Peru (Republic of Peru)

Peru Republic of Peru
Status	Independent State
Social and Moral Index	78th best
Capital	Lima
Land Area	1 280 000km21
Location	South America, The Americas
Population	32.0m2
Life Expectancy	72.38yrs (2017)3
GNI	$12 246 (2017)4
ISO3166-1 Codes	PE, PER, 6045
Internet Domain	.pe6
Currency	Sol (PEN)7
Telephone	+518

1. Overview
2. Peru National and Social Development
3. Peru's Demographics and Migration
4. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance
5. Peru's Health
6. Peru's Responsibility Towards The Environment
7. Peru's Modernity and Learning
8. National Culture
9. Peace Versus Instability
10. Economic Inequality and Poverty
11. Religion and Beliefs
12. Links

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1. Overview

“Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Peruvian independence was declared in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces were defeated in 1824. After a dozen years of military rule, Peru returned to democratic leadership in 1980, but experienced economic problems and the growth of a violent insurgency. President Alberto FUJIMORI's election in 1990 ushered in a decade that saw a dramatic turnaround in the economy and significant progress in curtailing guerrilla activity. Nevertheless, the president's increasing reliance on authoritarian measures and an economic slump in the late 1990s generated mounting dissatisfaction with his regime, which led to his ouster in 2000. A caretaker government oversaw new elections in the spring of 2001, which installed Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique as the new head of government - Peru's first democratically elected president of indigenous Quechuan ethnicity. The presidential election of 2006 saw the return of Alan GARCIA Perez who, after a disappointing presidential term from 1985 to 1990, oversaw a robust economic rebound. In June 2011, former army officer Ollanta HUMALA Tasso was elected president, defeating Keiko FUJIMORI Higuchi, the daughter of Alberto FUJIMORI. Since his election, HUMALA has carried on the sound, market-oriented economic policies of the three preceeding administrations.”

CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₉

“Peru startles with its variety - parched coastal desert, jagged Andean peaks, lush Amazon rainforest. Its rich culture runs the gamut from sophisticated Lima to mist-shrouded ancient ruins. A visit to South America isn´t complete without a pilgrimage to the glorious Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, but, the truth is, this feted site is just a flash in a 5000-year history of peoples. Walk through the dusted remnants of a vast ancient city at Chan Chan, the largest pre-Columbian ruins in all the Americas. Fly over the puzzling geo-glyphs etched into the arid earth at Nazca. Or venture into the rugged wilds that hem the stalwart fortress of Kuelap. Lima´s great museums, with priceless ceramics, gold and some of the finest textiles in the world, reveal in full detail the sophistication, skill and passion of these lost civilizations. Visit remote communities and see how old ways live on. Peru is as complex as its most intricate weavings. Festivals mix ancient pageantry with stomping brass bands. The urban vanguard beams with artistry and innovation. Trails mark the way from dense jungle to glacial peaks. Immerse yourself in Peru and leave a little closer to the past.”

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₁₀

2. Peru National and Social Development

#economics #human_development #wealth

UN HDI (2021)11
Pos.		Higher is better Value11
1	Switzerland	0.962
2	Norway	0.961
3	Iceland	0.959
	...
81=	Palau	0.767
81=	Dominican Rep.	0.767
83	Cuba	0.764
84	Peru	0.762
85	Armenia	0.759
86	Mexico	0.758
87	Brazil	0.754
88	Colombia	0.752
	The Americas Avg	0.75
	World Avg	0.72
q=191.

Gross National Income Per-Capita (2021)11
Pos.		Higher is better PPP $11
1	Liechtenstein	$146 830
2	Singapore	$90 919
3	Qatar	$87 134
	...
95	Sri Lanka	$12 578
96	Paraguay	$12 349
97	Barbados	$12 306
98	Peru	$12 246
99	Equatorial Guinea	$12 074
100	St Lucia	$12 048
101	St Vincent & Grenadines	$11 961
102	Egypt	$11 732
	The Americas Avg	$16 628
	World Avg	$20 136
q=193.

Social & Moral Development Index12
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank12
1	Denmark	24.9
2	Norway	25.3
3	Sweden	27.7
	...
75	St Kitts & Nevis	81.6
76	Mexico	82.4
77	UAE	82.6
78	Peru	83.0
79	Ecuador	83.2
80	St Vincent & Grenadines	83.4
81	Fiji	83.7
82	Kuwait	83.7
	The Americas Avg	81.5
	World Avg	89.9
q=199.

