Peru
| Country summary | |
|---|---|
|
Capital |
Lima |
|
Borders |
Bolivia 1,075 km, Brazil 2,995 km, Chile 171 km, Colombia 1,800 km, Ecuador 1,420 km |
|
Government type |
constitutional republic |
|
Population |
29,546,963 (July 2010 est.)[1] |
|
Population growth |
1.229% (2010 est.)[1] |
|
Life expectancy |
70.74 years[1] |
|
Unemployment |
8.1% (2009 est.)[1] |
|
45[2] | |
|
75[3] | |
|
56[4] | |
Ancient Peru was the seat of several prominent Andean civilizations, most notably that of the Incas whose empire was captured by the Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Peruvian independence was declared in 1821, and remaining Spanish forces 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 ushered in Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique as the new head of government - Peru's first democratically elected president of Native American ethnicity. The presidential election of 2006 saw the return of Alan GARCIA Perez who, after a disappointing presidential term from 1985 to 1990, has overseen a robust macroeconomic performance.[1]
Economical characteristics
- Currency: Nuevo Sol (ISO code: PEN)
- Central bank discount rate: 1.25% (31 November 2009)[1]
- Commercial banks lending rate: 23.67% (31 December 2008)[1]
- Stock of money (M1): $15.48 billion (31 December 2008)[1]
- Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $25.27 billion (31 December 2008)[1]
Notable events:
- Banking crisis: 1872-1873, 1893-1990, 1999[5]
- Hyperinflation: 1988-1990
- Years in inflation: 13.2% (share of years 1821-2009 with annual inflation above 20 per cent per annum)
- Public default: 1826-1848, 1876-1889, 1931-1951, 1969, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984-1997 (external), 1931-1938, 1985-1987 (domestic)[6]
Statistics
| Statistic / Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (million USD)[7] | 51 510 | 53 290 | 53 936 | 56 772 | 61 347 | 69 725 | 79 385 | 92 320 | 107 492 | 129 109 |
| Govt. debt (% of GDP)[8] | 31.249 | 27.117 | 24.348 | |||||||
| Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[9] | 17.236 | 17.411 | 16.622 | 16.177 | 16.544 | 16.483 | 17.627 | 19.153 | 19.933 | 19.603 |
| Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[10] | 17.352 | 17.871 | 17.599 | 17.000 | 17.014 | 16.648 | 17.270 | 16.412 | 16.996 | 16.525 |
| Debt to revenue (years) | 1.632 | 1.360 | 1.242 |
References
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Peru", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Peru", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ Transparency International. "Peru", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ Doing Business. "Peru", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 378. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
- ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart. "This Time is Different Chartbook: Country Histories on Debt, Default, and Financial Crises" (pdf), March 3, 2010, p. 88. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
- ↑ World Bank. "Peru: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ World Bank. "Peru: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ World Bank. "Peru: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
- ↑ World Bank. "Peru: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-28.
Links
- Peru on Wikipedia
- Central bank of Peru
- Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
- Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
- BBC country profile
- Peru: What Happened on the Way to the Free Market (pdf), by Murray N. Rothbard, July 1990
- Free-Banking and Financial Stability in Peru (pdf) by Luis Felipe Zegarra, 2013
- In Peru, U.S. dollar counterfeiting "more profitable than cocaine", AP, September 2013
