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Population
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Total population (millions): |
27.5
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| Source : World Bank - World Development Indicators |
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| Urban population:
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74%
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| Source : World Bank - World Development Indicators |
| Average annual population growth:
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1.5%
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| Source : World Bank - World Development Indicators |
| Surface area (km˛) : |
1,285,220
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Population origin
| Origin of the population | % Of the population | | Quechua | 44.7 | | Half-caste | 37 | | Native European | 13 | | Aymara | 5.3 |
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| Main Cities |
Population |
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Lima |
7 753 439 |
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Arequipa |
783 000 |
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Trujillo |
644 547 |
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Chiclayo |
495 415 |
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Piura |
361 832 |
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Iquitos |
356 549 |
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Local time
| It is |
%T:%M %A |
in Lima (GMT-5 ).
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Languages
Official language: Spanish. Quechua is spoken by about 40% of the population. There are numerous Indian languages. English is spoken in tourist zones. Business language: Spanish and English.
Free translation tools
Babel Fish
Free English-Spanish-English translation of texts and web pages
Systran
Free French-Spanish-French translation of texts and web pages
Dictionarios.com
Free Spanish-Catalan-English-French Dictionary
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Religion
Religious practises :
Catholics 93% Protestants 5% Others 2%.
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Political context
Peru is a Republic state based on parliamentary democracy. Peru (official name: Republic of Peru) is in a state of ongoing democratisation and is deeply divided politically and economically. President is both the chief of the state and head of the government. President is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and holds executive powers which include implementation of the law and running the day-to-day affairs of the country. President is quite powerful. President is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The President appoints the Council of Ministers (cabinet) and Prime Minister to serve for five-year terms. All Presidential decree laws or draft bills sent to parliament must be approved by the Council of Ministers. The legislature is unicameral Peru.The parliament called Congress consists of 120 seats, with its members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms. President has the power to veto acts of the legislature, and in turn a supermajority (generally two-thirds majority) of legislators may act to override the veto. The president has the power to block legislation with which the executive branch does not agree. The people of Peru enjoy considerable political rights. Peru’s judicial system is not completely independent thought government is trying hard to change it. General perception of the judicial system is that it is an inefficient, overloaded and riddled with bureaucratic and political influence. The main source of the law in Peru is the constitution of 1993. The country’s legal system is based on civil law system. Peru accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but with reservations. There are two judicial languages used in the country: Spanish and Quechua; having an interpreter is possible. Peru is not ruled by law. Crime in the country is going out of control and public safety is threatened by gang warfare. Foreign nationals cannot expect an impartial trial from country’s judicial system. A high degree of corruption level plagues the country, especially the corporate and public sectors are highly effected.
Major political parties
Peru has a multi-party system. As a result it is difficult for a single political party to obtain an absolute majority in the Congress. Thus political parties often work with each other to form coalition governments. The main political parties in the country are: - PAP (Peruvian Aprista Party, also referred to by its original name APRA- American Popular Revolutionary Alliance) – a left wing social democratic party, - UPP (Union for Peru) – a liberal political party, - UN (National Unity) – a right-wing Christian democratic political party, - Change-90 - a political a party having strong base in industrial workers.
Major political leaders
President: Alan García Pérez (since July 2006) – PAP Prime Minister: Jorge del Castillo Gálvez (since July 2006 ) - PAP
Next political election dates
Presidential: April 2011 Congress: April 2011
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| Number of visitors
in Peru
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2004
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2005
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2006
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World rank |
| Number of visitors (1000) |
1,203 |
1,486 |
1,635 |
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| Source : World Tourisme Organization, data available in November 2005 |
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Tourist sites
- The most important historic city of Peru: Machu Picchu (at about 80 km Northwest of Cruzco). - The capital of the Chimu Kingdom, Chan Chan (the walls, streets and pyramids date from 1300). - The Nazcas's alignments, famous vestiges, at 350 km South of Lima.
For more information about tourism
in Peru
, check out the following web site(s) :
Peruvian Tourism Board
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Food
Traditional dishes
Pisco Sauer: Peruvian cocktail Papas a la Huancaina: In Peru, the potatoes or papas, that are used to do the cooking have a yellow flesh. After they have been cooked in a spicy sauce, they are placed in a plate with the traditional hard-boiled egg rolled in a leaf of lettuce. Sometimes olives are added. Anticucho kebabs: giblets mainly the heart of calf El ceviche: raw fish marinaded in lemon, spices and red onions. The Papaya.
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