PERU INFORMATION

Official Name: República Del Perú (Republic of Peru)

Area: 1'285,215 square km

Capital of the Republic: Lima

Historical capital: Cusco

POPULATION

Population of Peru on December 1st 2011 is approximately 30,022,797. (Extrapolated from a population of 29,132,013 on August 13th 2009 and a population of 29,461,933 on June 16th 2010.)

LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT

Peru is South America's third-largest country, with an area of 1,285,220 sq km (496,226 sq mi), extending about 1,287 km (800 mi) se–nw and 563 km (350 mi) ne–sw. Comparatively, the area occupied by Peru is slightly smaller than the state of Alaska. It is bounded on the n by Ecuador and Colombia, on the e by Brazil and Bolivia, on the s by Chile, and on the w by the Pacific Ocean, with a total land boundary length of 5,536 km (3,440 mi) and a coastline of 2,414 km (1,500 mi).

Various offshore islands, chiefly the Chincha Islands off Pisco in southern Peru, are uninhabited, but at least 21 of these are important to the Peruvian economy and are protected by the government's guano monopoly.

GEOGRAPHY

The Peruvian territory possesses a great geographical contrast and presents three defined natural regions, parallel among each other from north to south.

The coast: Located to the west, it is a narrow fringe of desert, sandy and arid plains, with valleys oasis formed by rivers that go down from the Andes Mountains to the sea, and in these valleys big populated centers are located.

The Highland: Also called Andean region is of uneven topography, it is formed by the Mountain range of the Andes, and is located between the coast and the forest; high mountains, deep valleys and plateaus. The highest pick in Peru is the Huascaran and it has 22,224 feet (6,780 m) above sea level.

The forest: Also called Amazonian, mountain or east, located to the east, formed by the oriental hillsides of the Mountain range of the Andes and extensive plains with exuberant vegetation and tropical forests. It is furrowed by numerous rivers; all tributary of the Amazonas River.The forest occupies more than 50% of the territory existing some areas that are in full discovery and investigation stage.

CLIMATE

Although Peru's seaboard is situated well within the tropical zone, it does not display an equatorial climate; average temperatures range from 21°c (70°f) in January to 10°c (50°f) in June at Lima, on the coast. At Cuzco, in the sierra, the range is only from 12°c (54°f) to 9°c (48°f), while at Iquitos, in the Amazon region, the temperature averages about 32°c (90°f) all year round. The cold south–north Humboldt (or Peruvian) Current cools the ocean breezes, producing a sea mist with the inshore winds on the coastal plain. Only during the winter, from May to October, does this sea mist (garúa) condense into about 5 cm (2 in) of rain.

Latitude has less effect upon the climate of the sierra than altitude. The rainy season in the Andes extends from October to April, the reverse of the coastal climate. Temperatures vary more from day to night than seasonally. The snow line ranges from 4,700 to 5,800 m (15,500 to 19,000 ft). In the eastern rain forest, precipitation is heavy, from 190 to 320 cm (75 to 125 in) annually; rain falls almost continuously between October and April.

A warm Pacific west-to-east current called El Niño appears near the Peruvian coast every four to ten years around Christmastime (the name is a reference to the Christ child), occasionally causing serious weather disturbances.

CURRENCY

Nuevo Sol (PEN; symbol S/.) = 100 céntimos. Nuevo Sol notes are in denominations of S/.200, 100, 50, 20 and 10. Coins are in denominations of S/.5, 2 and 1, and 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1 céntimos.

Note: US Dollars are also in use and accepted for payment, particularly in tourist areas. While effectively interchangeable, it is best to use local currency wherever possible, and it is always good for tourists to have some local currency in small denominations, to pay for buses, taxis and goods in some small establishments.

LANGUAGES

The official language of Peru is the Spanish, and in the areas where prevail are also the Quechua, Aimara and other aboriginal languages.

English is a language that many people linked to the tourism sector dominate, and the tourist operators dominate other foreign languages, as German, French, Italian, Japanese, etc.

RELIGION

In Peru exists the freedom of credo or religion the State recognizes the Catholic Church as an important element in the historical, cultural and moral formation of Peru, and lends its collaboration, respects also other confessions.

The population in Peru is Catholic 89%, Evangelical 6.7% and other religions 2.6%.

GEOPOLITICAL DIVISION

Peru is divided in 24 departments and 1 constitutional county.

Each department is divided in counties, 189 counties exist in the national environment. Each county is divided in districts, 1800 districts exist in the national environment (modernized in 1994)

MAIN CITIES

Lima         7'497,000 inhabitants

Arequipa   762,000

Trujillo      652,000

Chiclayo    517,000

Iquitos      367,000

Chimbote 336,000

Piura        325,000

Huancayo 327,000

Cusco        291,000