Although Peru’s economy has been growing over recent years, major challenges remain and over half of all Peruvians are still living below the poverty line.

Limited government presence in the highlands and jungle allows illegal coca cultivation, drug trafficking, illegal logging, and HIV/AIDS transmission to flourish.

Key Facts

Peru is in South America, just below the equator. It’s about five times the size of the UK and borders Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile. The capital, Lima, is the hub of the country and other important cities include Arequipa, Callao, Trujillo, and Chiclayo. Peru is five hours behind UK time.

During 2002, Peru had the fastest growing economy in the western South America region. However, today unemployment is still very high and poverty reduction strategies have not had sustainable results.

Of the total 10.2 million under-18 population, more than 6.5 million live below the poverty line. 97% of children attend primary school. 87% of the total population are literate, but there is a difference between male and female literacy rates. Around 94% of men are thought to be able to read in Peru, compared to just 82% of women. Approximately 0.6% of the population aged 15-49 are thought to be living with HIV/AIDS.

Peru has a reasonably high infant mortality rate compared to the UK. On average, in Peru, 29 out of every thousand children die before their 5th birthday. In the UK, only 6 out of every thousand children die before they reach their 5th birthday.

The climate of Peru swings between tropical and subtropical. The eastern region of the country is known for tropical climate and the western zone is known for arid weather conditions. The mountainous regions are colder than other places.

The summer months are January, February and March when the weather is warm and wet and the temperature remains above 20°C.

Peru is predominantly Roman Catholic (81%). Other religions include Seventh Day Adventist and other Christian denominations. There are many beautiful colonial churches in Peru.

Many of Peru's festivals are based around the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar. These are often celebrated with great pageantry, especially in indigenous highland villages where Catholic feast days are usually linked with a traditional agricultural festival.

Peru is a mountainous country with steep canyons, a narrow coastal plain, Amazon rainforest and many rivers and lakes. Rivers include the Maranon, Huallaga, Ucayali and the Amazon. Lake Titicaca, in the Central Andes, is the highest navigable lake in the world and the largest lake in South America. Peru is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world, containing 83 of a possible 103 types of ecological zone.

The whole of the western coast is desert with little rain. From this coastal shelf, the Andes rise steeply to a high Sierra which is studded with groups of mountains and deep canyons. East of these mountains lies the vast jungle of the Amazon basin.