Official Name: República del Perú (Spanish) (Republic of Peru)

Area: South America

Size: 1,285,220 km²

Coastline: 2,414 km

Independence: from Spain 28 July 1821

Form of Govt.: Unitary multiparty republic

Head of Govt.: President

Capital: Lima

Largest City: Lima

Demographics (2005): 28,674,757.   22 /km²

Amerindian 45%, mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 42%, white/Caucasian 10% (if they have mostly European ancestry or low degree of Amerindian descent), black/Afro-Peruvian, Japanese, Chinese, and Arab/Middle-Eastern (although are white) 3%.

GDP per Capita (2005): $2,841

Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua

Geography: The country is divided into three topographical regions. (1.) The Costa which is the littoral and foothills of the Andes. The Costa consists of dry flat plains and sand dunes near the Sechura Desert. (2.) The Sierra which forms the Continental Divide while the Cordillera Central and Oriental merge with the Cordillera Occidental in central Peru. The Sierra is also the name of the ancient Inca empire. (3.) The Selva which accounts for 63% of the land area and is divided into two zones. The High Selva which contains mountain slopes and valleys, and the Low Selva which contains tropical rain forests of the Amazon. The principal rivers include the Maranon, Huallaga, Ucayali, Tigre, Pastaza and Napo.

Climate: Peru has a temperate climate along the coast which is influenced by a cold ocean current called the Humboldt. There is a rainy season from June to October and conditions are cooler in the Andes with the rainy season from October to April while the Selva has a tropical climate with humid and hot conditions from October to March. Average annual precipitation varies from 2,540 mm to 3,960 mm depending on the region. Average temperature ranges in Lima are from 13 to 19 degrees in August to 19 to 28 degrees in February.