
• note - the 21 March 2018 resignation of President Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard (since 28 July 2016) was accepted by parliament on 23 March 2018;
• the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

• President Martin Alberto VIZCARRA Cornejo (since 23 March 2018);
• First Vice President (vacant);
• Second Vice President (vacant)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for nonconsecutive terms);
• election last held on 10 April 2016 with a runoff on 5 June 2016 (next to be held in April 2021)

election results:

• Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard elected president in second round;
• percent of vote in first round - Keiko FUJIMORI Higuchi (Fuerza Popular) 39.9%, Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard (Peruanos Por el Kambio) 21.1%, Veronika MENDOZA (Broad Front) 18.7%, Alfredo BARNECHEA (Popular Action) 7%, Alan GARCIA (APRA) 5.8%, other 7.5%;
• percent of vote in second round - Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard 50.1%, Keiko FUJIMORI Higuchi 49.9%

note: Prime Minister Vicente Antonio ZEBALLOS Salinas (since 30 September 2019) does not exercise executive power; this power rests with the president

description:

unicameral Congress of the Republic of Peru or Congreso de la Republica del Peru (130 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote to serve single 5-year terms)

elections:

last held on 10 April 2016 with run-off election on 6 June 2016 (next to be held in April 2021)

election results:

• percent of vote by party/coalition - Fuerza Popular 36.3%, PPK 16.5%, Frente Amplio 13.9%, APP 9.2%;
• APRA 8.3%;
• AP 7.2%, other 8.6%;
• seats by party/coalition - Fuerza Popular 73, Frente Amplio 20, PPK 18, APP 9;
• APRA 5;
• AP 5;
• composition - men 94, women 36, percent of women 27.7%

highest courts:

Supreme Court (consists of 16 judges and divided into civil, criminal, and constitutional-social sectors)

judge selection and term of office:

• justices proposed by the National Board of Justice (a 7-member independent body), nominated by the president, and confirmed by the Congress;
• justices can serve until mandatory retirement at age 70

subordinate courts:

• Court of Constitutional Guarantees;
• Superior Courts or Cortes Superiores;
• specialized civil, criminal, and mixed courts;
• 2 types of peace courts in which professional judges and selected members of the local communities preside

chief of mission:

Ambassador Krishna R. URS (since 18 October 2017)

telephone:

[51] (1) 618-2000

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

FAX:

[51] (1) 618-2397

• 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

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 anthem contest

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

• mining and refining of minerals;
• steel, metal fabrication;
• petroleum extraction and refining, natural gas and natural gas liquefaction;
• fishing and fish processing, cement, glass, textiles, clothing, food processing, beer, soft drinks, rubber, machinery, electrical machinery, chemicals, furniture

agriculture:

25.8%

industry:

17.4%

services:

56.8% (2011)

lowest 10%:

1.4%

highest 10%:

36.1% (2010 est.)

• 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

general assessment:

• adequate for most requirements;
• nationwide microwave radio relay system and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations;
• 3G network and new LTE services begun;
• 2019 the year to try 5G;
• Peru is seen as a potential market for growth in broadband with government work with fiber-optic backbone to remote areas (2018)

domestic:

• fixed-line teledensity is only about 10 per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular teledensity, spurred by competition among multiple providers, now 125 telephones per 100 persons (2018)

international:

• country code - 51;
• landing points for the SAM-1, IGW, American Movil-Telxius, SAC and 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) (2019)

• 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 (2019)

• the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial waters of Peru are a risk for armed robbery against ships;
• in 2018, four attacks against commercial vessels were reported, a slight increase from the two reported in 2017;
• most of these occured in the main port of Callao

number of registered air carriers:

7 (2015)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 35 (2015)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

13,907,948 (2015)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

223,643,434 mt-km (2015)

total:

1,854 km (2014)

standard gauge:

1,730.4 km 1.435-m gauge (34 km electrified) (2014)

narrow gauge:

124 km 0.914-m gauge (2014)

total:

95

by type:

container ship 2, oil tanker 13, other 80 (2018)

major seaport(s):

Callao, Matarani, Paita

oil terminal(s):

Conchan oil terminal, La Pampilla oil terminal

container port(s) (TEUs):

Callao (2,250,200) (2017)

river port(s):

Iquitos, Pucallpa, Yurimaguas (Amazon)

Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL):

• aim(s): generate revenue by providing security for narcotics trafficking and growing coca to produce cocaine;
• historically, SL's goal has been to replace Peruvian institutions with a peasant revolutionary regime

area(s) of operation:

headquartered in the Valley of the Apurimac, Ene, and Mantaro River (VRAEM) region (2018)

• 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

refugees (country of origin):

946,020 (Venezuela) (economic and political crisis; includes Venezuelans who have claimed asylum or have received alternative legal stay) (2019)

IDPs:

59,000 (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) (2017)

• 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 44,000 hectares in 2016, a decrease of 16 per cent over 2015;
• second largest producer of cocaine, estimated at 410 metric tons of potential pure cocaine in 2016;
• 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