Peru
1 Peru Country Profile
Home


Generic Information

The Republic of Peru is a sovereign country located in western South America. The Pacific Ocean borders its coastline and borders Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, and Bolivia and Chile to the southeast. Its territory is made up of diverse landscapes: the valleys, plateaus and high peaks of the Andes unfold to the west towards the desert coast and east towards the Amazon. It is biologically diverse and is rich in mineral resources. Peru is considered an emerging market, with a high score on the Human Development Index and an upper-middle-income economy. Its main economic activities include agriculture, mining, fishing, construction, and commerce. Peruvian culture is diverse because of the intense miscegenation originated in the colonial era, as well as the subsequent influence of migrations from Japan, China and Europe.

The main and most widely spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak various native languages, the most widespread being Quechua, particularly the southern Quechua dialect. Politically, the country is organized as a presidential republic with a multiparty system structured under the principles of separation of powers and decentralization. Administratively, it is divided into twenty-four departments and the constitutional province of Callao. The Peruvian State is the entity that exercises the government in the Republic of Peru. The structure of the State is defined in the Political Constitution of Peru approved by referendum, promulgated at the end of 1993 and in force since January 1, 1994. In the Political Constitution of Peru, it is established that the Republic of Peru is democratic, social, independent and sovereign. Its government is unitary, representative and organized according to the principle of separation of powers, exercised by a unitary state.

The Regional Governments of Peru are the departments with the largest administrative divisions in the country in accordance with the current constitution. The departmental division proceeds since Independence as a follow-up to the vice regal municipalities. Their degree of autonomy has been fluctuating in history. In 2002, twenty-five regional governments were created as autonomous entities destined to administer the twenty-four departments and the province of Callao as well as direct a process of formation of regions, to date in its initial phase; at the same time that the province of Lima was endowed with independence from the regional government of its department. Regional governments are made up of a governor and a council, which are elected by direct vote and serve for a four-year term. The following twenty-four departments and the province are jurisdictions with their own regional government:

Territorial Organization of Peru

Department

Capital

Surface Area (km2)

Population (2017 Census)

Population Density

Amazonas

Chachapoyas

39,249.13

379,384

9.7

Ancash

Huaraz

35,914.81

1,083,519

30.2

Apurímac

Abancay

20,895.79

405,759

19.4

Arequipa

Arequipa

63,345.39

1,382,730

21.8

Ayacucho

Ayacucho

43,814.80

616,176

14.1

Cajamarca

Cajamarca

33,317.54

1,341,012

40.3

Callao

Callao

146.98

994,494

6,815.8

Cusco

Cusco

71,986.50

1,205,527

16.7

Huancavelica

Huancavelica

22,131.47

1,205,527

16.7

Huánuco

Huánuco

36,848.85

721,047

19.3

Ica

Ica

21,327.83

850,765

39.9

Junín

Huancayo

44,197.23

1,246,038

32.4

La Libertad

Trujillo

25,449.90

1,778,080

69.7

Lambayeque

Chiclayo

14,231.30

1,197,260

82.8

Lima

Lima

34,801.59

9,485,405

242.4

Loreto

Iquitos

368,851.95

883,510

2.4

Madre de Dios

Puerto Maldonado

85,300.54

14,170

1.7

Moquegua

Moquegua

15,733.97

174,863

11.1

Pasco

Cerro de Pasco

25,319.59

254,065

10.2

Piura

Piura

35,892.49

1,856,809

52.1

Puno

Puno

71,999.00

1,172,697

17.5

San Martin

Moyobamba

51,253.31

813,381

15.9

Tacna

Tacna

16,075.89

329,332

20.5

Tumbes

Tumbes

4,669.20

224,863

48.2

Ucayali

Pucallpa

102,410.55

496,459

4.9

TOTALS

 

1,285,165.60

30,112.872

 


The local governments in Peru are the municipalities. The provinces (196 provinces as of 2015) are the municipal terms of the country, run by city councils known as Provincial Municipalities. These, in turn, are subdivided into districts, which add up to 1869, being directed in turn by District Municipalities. The law allows the formation of Municipalities of Populated Centers, which direct the municipal government of a population far from the district capital at the request of its inhabitants. The main political leaders of the Municipal governments, elected by popular vote every four years, are called Provincial Mayors or District Mayors.

Generic country information can be located from sources which are regularly maintained and reflect current facts and figures. For a generic country overview, please consult the following sources:

Peru Wikipedia Country Information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peru

Peru Country Name IMF Country Information: https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/PER

Peru Country Name Economist Intelligence Unit Information*:  http://country.eiu.com/peru

(*note - this is a paid service)


Humanitarian Info

Peru World Food Programme: http://www.wfp.org/contries/peru

Peru UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Information: https://www.unocha.org/latin-america-and-caribbean-rolac/per%25C3%25BA


Facts and Figures

Peru Wolfram Alpha: http://m.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Peru

Peru World Bank: http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/peru/overview

Peru Population Information: http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/peru-population

Jump to top