The Electronic Encyclopedia (TM)
(C) 1988 Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc.

Peru


The Republic of Peru extends 2,414 km (1,500 mi) along the western
coast of South America. The country is bounded on the north by Ecuador and
Colombia, on the east by Brazil and Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on
the west by the Pacific Ocean. Peru declared its independence from Spain
in 1821.

OFFICIAL NAME.

Republic of Peru

LAND.
   Area. 1,285,216 sq km (496,224 sq mi).
   Capital and largest city. Lima (1981 pop., 3,968,972).
   Elevations. Highest--Huascaran, 6,768 m (22,205 ft);
               lowest--sea level, along the coast.

PEOPLE.
   Population (1984 est.). 19,200,000.
   Density (1984 est.). 15 persons per sq km (39 per sq mi).
   Distribution (1981). 72.6% urban, 27.4% rural.
   Annual Growth (1983). 2.8%.
   Official Languages. Spanish, Quechua.
   Major Religion. Roman Catholicism.

ECONOMY.
   GNP (1982). $19.2 billion; $1,000 per capita.
   Labor Distribution (1980). agriculture, forestry, and fishing--40%;
         manufacturing--13%;
         commerce--15%;
         services--22%.

   Major Crops, Products, and Industries. potatoes, plantains, rice,
         corn, sugarcane, cassava, cotton, citrus fruit, onions, barley,
         sweet potatoes, wheat, coffee, mangoes, avocados;
         refined petroleum, iron and steel, refined copper, processed food,
         cement, tobacco products, chemicals, electrical and electronic
         equipment, motor vehicles; mining, fishing, tourism.

   Foreign Trade (1983). imports--$2.688 billion;
                         exports--$3.015 billion;
         principal trade partners--United States, Japan, West Germany,
         Italy.

   Energy. total electrical energy production (1982)--15.0 billion kW h;
         total electric capacity (1982)--3.5 million kW.

   Currency. 1 sol = 100 centavos.

   Currency Exchange Rate (July 1985). 1 sol = $0.000084.

GOVERNMENT.
   Type. republic.
   Political Parties. Popular Action (AP), American Popular
         Revolutionary Alliance (APRA), Popular Christian party (PPC),
         National Front of Workers and Peasants (FNTC), Union of the
         Revolutionary Left (UNIR).
   Government Leaders (1985). Alan Garcia Perez--president;
         Fernando Schwalb Lopez Aldana--prime minister.
   Legislature. Congress.
   Political Subdivisions. 23 departments; constitutional province
                           of Callao.

EDUCATION AND HEALTH.
   Literacy (1980). 76% of adult population.
   Universities (1982). 31.
   Enrollment (1980). 3,161,400 primary students;
                1,306,400 secondary students;
                249,800 university and college students.
   Hospital Beds (1977). 29,934.
   Physicians (1979). 11,682.

VITAL STATISTICS.
   Life Expectancy (1980). women--59.7; men--56.7.
   Infant Mortality (1982). 95.2 per 1,000 live births.
   Births (1983). 35-41 per 1,000 persons.
   Deaths (1983). 10 per 1,000 persons.
   Marriages (1976). 2.4 per 1,000 persons.

COMMUNICATIONS.
   Railroads (1982). 2,192 km (1,362 mi) total.
   Roads (1982). 6,030 km (3,747 mi) paved; 50,615 km (31,451 mi) unpaved.
   Major ports. 7.
   Airfields (major international, 1982). 2.
   Telecommunications. telephones (1981)--487,123;
        televisions (1982)--1,300,000.


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SOURCE:  The Electronic Encyclopedia (TM)
         (C) 1988 Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc.