Peru Travel Podcast with Diego Quispe

Location

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

Terrain

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

Climate

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

Elevation

Highest point

Nevado Huascaran 6,746 m

Lowest point

Pacific Ocean 0 m

Mean elevation

1,555 m

Area

Total

1,285,216 sq km

Land

1,279,996 sq km

Water

5,220 sq km

Size comparison

Almost twice the size of Texas; slightly smaller than Alaska

Coastline

2,414 km

Land borders

Total

7,062 km

Border countries

Bolivia 1,212 km; Brazil 2,659 km; Chile 168 km; Colombia 1,494 km; Ecuador 1,529 km

Natural resources

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

Land use

Agricultural land

19.1% (2023 est.)

Arable land

3.1% (2023 est.)

Permanent crops

1.8% (2023 est.)

Permanent pasture

14.2% (2023 est.)

Forest

52.9% (2023 est.)

Other

28% (2023 est.)

Natural hazards

Earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity

Volcanism: volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains; Ubinas (5,672 m) is the country's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes include El Misti, Huaynaputina, Sabancaya, and Yucamane; see note 2 under "Geography - note"

Note

Note 1: shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia; a remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316-m (17,441-ft) peak, is the ultimate source of the Amazon River

Note 2: Peru is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, which is a belt bordering the Pacific Ocean that contains about 75% of the world's volcanoes and up to 90% of the world's earthquakes

Note 3: on 19 February 1600, Mount Huaynaputina in the southern Peruvian Andes erupted in the largest volcanic explosion in South America in historical times; intermittent eruptions lasted until 5 March 1600 and pumped an estimated 16 to 32 million metric tons of particulates into the atmosphere, reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the earth's surface and affecting weather worldwide; over the next two-and-a-half years, millions died around the globe in famines from bitterly cold winters, cool summers, and the loss of crops and animals

Population

Total

32,768,614 (2025 est.)

Male

16,016,448

Female

16,752,166

Nationality

Noun

Peruvian(s)

Adjective

Peruvian

Ethnic groups

Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and White) 60.2%, Indigenous 25.8%, White 5.9%, African descent 3.6%, other (includes Chinese and Japanese descent) 1.2%, unspecified 3.3% (2017 est.)

Languages

Languages

Spanish (official) 82.9%, Quechua (official) 13.6%, Aymara (official) 1.6%, Ashaninka 0.3%, other native languages (includes many minor Amazonian languages) 0.8%, other 0.2%, none 0.1%, unspecified 0.7% (2017 est.)

Major-language sample(s)

La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

Religions

Catholic 76%, Evangelical Christian 15.7%, no religion 5.1%, other religions 3.2% (2017 est.)

Median age

Total

30.4 years (2025 est.)

Male

29.1 years

Female

31.3 years

Life expectancy

Total population

68.9 years (2024 est.)

Male

65.4 years

Female

72.7 years

Urbanisation

Urban population

78.9% of total population (2023)

Rate of urbanization

1.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Where people live

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, contain roughly half of the population; the eastern slopes of the Andes and adjoining rainforest are sparsely populated

Largest cities

11.204 million LIMA (capital), 959,000 Arequipa, 904,000 Trujillo (2023)

Background

Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Peru declared its independence in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces were 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, an economic slump and the president's increasing reliance on authoritarian measures in the late 1990s generated mounting dissatisfaction with his regime, which led to his resignation in 2000.

A caretaker government oversaw a new election in 2001 that installed Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique as the new head of government - Peru's first democratically elected president of indigenous ethnicity. The presidential election of 2006 saw the return of Alan GARCIA Perez who, after a disappointing presidential term from 1985 to 1990, presided over a robust economic rebound. Former army officer Ollanta HUMALA Tasso was elected president in 2011 and carried on the market-oriented economic policies of the three preceding administrations. Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard won a very narrow runoff in the 2016 presidential election. Facing impeachment after evidence surfaced of his involvement in a vote-buying scandal, KUCZYNSKI offered his resignation in 2018, and First Vice President Martin Alberto VIZCARRA Cornejo was sworn in as president. In 2019, VIZCARRA invoked his constitutional authority to dissolve Peru's Congress after months of battling with the body over anticorruption reforms. New congressional elections in 2020 resulted in an opposition-led legislature. The Congress impeached VIZCARRA for a second time and removed him from office after accusations of corruption and mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of vacancies in the vice-presidential positions, the President of the Peruvian Congress, Manuel MERINO, became the next president. His ascension to office was not well received, and large protests forced his resignation later in 2020. Francisco SAGASTI assumed the position of President of Peru after being appointed President of the Congress the previous day. Jose Pedro CASTILLO Terrones won presidential election in 2021 but was impeached and ousted the following year; his vice president, Dina BOLUARTE, assumed the presidency by constitutional succession in 2022.

Government

Presidential republic

Capital

Lima

Time zone

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

Local name

República del Perú

Independence

28 July 1821 (from Spain)

National day

Independence Day, 28-29 July (1821)

Overview

Upper-middle-income South American economy; strong post-COVID rebound tempered by political uncertainty and climate risks; exports driven by mineral extraction and agriculture; large informal sector and uneven access to public services; stable fiscal position and financial sector

GDP per capita

Real GDP per capita 2024

$15,700 (2024 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2023

$15,300 (2023 est.)

Real GDP per capita 2022

$15,600 (2022 est.)

Inflation

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2024

2% (2024 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2023

6.5% (2023 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 2022

8.3% (2022 est.)

Unemployment

Unemployment rate 2024

4.9% (2024 est.)

Unemployment rate 2023

4.9% (2023 est.)

Unemployment rate 2022

3.9% (2022 est.)

Exchange rate

Currency

Nuevo sol (PEN) per US dollar -

Exchange rates 2023

3.744 (2023 est.)

Exchange rates 2022

3.835 (2022 est.)

Exchange rates 2021

3.881 (2021 est.)

Exchange rates 2020

3.495 (2020 est.)

Exchange rates 2019

3.337 (2019 est.)

Main industries

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

Sugarcane, potatoes, rice, bananas, milk, maize, chicken, oil palm fruit, cassava, grapes (2023)

Airports

174 (2025)

Railways

Total

1,854.4 km (2017)

Standard gauge

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

Narrow gauge

124 km (2014) 0.914-m gauge

Ports

Total ports

20 (2024)

Large

0

Medium

1

Small

3

Very small

16

Ports with oil terminals

16

Key ports

Bahia de Matarani, Iquitos, Puerto del Callao, Talara

Internet domain

.pe

Internet users

Percent of population 80% (2023 est.)

Mobile subscriptions

Total subscriptions

42.6 million (2024 est.)

Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants

125 (2024 est.)

Environmental issues

Deforestation (some the result of illegal logging); overgrazing leading to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes; overfishing

Fresh water

1.88 trillion cubic meters (2022 est.)

UNESCO Global Geoparks

Total global geoparks and regional networks

1

Global geoparks and regional networks

Colca y Volcanes de Andagua (2023)