Country name: Republica del Perú
Government: Constitutional Republic
Capital: Lima
Currency: Nuevo Sol (S/.)
Location: Western South America at the Pacific Ocean
Surface Area:
+ Total: 1,285,216 km²
+ Land: 1,280,000 km²
+ Water: 5,216 km²
Neighboring Countries:
+ North: Ecuador and Colombia
+ East: Brazil and Bolivia
+ South: Chile
To the west is the Pacific Ocean (coastline of 2414 km)
Population: 27,412,157 (Census 2007) / fourth most populous country in South America
+ Projected population: 34,476,469 in 2025 (est. 2006), 38,300,067 in 2050 (est. 2006)
+ Population density: 22 persons per km² (Census 2007)
+ Population growth: 1.23% (est. 2009)
Language:
+ Spanish (official): 80.3%
+ Quechua (official) 16.2%
+ Aymara: 3%
Ethnicity:
+ 45% indigenous Amerindian
+ 37% Mestizo (mixed Native American and Spanish)
+ 15% White
+ 3% Japanese, Chinese, black and others
Climate:
Arid and mild in coastal areas, temperate to frigid in the Andes, warm and humid in the jungle lowlands.
Geography
Terrain Types in Peru:
+ 11.7% "Costa" - Western coastal plain with deserts, beautiful beaches and fertile valleys.
+ 28.4% "Sierra"- Mountainous area dominated by the Andes, where Mount Huascaran rises to 6,768 meters.
+ 59.9% "Selva"- Eastern lowland jungle of the Amazon basin.
Elevation Extremes:
- Lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
- Highest point: Nevado Huascaran 6,768 m
Spanish
Portuguese
French
