PERU
Peru, the largest in area in the Andean countries, was the cradle of the most advanced indigenous civilizations and most powerful empire in pre-Columbian South America-that of the Incas. Peru was also the focus of Spanish colonial domination for its first two hundred years of rule. What remained of pre-Columbian America with regard to people, culture, and settlements is perhaps better represented in Peru than in any other country. The country has a 2,400 kilometer (1,500 miles) long coast on the Pacific Ocean and borders Colombia and Ecuador in the north, Brazil and Bolivia on the east, and Chile on the south. It is the only country that borders all the other Andean states.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Area 1,285,216 sq. km (496,225 sq. mi.)
Capital City Lima
Gross National Product
per capita $ 1,470 (1987 estimate)
Currency unit Nuevo Sol
Population 22'332,000 (1990 estimate)
Density 40.7 persons/sq. mi. (1986 estimate)
Urban-rural population 70.2 % urban, 29.8% rural
Nartural increase 2.5% (1985-1990)
Illiteracy rate 15.2% (1985 estimate)
Highest point 22,205 ft (Huascaran)
Main cities Arequipa, Trujillo, Chicalyo, Cusco
National Holiday Independence Day, 28-29 July
Map of Peru
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