# The World Factbook (1990)/Peru

pages 249–250
​Peru
See regional map IV
Geography
Total area: 1,285,220 km²; land area: 1,280,000 km²
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Alaska
Land boundaries: 6,940 km total; Bolivia 900 km, Brazil 1,560 km, Chile 160 km, Colombia 2,900 km, Ecuador 1,420 km
Coastline: 2,414 km
Maritime claims:
    Territorial sea: 200 nm
Disputes: two sections of the boundary with Ecuador are in dispute
Climate: varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west
Terrain: western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)
Natural resources: copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash
Land use: 3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 21% meadows and pastures; 55% forest and woodland; 21% other; includes 1% irrigated
Environment: subject to earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, mild volcanic activity; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima
Note: shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia
People
Population: 21,905,605 (July 1990), growth rate 2.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 67 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 66 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 3.6 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Peruvian(s); adjective—Peruvian
Ethnic divisions: 45% Indian; 37% mestizo (mixed Indian and European ancestry); 15% white; 3% black, Japanese, Chinese, and other
Religion: predominantly Roman Catholic
Language: Spanish and Quechua (official), Aymara
Literacy: 80% (est.)
Labor force: 6,800,000 (1986); 44% government and other services, 37% agriculture, 19% industry (1988 est.)
Organized labor: about 40% of salaried workers (1983 est.)
Government
Long-form name: Republic of Peru
Type: republic
Capital: Lima
Administrative divisions: 24 departments (departamentos, singular—departamento) and 1 constitutional province* (provincia constitucional); Amazonas, Ancash, Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Callao*, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huánuco, Ica, Junín, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco, Piura, Puno, San Martin, Tacna, Tumbes, Ucayali
Independence: 28 July 1821 (from Spain)
Constitution: 28 July 1980 (often referred to as the 1979 Constitution because constituent assembly met in 1979, but Constitution actually took effect the following year); reestablished civilian government with a popularly elected president and bicameral legislature
Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 28 July (1821)
Executive branch: president, two vice presidents, prime minister. Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: bicameral Congress (Congreso) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia)
Leaders: Chief of State—President Alán GARCIA Pérez (since 28 July 1985); First Vice President Luis Alberto SANCHEZ Sánchez (since 28 July 1985); Second Vice President Luis Juan ALVA Castro (since 28 July 1985);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Guillermo LARCO Cox (since 3 October 1989)
Political parties and leaders: American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (APRA), Alán García Pérez; United Left (IU), run by committee; Democratic Front (FREDEMO), headed by Maria Vargas Llosa of the Liberty Movement (ML), coalition also includes the Popular Christian Party (PPC), Luis Bedoya Reyes and the Popular Action Party (AP), Fernando Belaúnde Terry; Socialist Left (ISO), Alfonso Barrantes Lingan
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: President—last held on 14 April 1985 (next to be held 8 April 1990); results—Alán García Pérez (APRA) 46%, Alfonso Barrantes Lingan (IU) 22%, others 32%;
Senate—last held on 14 April 1985 (next to be held April 1990); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(60 total) APRA 32, IU 15, AP 5, others 8;
Chamber of Deputies—last held 14 April 1985 (next to be held April 1990); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(180 total) APRA 107, IU 48, AP 10, others 15
Communists: Peruvian Communist Party-Unity (PCP-U), pro-Soviet, 2,000; other minor Communist parties
Other political or pressure groups: NA
Member of: Andean Pact, AIOEC, ASSIMER, CCC, CIPEC, FAO, G-77, GATT, Group of Eight, IADB, IAEA, IATP, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB—Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, ILZSG, INTERPOL, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, ISO, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, LAIA, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WSG, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Cesar G. ATALA; Chancery at 1700 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 833-9860 through 9869); Peruvian Consulates General are located in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paterson (New Jersey), San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico); US—Ambassador Anthony QUAINTON; Embassy at the corner of Avenida Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and Avenida Espana, Lima (mailing address is P. O. Box 1995, Lima 1010, or APO Miami 34031); telephone [51](14) 338-000
Flag: three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), white, and red with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a shield bearing a llama, cinchona tree (the source of quinine), and a yellow cornucopia spilling out gold coins, all framed by a green wreath
Economy
Overview: The economy is verging on hyperinflation and economic activity is contracting rapidly. Deficit spending is at the root of domestic economic problems, but poor relations with international lenders the result of curtailing debt payments since 1985 are preventing an inflow of funds to generate a recovery. Reduced standards of living have increased labor tensions, and strikes, particularly in the key mining sector, have cut production and exports. Foreign exchange shortages have forced reductions in vital consumer imports such as food and industrial inputs. Peru is the world's leading producer of coca, from which the drug cocaine is produced.
GDP: S18.9 billion, per capita $880; real growth rate -12.2% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2,775% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 15.0%; underemployment estimated at 60% (1989)
Budget: revenues $3.2 billion; expenditures $3.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $796 million (1986)
Exports: $3.55 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities—fishmeal, cotton, sugar, coffee, copper, iron ore, refined silver, lead, zinc, crude petroleum and byproducts; partners—EC 22%, US 20%, Japan 11%, Latin America 8%, USSR 4%
Imports: $2.50 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities—foodstuffs, machinery, transport equipment, iron and steel semimanufactures, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; partners—US 23%, Latin America 16%, EC 12%, Japan 7%, Switzerland 3%
External debt: $17.7 billion (December 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate -25.0% (1988 est.)
Electricity: 4,867,000 kW capacity; 15,540 million kWh produced, 725 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: mining of metals, petroleum, fishing, textiles, clothing, food processing, cement, auto assembly, steel, shipbuilding, metal fabrication
Agriculture: accounts for 12% of GDP, 37% of labor force; commercial crops—coffee, cotton, sugarcane; other crops—rice, wheat, potatoes, plantains, coca; animal products—poultry, red meats, dairy, wool; not self-sufficient in grain or vegetable oil; fish catch of 4.6 million metric tons (1987), world's fifth-largest
Illicit drugs: world's largest coca producer and source of supply for coca paste and cocaine base; about 85% of cultivation is for illicit production; most of coca base is shipped to Colombian drug dealers for processing into cocaine for the international drug market
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.6 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $3.7 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $577 million
Currency: inti (plural—intis); 1 inti (I/) = 1,000 soles
Exchange rates: intis (I/) per US$1—5,261.40 (December 1989), 128.83 (1988), 16.84 (1987), 13.95 (1986), 10.97 (1985)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Railroads: 1,876 km total; 1,576 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 300 km 0.914-meter gauge
Highways: 56,645 km total; 6,030 km paved, 11,865 km gravel, 14,610 km improved earth, 24,140 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways: 8,600 km of navigable tributaries of Amazon system and 208 km Lago Titicaca
Pipelines: crude oil, 800 km; natural gas and natural gas liquids, 64 km
Ports: Callao, Ilo, Iquitos, Matarani, Talara
Merchant marine: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 341,213 GRT/535,215 DWT; includes 18 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 8 bulk; note in addition, 7 naval tankers and 1 naval cargo are sometimes used commercially
Civil air: 27 major transport aircraft
Airports: 242 total, 226 usable; 35 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 24 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 39 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: fairly adequate for most requirements; nationwide radio relay system; 544,000 telephones; stations—273 AM, no FM, 140 TV, 144 shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations, 12 domestic antennas
Defense Forces
Branches: Peruvian Army (Ejercito Peruano), Peruvian Navy (Marina de Guerra del Peru), Peruvian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea del Peru)
Military manpower: males 15-49, 5,543,166; 3,751,077 fit for military service; 236,814 reach military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures: 4.9% of GNP (1987)