Peru - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Peru.

note 1: shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia; a remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316 m peak, is the ultimate source of the Amazon River

note 2: Peru is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire

note 3: on 19 February 1600, Mount Huaynaputina in the southern Peruvian Andes erupted in the largest volcanic explosion in South America in historical times; intermittent eruptions lasted until 5 March 1600 and pumped an estimated 16 to 32 million metric tons of particulates into the atmosphere, reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the earth's surface and affecting weather worldwide; over the next two and a half years, millions died around the globe in famines from bitterly cold winters, cool summers, and the loss of crops and animals

note 4: the southern regions of Peru and the extreme northwestern part of Bolivia are considered to be the place of origin for the common potato

. Mother's mean age at first birth is 21.9 years (2013 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 69 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Peru
Location Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador
Geographic coordinates 10 00 S, 76 00 W
Map references South America
Tarrain 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, hydropower, natural gas
Natural Hazards

earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity

volcanism: volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains; Ubinas (5,672 m), which last erupted in 2009, is the country's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes include El Misti, Huaynaputina, Sabancaya, and Yucamane; see note 2 under "Geography - note"

Irrigated Land 25,800 sq km (2012)
Major rivers (by length in km) Amazon river source (shared with Brazil [m]) - 6,400 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Major aquifers Amazon Basin
Land Boundaries 7,062 km
Border Countries Bolivia 1,212 km; Brazil 2,659 km; Chile 168 km; Colombia 1,494 km; Ecuador 1,529 km
Coastline 2,414 km
Climate varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes
Area
Total Area
Land Area 1,279,996 sq km
Water Area 5,220 sq km
comparative Area almost twice the size of Texas; slightly smaller than Alaska
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 200 nm; note: the US does not recognize this claim
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Continental shelf 200 nm
Elevations
Highest point Nevado Huascaran 6,746 m
Lowest point Pacific Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation 1,555 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 18.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 3.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 1.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 14.6% (2018 est.)
Forest 53% (2018 est.)
Other 28.2% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

Approximately one-third of the population resides along the desert coastal belt in the west, with a strong focus on the capital city of Lima; the Andean highlands, or sierra, which is strongly identified with the country's Amerindian population, contains roughly half of the overall population; the eastern slopes of the Andes, and adjoining rainforest, are sparsely populated

People and Society

In Peru, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: 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.)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.48% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 16.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 10.9 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 6.3% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 1.6 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Total fertility rate 2.15 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 1.05 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 77.4% (2020)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 51.2% (2023 est.)
Literacy age 15 and over can read and write
Education expenditures 4% of GDP (2021 est.)
Net Migration rate -1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Peruvian | Peruvian(s)
Languages
Religions Roman Catholic 66.4%, Protestant 22.4% (Evangelical 19.6%, other Protestant 1.3%), other 1.9%, agnostic/atheist none 6.8%, unspecified 1.2% (2023 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 25.8% (male 4,293,229/female 4,119,269)
15-64 years 66.2% (male 10,546,502/female 11,041,106)
65 years and over 8% (2024 est.) (male 1,112,825/female 1,487,318)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 53
Youth dependency ratio 37.1
Elderly dependency ratio 13.1
Potential support ratio 7.9 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 30.2 years (2024 est.)
Male 29.1 years
Female 31.3 years
Urbanization
Urban population 78.9% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 1.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 11.204 million LIMA (capital), 959,000 Arequipa, 904,000 Trujillo (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.75 male(s)/female
Total population 0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 10.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 11.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 9.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 68.9 years (2024 est.)
Male 65.4 years
Female 72.7 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 97.2% of population
Improved: rural rural: 82.4% of population
Improved: total total: 94% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 2.8% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 17.6% of population
Unimproved: total total: 6% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 93.6% of population
Improved: rural rural: 65.3% of population
Improved: total total: 87.4% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 6.4% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 34.7% of population
Unimproved: total total: 12.6% of population (2020 est.)
Major Infectious diseases
Degree of risk very high (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases dengue fever, malaria, Bartonellosis (Oroya fever), and sexually transmitted diseases: hepatitis B (2024)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 5.74 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 3.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 2.26 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 8.1% (2020 est.)
Male 13.2% (2020 est.)
Female 3% (2020 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 2%
Women married by age 18 14.1% (2020 est.)
Demographic profile

A sharp fertility decline in urban areas has driven overall fertility reduction in Peru. The national birth rate is about 2.2 children per woman as of 2023 and averaged 2.5 in rural areas as of 2022. Contraceptive prevalence has increased largely due to a greater use of traditional rather than modern methods. Like most other Andean countries, Peru’s opportunity to benefit from its large labor force will taper off as its dependency ratio—the ratio of dependents to working-age persons—bottoms out between 2025 and 2030. 

The poverty rate has climbed to 27.5% in 2022, much higher than the rate before the COVID-19 pandemic.  In 2021, 51% of the population was living in moderate food insecurity; Peru is the most food insecure country in South America. School enrollment has improved, but achievement scores reflect ongoing problems with educational quality. Many poor children temporarily or permanently drop out of school to help support their families. As of 2018, 21.8% Peruvian children aged 5 to 14 were working, often putting in long hours at hazardous mining or construction sites.

Peru was a country of immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries but has become a country of emigration in the last few decades. Beginning in the 19th century, Peru brought in Asian contract laborers mainly to work on coastal plantations. Populations of Chinese and Japanese descent - among the largest in Latin America - are economically and culturally influential in Peru today. Peruvian emigration began rising in the 1980s due to an economic crisis and a violent internal conflict, but outflows have stabilized in the last few years as economic conditions have improved. Nonetheless, between 1990 and 2020 over 3 million Peruvians left the country – principally to the US, Spain, and Argentina – and did not return.

All Important Facts about Peru

Want to know more about Peru? Check all different factbooks for Peru below.

Peru is found in South America