Where is Peru?
About Peru
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media
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Peru is a vast country in the north west of South America.
Peru has a border on the Pacific Ocean.
The land is a coastal plain in the west, the Andes Mountains in the centre and the Amazon basin jungle in east.
The geographical coordinates for the centre of Peru, also known as lines of latitude and longtitude, are:-
Latitude - 10 00S
Longitude - 76 00W
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Check the weather in Lima now.
This is the time in Lima now
The Peruvian flag is 3 equal vertical
stripes of red, white and red. The coat of arms is in the centre of the white stripe.
The capital of Peru is Lima.
Peru is a presidential republic with a president as head of state and head of government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 and under the age of 70 must vote.
The currency in Peru is the nuevo sol.
Spanish, Quecha and Aymara (both native languages) are the official languages.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
Peru is a presidential republic with a president as head of state and head of government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 and under the age of 70 must vote.
The currency in Peru is the nuevo sol.
Spanish, Quecha and Aymara (both native languages) are the official languages.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Peru to provide us with a detailed history of
their own country. Check how here.
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The total land area of Peru is 1,279,996 sq kms which is the 3rd largest in South America.
Peru has lakes, rivers and canals which total 5,220 sq kms.
Peru has boundaries with 5 countries
- Brazil 2,659 kms
- Ecuador 1,529 kms
- Colombia 1,494 kms
- Bolivia 1,212 kms
- Chile 168 kms
Peru has a coastline of 2,414 kms which is the 6th longest in South America.
The highest point in Peru is Nevado Huascaran at 6,746 metres.
The pie chart below shows how the land is split between agricultural land (crops and pastures), forests and other, which can be towns, villages, desert or frozen waste called tundra.
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The total population of Peru is 30.74 million people, making it the 5th largest country in South America by population.
Of this number 15.63 million are females and 15.11 million are males.
A person from Peru is called a Peruvian.
To be a citizen of Peru you must be born in Peru or one of your parents must be a citizen of Peru. You have to live in Peru for
2 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.
The largest five cities in Peru, by population are:-
- Lima 7,737002 people
- Arequipa 841,130
- Callao 813,264
- Trujillo 747,450
- Chiclayo 577,375
For each country we will give you a diagram showing the population density. This is the average number of people for each square kilometre.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
78.6% of the people live in cities or towns.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
78.6% of the people live in cities or towns.
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The birth rate in Peru is 18.0 births per 1,000 of population
The death rate in Peru is 6.0 deaths per 1,000 people.
Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then
the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.
There are 16.7 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 21.1 deaths of boys.
The median age for females is 28.4 and for males is 26.9. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number
of people above the median age as below it.
The average age of a woman when she has her first child is 22.2.
The elderly dependency ratio is 10.5. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).
The potential support ratio is 9.6. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.
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Peru spends 5.5% of its total income on health care.
There are 1.13 doctors per 1,000 people.
There are 1.5 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
19.7% of the population are estimated as obese.
91.4% of the urban population and 69.2% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or
protected rainwater collection facility.
82.5% of the urban population and 53.2% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer. a pit latrine (that is a
permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.
Peru releases 41.0 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels in the process of producing and consuming energy. This puts it as the 6th highest in South America.
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Peru spends 3.9% of its total income on education.
Children usually start school at age 6 in Peru. Primary education is for six years until age 12. Secondary education, which is not compulsory, can
continue till 18. This may be followed
by further education at a university or college.
Generally the school year consists of 2 terms and starts in the first week of March and finishes at Christmas time. There is usually a 2 week
break in July.
94.3% of females and 97.2% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.
15.2% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 15.6% are unemployed while with males 14.8% can't find work.
The total number of people available for work in Peru is 17.12 million.
They work in the following sectors.
- Agriculture includes farming, fishing and forestry work
- Industry includes mining, manufacturing, construction and energy workers
- Services is everything else
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There are 59 paved airports in Peru, which is the 7th highest number in South America.
There are 1,854 kilometres of railways in Peru, the 6th longest in South America.
There are 18,699 kilometres of roads in Peru, which means Peru is in 6th place for the most kilometres of roads in South America.
There are 6 major national newspapers in Peru.
There are 34.24 million mobile phone users.
10% of the people have a fixed landline.
12.45 million people have access to the internet at home via any device (computer or mobile).
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