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others..

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: Which are the Best Countries in the World? The Social and Moral Development Index.

3. Peru's Demographics and Migration

#birth_control #demographics #fertility #health #immigration #life_expectancy #longevity #migration #overpopulation #population #yemen

Population:

Peru's population is predicted to rise to 35.49 million by 2030. These millions of extra people will all need space to live, food to eat, energy to consume, and will increase the burden on the planet's resources. This country has a fertility rate of 2.16. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population will grow, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity - the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate (two new children for each set of parents who die), which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1. The highest fertility rate ever detected in a single year was in Yemen in 1985, at 8.86.₁₃

Population2
Pos.		2018 Population2
1	China	1.4b
2	India	1.4b
3	USA	327.1m
	...
40	Morocco	36.0m
41	Saudi Arabia	33.7m
42	Uzbekistan	32.5m
43	Peru	32.0m
44	Malaysia	31.5m
45	Angola	30.8m
46	Ghana	29.8m
47	Mozambique	29.5m
	World Avg	39.0m
q=195.

Life Expectancy Higher is better11
Pos.		2021 Years11
1	Monaco	85.9
2	Hong Kong	85.5
3	Japan	84.8
	...
89	Oman	72.5
90	Belarus	72.4
91	Bangladesh	72.4
92	Peru	72.4
93	Syria	72.1
94	Armenia	72.0
95	Libya	71.9
96	Bhutan	71.8
	World Avg	71.28
q=195.

Fertility Rate 2.0 is best14
Pos.		202214
1	US Virgin Islands	2.00
2	Ecuador	2.00
3	Nepal	2.01
	...
20	Indonesia	2.15
21	Greenland	1.84
22	Gibraltar	1.84
23	Peru	2.16
24	Venezuela	2.19
25	Romania	1.81
26	Mexico	1.80
27=	Montenegro	1.80
	World Avg	2.47
q=208.

Old-Age Dependency Ratio Lower is better15
Pos.		2016 Per 10015
1	Uganda	04.3
2	Mali	04.5
3=	Chad	04.7
	...
96	Guyana	15.0
97	Fiji	15.3
98	Mexico	15.4
99	Peru	15.5
100=	Dominican Rep.	15.6
100=	Venezuela	15.6
100=	Kazakhstan	15.6
103	Ecuador	16.0
	World Avg	18.3
q=185.

• The Population of the Earth
• Abortion, Birth Control and Contraception

Migration:

Immigrants16
Pos.		2017 %16
1	UAE	88.4%
2	Kuwait	75.5%
3	Qatar	65.2%
	...
181	Eritrea	0.3%
182	Somalia	0.3%
183	Lesotho	0.3%
184	Peru	0.3%
185	Colombia	0.3%
186	Morocco	0.3%
187	Philippines	0.2%
188	N. Korea	0.2%
	World Avg	9.4%
q=195.

Emigrants17
Pos.		2010 %17
1	Dominica	104.8%
2	Palestine	68.4%
3	Samoa	67.3%
	...
128	Bahrain	3.7%
129	Gambia	3.7%
130	Chile	3.7%
131	Peru	3.7%
132	Czechia	3.6%
133	Mauritania	3.5%
134	Canada	3.5%
135	Algeria	3.4%
	World Avg	11.5%
q=192.

4. Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance

#equality #freedom #gender_equality #human_rights #morals #peru #peru_human_rights #politics #prejudice #tolerance

Human Rights, Equality & Tolerance (2025)18
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank18
1	Sweden	6.1
2	Denmark	8.6
3	Norway	9.0
	...
62	Bahamas	66.6
63	Ecuador	67.2
64	Cape Verde	68.0
65	Peru	68.7
66	St Lucia	69.9
67	Kiribati	70.1
	The Americas Avg	71.8
	World Avg	86.6
q=199.

Peru does relatively well in ensuring human rights and freedom, compared to many other countries. Peru does the second-best in terms of its nominal commitment to Human Rights₁₉. It does better than average when it comes to LGBT equality₂₀, the rate of gender bias (from 7 indicators)₂₁, commentary in Human Rights Watch reports₂₂, eliminating modern slavery₂₃, supporting personal, civil & economic freedoms₂₄, freethought₂₅ and in its average Freedom in the World rating (but high for The Americas). Peru still has work to do. Peru does worse than average when it comes to its success in fighting anti-semitic prejudice₂₆ (one of the worst in The Americas), opposing gender inequality₂₇ and in supporting press freedom₂₈. "Efforts to prosecute grave human rights abuses committed during the 20-year armed conflict that ended in 2000 have had mixed results"₂₉.

