Peru

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This article is about the country in South America. For other uses, see Peru
(disambiguation).
Coordinates: 10°S 76°W

Republic of Peru

República del Perú (Spanish)

show
Co-official names[a]

Flag

Coat of arms

Motto:
"Firme y feliz por la unión" (Spanish)
"Firm and Happy for the Union"

Anthem:
"Himno Nacional del Perú" (Spanish)
"National Anthem of Peru"

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 March:
"Marcha de Banderas" (Spanish)
"March of Flags"

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National seal

Gran Sello del Estado (Spanish)

Great Seal of the State

Capital Lima
and largest city 12°2.6′S 77°1.7′W

Official Spanish
language

Co-official • Quechua
languages[a] • Aymara
• Other Indigenous languages

Ethnic groups • 60.20% Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and White)

(2017[b]) • 25.80% Indigenous
• 5.89% White
• 3.87% Black
• 0.16% Nikkei (Japanese) or Tusán (Chinese)
 • 1.04% Other
• 3.32% No answer

Religion • 94.51% Christianity

(2017[c])[1] • —76.03% Catholicism
• —18.48% Other Christian
• 5.09% No religion
• 0.40% Other

Demonym(s) Peruvian

Government Unitary presidential republic[2][3]

• President Pedro Castillo
• Vice President Dina Boluarte
• Prime Minister Guido Bellido
• President of Maricarmen Alva
Congress
Legislature Congress of the Republic

Independence
from the Kingdom of Spain
• Declared 28 July 1821
• Consolidated 9 December 1824
• Recognized 14 August 1879
Area
• Total 1,285,216 km2 (496,225 sq mi) (19th)
• Water (%) 0.41

Population
• 2021 estimate 34,294,231 [4] (44th)
• 2017 census 31,237,385
• Density 23/km2 (59.6/sq mi) (198th)

GDP (PPP) 2020 estimate

• Total $385.719 billion[5] (47th)
• Per capita $11,516[5] (103rd)

GDP (nominal) 2020 estimate

• Total $195.761 billion[5] (49th)
• Per capita $5,845[5] (86th)
 Gini (2019) 41.5[6]
medium

HDI (2019) 0.777[7]

high · 79th

Currency Sol (PEN)

Time zone UTC−5 (PET)

Date format dd.mm.yyyy (CE)

Driving side right

Calling code +51

ISO 3166 code PE

Internet TLD .pe

Peru (/pəˈruː/ ( listen);

Spanish: Perú [peˈɾu]; Quechua: Piruw [pɪɾʊw];[8] Aymara: Piruw [pɪɾʊw]), officially
the Republic of Peru (Spanish: República del Perú (help·info)), is a country in
western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the
east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south
and west by the Pacific Ocean. Peru is a megadiverse country with habitats
ranging from the arid plains of the Pacific coastal region in the west to the peaks of
the Andes mountains extending from the north to the southeast of the country to
the tropical Amazon Basin rainforest in the east with the Amazon river.[9] Peru has
a population of 33 million, and its capital and largest city is Lima. At 1.28 million
km2 (0.5 million mi2), Peru is the 19th largest country in the world, and the third
largest in South America.
Peruvian territory was home to several ancient cultures. Ranging from the Norte
Chico civilization starting in 3500 BCE, the oldest civilization in the Americas and
one of the five cradles of civilization, to the Inca Empire, the largest state in
the pre-Columbian Americas, the territory now including Peru has one of the
longest histories of civilization of any country, tracing its heritage back to the 10th
millennia BCE.
The Spanish Empire conquered the region in the 16th century and established a
viceroyalty that encompassed most of its South American territories, with its capital
in Lima. Higher education started in the Americas with the official establishment of
the National University of San Marcos in Lima in 1551. Peru formally proclaimed
independence in 1821, and following the foreign military campaigns of José de San
Martín and Simón Bolívar, and the decisive battle of Ayacucho, Peru completed its
independence in 1824. In the ensuing years, the country enjoyed relative economic
and political stability, which ended shortly before the War of the Pacific (1879–
1884) with Chile. Throughout the 20th century, Peru endured armed territorial
disputes, coups, social unrest, and internal conflicts, as well as periods of stability
and economic upswing. In the 1990s, the country implemented a neoliberal
economic model which is still in use to this day. Since then, Peru has experienced
a constant economic growth and a decrease in inequality.
The sovereign state of Peru is a representative democratic republic divided into 25
regions. Peru is a developing country, ranking 82nd on the Human Development
Index,[10] with a high level of human development[11] with an upper middle income
level[12] and a poverty rate around 19 percent.[13] It is one of the region's most
prosperous economies with an average growth rate of 5.9%[13] and it has one of the
world's fastest industrial growth rates at an average of 9.6%. [14] Its main economic
activities include mining, manufacturing, agriculture and fishing; along with other
growing sectors such as telecommunications and biotechnology.[15] The country
forms part of The Pacific Pumas, a political and economic grouping of countries
along Latin America's Pacific coast that share common trends of positive growth,
stable macroeconomic foundations, improved governance and an openness to
global integration. Peru ranks high in social freedom;[16] it is an active member of
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Pacific Alliance, the Trans-Pacific
Partnership and the World Trade Organization; and is considered as a middle
power.[17]
Peru has a population which
includes Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Asians. The main spoken
language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechua
languages, Aymara, or other Indigenous languages. This mixture of cultural
traditions has resulted in a wide diversity of expressions in fields such as art,
cuisine, literature, and music.

Contents

• 1Etymology
• 2History
o 2.1Prehistory and Pre-Columbian Peru
o 2.2Conquest and colonial period
o 2.3Independence
o 2.419th century
o 2.520th century
o 2.621st century, and political turmoil
• 3Government and politics
o 3.1Regions and territories
o 3.2Foreign relations
o 3.3Military and law enforcement
• 4Geography
o 4.1Climate
 o 4.2Wildlife
• 5Economy
• 6Demographics
o 6.1Largest cities and towns
o 6.2Ethnic groups
o 6.3Population
o 6.4Language
o 6.5Religion
o 6.6Education
o 6.7Health
o 6.8Toponyms
• 7Culture
o 7.1Visual Arts
o 7.2Literature
o 7.3Cuisine
o 7.4Music
o 7.5Cinema
• 8See also
• 9Notes and references
• 10Bibliography
• 11Further reading
• 12External links

Etymology[edit]
The name of the country may be derived from Birú, the name of a local ruler who
lived near the Bay of San Miguel, Panama City, in the early 16th
century.[18] Spanish conquistadors, who arrived in 1522, believed this was the
southernmost part of the New World.[19] When Francisco Pizarro invaded the
regions farther south, they came to be designated Birú or Perú.[20]
An alternative history is provided by the contemporary writer Inca Garcilaso de la
Vega, son of an Inca princess and a conquistador. He said the name Birú was that
of a common Amerindian who was happened upon by the crew of a ship on an
exploratory mission for governor Pedro Arias de Ávila, and went on to relate more
instances of misunderstandings due to the lack of a common language. [21]
The Spanish Crown gave the name legal status with the 1529 Capitulación de
Toledo, which designated the newly encountered Inca Empire as the province of
Peru.[22] Under Spanish rule, the country adopted the denomination Viceroyalty of
Peru, which became Republic of Peru after independence.

History[edit]
Main article: History of Peru
See also: Periodization of pre-Columbian Peru, Agricultural history of Peru,
and Economic history of Peru