Peru

People

Peru's urban and coastal communities have benefited much more from recent economic growth than rural, Afro-Peruvian, indigenous, and poor populations of the Amazon and mountain regions. The poverty rate has dropped substantially during the last decade but remains stubbornly high at about 30% (more than 55% in rural areas). After remaining almost static for about a decade, Peru's malnutrition rate began falling in 2005, when the government introduced a coordinated strategy focusing on hygiene, sanitation, and clean water. 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. About a quarter to a third of Peruvian children aged 6 to 14 work, 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, more than 2 million Peruvians have emigrated in the last decade, principally to the US, Spain, and Argentina.

 

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1990 2000 2010 2017
Population, total (millions) 27.79 30.77 34.01 36.71
Population growth (annual %) 1.5 0.9 1.1 1.2
Surface area (sq. km) (thousands) 9,984.70 9,984.70 9,984.70 9,984.70
Population density (people per sq. km of land area) 3.1 3.4 3.7 4
Income share held by lowest 20% 7.7 7.1 7.2 ..
Life expectancy at birth, total (years) 77 79 81 82
Fertility rate, total (births per woman) 1.8 1.5 1.6 1.6
Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19) 24 17 12 10
Contraceptive prevalence, any methods (% of women ages 15-49) .. 74 .. ..
Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) 99 99 99 98
Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) 8 6 6 5
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5) .. .. .. ..
Immunization, measles (% of children ages 12-23 months) 89 96 90 89
Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) .. 97 .. ..
School enrollment, primary (% gross) 103.7 100.3 98.6 101.4
School enrollment, secondary (% gross) 99 101 102 113
School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) 1 1 1 1
Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15-49) .. .. .. ..
Environment
Forest area (sq. km) (thousands) 3,482.70 3,478.00 3,473.00 3,470.70
Terrestrial and marine protected areas (% of total territorial area) .. .. .. 6.5
Annual freshwater withdrawals, total (% of internal resources) 1.6 1.5 1.4 ..
Urban population growth (annual %) 1.5 1.4 1.3 1.3
Energy use (kg of oil equivalent per capita) 7,603 8,243 7,788 7,604
CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita) 15.66 17.37 15.72 15.12
Electric power consumption (kWh per capita) 16,109 16,991 15,270 15,546