For tables, charts and commentary, see:

• Human Rights and Freedom in Peru

5. Peru's Health

#alcohol #birth_control #demographics #health #life_expectancy #longevity #mental_health #obesity #overpopulation #parenting #peru #population #smoking #suicide #vaccines

Compared to The Americas (2025)30
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank30
1	Greenland	34.3
2	Curaço	49.7
3	Aruba	49.9
	...
30	St Lucia	96.0
31	Mexico	98.0
32	El Salvador	101.3
33	Peru	101.8
34	Guyana	106.7
35	Suriname	108.1
36	Venezuela	108.1
37	Belize	111.0
38	Paraguay	111.5
	The Americas Avg	92.7
q=44.

Health (2025)30
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank30
1	Monaco	14.3
2	Liechtenstein	30.1
3	Isle of Man	32.1
	...
124	Algeria	100.7
125	El Salvador	101.3
126	Palau	101.7
127	Peru	101.8
128	Turkmenistan	102.7
129	Palestine	104.6
130	Bangladesh	106.5
131	Guyana	106.7
	World Avg	96.7
q=212.

The countries with the best overall approach to public health, in terms of both public policy and individual lifestyle choices, are Monaco, Liechtenstein and The Isle of Man₃₁. These countries are worth emulating. And, although often through no fault of the average citizen, the worst countries are S. Sudan, Angola and Nigeria₃₁.

21 datasets are used to calculate points for each country, including multiple decades of data on its average life expectancy, its alcohol consumption rate, its fertility rate, its smoking rate, its suicide rate, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance, the prevalence of overweight adults, its adolescent birth rate and its immunizations take-up. The regions with the best average results per country are Scandinavia, Europe and The Balkans₃₁, whereas the worst are Africa, Micronesia and Melanesia₃₁.

For more, see:

• "Countries With the Healthiest Cultures and Health Policies" by Vexen Crabtree (2020).

Health:

Peru does relatively well in encouraging good health, compared to many other countries. Peru comes in the best 20 in its suicide rate₃₂. It does better than average in its fertility rate₁₄, its smoking rate₃₃ and in its average life expectancy₁₁. But, things could still be better. Peru does worse than average in terms of its alcohol consumption rate₃₄, its food aid and health contributions and WHO compliance₃₅, its immunizations take-up₃₆ and in its adolescent birth rate₃₇. The number of overweight adults has increased by 14% between 1976 and 2016. Life expectancy in Peru improved by +11.1yrs in the 30 years from 1990, much better than the global average of +7.9yrs. Peru is amongst only 41 countries who have seen their fertility rate drop by more than 4 since the 1960s. Its peak fertility rate was 6.94 in 1960.

Life Expectancy Higher is better11
Pos.		2021 Years11
1	Monaco	85.9
2	Hong Kong	85.5
3	Japan	84.8
	...
89	Oman	72.5
90	Belarus	72.4
91	Bangladesh	72.4
92	Peru	72.4
93	Syria	72.1
94	Armenia	72.0
95	Libya	71.9
96	Bhutan	71.8
	The Americas Avg	72.58
	World Avg	71.28
q=195.

Alcohol Consumption Lower is better34
Pos.		2016 Per Capita34
1	Bangladesh	0.0
2	Kuwait	0.0
3	Libya	0.0
	...
93	Cuba	6.1
94	Kyrgyzstan	6.2
95=	Guyana	6.3
95=	Peru	6.3
97	Bosnia & Herzegovina	6.4
98=	Angola	6.4
99	Mexico	6.5
100	Philippines	6.6
	The Americas Avg	6.9
	World Avg	6.2
q=189.

Fertility Rate 2.0 is best14
Pos.		202214
1	US Virgin Islands	2.00
2	Ecuador	2.00
3	Nepal	2.01
	...
20	Indonesia	2.15
21	Greenland	1.84
22	Gibraltar	1.84
23	Peru	2.16
24	Venezuela	2.19
25	Romania	1.81
26	Mexico	1.80
27=	Montenegro	1.80
	The Americas Avg	1.80
	World Avg	2.47
q=208.

