Data at glance of Peru - average on period

History

Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Peru declared its independence in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces were defeated in 1824. After a dozen years of military rule, Peru returned to democratic leadership in 1980 but experienced economic problems and the growth of a violent insurgency. President Alberto FUJIMORI's election in 1990 ushered in a decade that saw a dramatic turnaround in the economy and significant progress in curtailing guerrilla activity. Nevertheless, an economic slump and the president's increasing reliance on authoritarian measures in the late 1990s generated mounting dissatisfaction with his regime, which led to his resignation in 2000. A caretaker government oversaw a new election in 2001 that installed Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique as the new head of government - Peru's first democratically elected president of indigenous ethnicity. The presidential election of 2006 saw the return of Alan GARCIA Perez who, after a disappointing presidential term from 1985 to 1990, presided over a robust economic rebound. Former army officer Ollanta HUMALA Tasso was elected president in 2011 and carried on the market-oriented economic policies of the three preceding administrations. Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard won a very narrow runoff in the 2016 presidential election. Facing impeachment after evidence surfaced of his involvement in a vote-buying scandal, KUCZYNSKI offered his resignation in 2018, and First Vice President Martin Alberto VIZCARRA Cornejo was sworn in as president. In 2019, VIZCARRA invoked his constitutional authority to dissolve Peru's Congress after months of battling with the body over anticorruption reforms. New congressional elections in 2020 resulted in an opposition-led legislature. The Congress impeached VIZCARRA for a second time and removed him from office after accusations of corruption and mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of vacancies in the vice-presidential positions, the President of the Peruvian Congress, Manuel MERINO, became the next president. His ascension to office was not well received, and large protests forced his resignation later in 2020. Francisco SAGASTI assumed the position of President of Peru after being appointed President of the Congress the previous day. Jose Pedro CASTILLO Terrones won presidential election in 2021 but was impeached and ousted the following year; his vice president, Dina BOLUARTE, assumed the presidency by constitutional succession in 2022.

Environment

Area: 1,285,216 sq km km2

Climate: varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes

Natural resources: copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: Mestizo (mixed Indigenous and White) 60.2%, Indigenous 25.8%, White 5.9%, African descent 3.6%, other (includes Chinese and Japanese descent) 1.2%, unspecified 3.3% (2017 est.)

Languages: Spanish (official) 82.9%, Quechua (official) 13.6%, Aymara (official) 1.6%, Ashaninka 0.3%, other native languages (includes many minor Amazonian languages) 0.8%, other 0.2%, none 0.1%, unspecified 0.7% (2017 est.)

Religions: Catholic 76%, Evangelical Christian 15.7%, no religion 5.1%, other religions 3.2% (2017 est.)

Government

Capital: Lima

Government type: presidential republic

Executive branch

Chief of state: President José Enrique JERÍ Oré (since 10 October 2025)

Head of government: President José Enrique JERÍ Oré (since 10 October 2025)

Legislative branch

Description: Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la República) - unicameral

Industries

mining and refining of minerals; steel, metal fabrication; petroleum extraction and refining, natural gas and natural gas liquefaction; fishing and fish processing, cement, glass, textiles, clothing, food processing, beer, soft drinks, rubber, machinery, electrical machinery, chemicals, furniture

GDP by sector: Agriculture: 6.1% (2024 est.), Industry: 32.2% (2024 est.), Services: 52.7% (2024 est.)

Trade

Export partners: China 34%, USA 14%, Canada 5%, India 4%, Switzerland 4% (2023)

Export commodities: copper ore, gold, refined copper, refined petroleum, grapes (2023)

Import partners: China 26%, USA 21%, Brazil 7%, Argentina 5%, Mexico 3% (2023)

Import commodities: refined petroleum, crude petroleum, cars, trucks, broadcasting equipment (2023)

Geography

Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador

Defence

Military expenditure: 2024: 0.8% of GDP (2024 est.)