Smoking Rates Lower is better33
Pos.		201433
1	Guinea	15
2	Solomon Islands	26
3	Kiribati	28
	...
24	India	111
25	Eritrea	114
26	Haiti	114
27	Peru	116
28	Somalia	117
29	Ghana	121
30	Benin	122
31	Zimbabwe	134
	The Americas Avg	457
	World Avg	819
q=182.

Suicide Rate32
Pos.		2013 Per 100k32
1	Haiti	0
2	Grenada	0
3	Egypt	0.1
4	Jordan	0.2
5	Maldives	0.7
6	Azerbaijan	1.3
7	S. Africa	1.8
8	Bahamas	2.5
9	Peru	2.9
10	Kuwait	3.6
11	Armenia	3.9
12	Dominican Rep.	4.6
	The Americas Avg	13.57
	World Avg	20.93
q=91.

Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance Lower is better35
Pos.		2017 Rank35
1	Sweden	1
2	Ireland	2
3	Denmark	3
	...
110	Costa Rica	110
111	Dominica	111
112	Romania	112
113	Peru	113
114	Kenya	114
115	Haiti	115
116	Malawi	116
117	Swaziland	117
	The Americas Avg	94.3
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Overweight Adults Lower is better38
Pos.		2016 %38
1	Vietnam	18.3
2	India	19.7
3	Bangladesh	20.0
	...
112=	Serbia	57.1
112=	Russia	57.1
114	Portugal	57.5
115=	Peru	57.5
116	Albania	57.7
117=	Romania	57.7
118	Netherlands	57.8
119=	Latvia	57.8
	The Americas Avg	57.4
	World Avg	49.0
q=191.

Children's Health:

Adolescent Birth Rate Lower is better37
Pos.		2022 Per 100037
1	Hong Kong	1.6
2	Denmark	1.8
3	S. Korea	2.1
	...
130	El Salvador	54.5
131	Suriname	55.2
132	Comoros	56.1
133	Peru	56.1
134	Belize	56.6
135	Marshall Islands	57.5
136	Colombia	57.6
137	Solomon Islands	59.4
	The Americas Avg	48.1
	World Avg	43.8
q=195.

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 Higher is better36
Pos.		2015 Avg %36
1=	Hungary	99.0
1=	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
	...
120	Montenegro	89.9
121	Zimbabwe	89.7
122	Senegal	89.5
123	Peru	89.3
124	Ireland	89.2
125	Sudan	89.2
126	Honduras	88.8
127	Kenya	88.5
	The Americas Avg	91.3
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

6. Peru's Responsibility Towards The Environment

#biodiversity #climate_change #deforestation #energy #food #meat #Mennonite #over-exploitation #peru #sustainability #the_environment #veganism #vegetarianism

Compared to The Americas (2023)39
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank39
1	Uruguay	46.1
2	Cuba	52.0
3	Costa Rica	54.8
4	Dominican Rep.	71.4
5	Chile	74.4
6	Jamaica	77.2
7	Peru	83.1
8	Canada	89.3
9	Mexico	91.5
10	Dominica	92.7
11=	Ecuador	92.9
12	Colombia	94.9
13	Barbados	98.5
	The Americas Avg	80.1
q=35.

Responsibility Towards The Environment (2023)39
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank39
1	Uruguay	46.1
2	Cuba	52.0
3	Fiji	53.7
	...
63	Portugal	81.9
64	Czechia	82.6
65	Netherlands	82.8
66	Peru	83.1
67	Zambia	83.6
68	Kenya	84.6
69	Macedonia	85.0
70	New Zealand	85.9
	World Avg	94.3
q=190.

With regard to its responsibility towards the environment, Peru is 66th in the world. This rank is derived from 7 data sets. Peru performs the best for how quickly it ratified the 1993 Convention on Biological Diversity. It comes in the best 20 for energy to GDP efficiency₄₀ and in the rate of rational beliefs on the environment in the population₄₁. It does better than average for its environmental performance₄₂. But, things still need to improve in Peru. Peru does worse than average when it comes to reducing annual meat consumption per person₄₃ (still good for The Americas) and in its forested percent change 2000-2020₄₄. And finally, it falls into the worst 20 for its score on the Green Future Index₄₅ (amongst the lowest in The Americas).