Bahamas, The (2006) | Peru (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay | 25 regions (regiones, singular - region) and 1 province* (provincia); Amazonas, Ancash, Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Callao, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Ica, Junin, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, Lima*, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco, Piura, Puno, San Martin, Tacna, Tumbes, Ucayali |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.5% (male 41,799/female 41,733)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 98,847/female 102,074) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 7,891/female 11,426) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.5% (male 4,479,278/female 4,323,356)
15-64 years: 63.3% (male 8,891,785/female 8,776,343) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 685,179/female 769,687) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | citrus, vegetables; poultry | coffee, cotton, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, corn, plantains, grapes, oranges, coca; poultry, beef, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 64 (2006) | 234 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 29
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 52
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 20 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 22 (2006) |
total: 182
1,524 to 2,437 m: 21 914 to 1,523 m: 62 under 914 m: 99 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
total: 1,285,220 sq km
land: 1.28 million sq km water: 5,220 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly smaller than Alaska |
Background | Lucayan Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. | 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. FUJIMORI won reelection to a third term in the spring of 2000, but international pressure and corruption scandals led to his ouster by Congress in November of that year. A caretaker government oversaw new elections in the spring of 2001, which ushered in Alejandro TOLEDO as the new head of government; his presidency has been hampered by allegations of corruption. |
Birth rate | 17.57 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 20.87 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.03 billion
expenditures: $1.03 billion; including capital expenditures of $130 million (FY04/05) |
revenues: $13.6 billion
expenditures: $14.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.8 billion, for general government, excluding private enterprises (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Nassau
geographic coordinates: 25 05 N, 77 21 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in April; ends last Sunday in October |
Lima |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream | varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes |
Coastline | 3,542 km | 2,414 km |
Constitution | 10 July 1973 | 31 December 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
conventional long form: Republic of Peru
conventional short form: Peru local long form: Republica del Peru local short form: Peru |
Death rate | 9.05 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 6.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $342.6 million (2004 est.) | $29.79 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John D. ROOD
embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; US Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
chief of mission: Ambassador J. Curtis STRUBLE
embassy: Avenida La Encalada, Cuadra 17s/n, Surco, Lima 33 mailing address: P. O. Box 1995, Lima 1; American Embassy (Lima), APO AA 34031-5000 telephone: [51] (1) 434-3000 FAX: [51] (1) 434-3037 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: vacant
chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Eduardo FERRERO Costa
chancery: 1700 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 833-9860 through 9869 FAX: [1] (202) 659-8124 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Denver, Hartford, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paterson (New Jersey), San Francisco, Washington, DC |
Disputes - international | disagrees with the US on the alignment of the maritime boundary; continues to monitor and interdict Haitian refugees fleeing economic privation and political instability | Peru proposes changing its latitudinal maritime boundary with Chile to an equidistance line with a southwestern axis; organized illegal narcotics operations in Colombia have penetrated Peru's shared border; Peru does not support Bolivia's claim to restore maritime access through a sovereign corridor through Chile along the Peruvian border |
Economic aid - recipient | $5 million (2004) | $491 million (2002) |
Economy - overview | The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism together with tourism-driven construction and manufacturing accounts for approximately 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but the slowdown in the US economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 held back growth in these sectors in 2001-03. The current government has presided over a period of economic recovery and an upturn in large-scale private sector investments in tourism. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy, accounting for about 15% of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have left The Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors. | Peru's economy reflects its varied geography - an arid coastal region, the Andes further inland, and tropical lands bordering Colombia and Brazil. Abundant mineral resources are found in the mountainous areas, and Peru's coastal waters provide excellent fishing grounds. However, overdependence on minerals and metals subjects the economy to fluctuations in world prices, and a lack of infrastructure deters trade and investment. After several years of inconsistent economic performance, the Peruvian economy grew by an average 4 percent per year during the period 2002-2004, with a stable exchange rate and low inflation. Risk premiums on Peruvian bonds on secondary markets reached historically low levels in late 2004, reflecting investor optimism regarding the government's prudent fiscal policies and openness to trade and investment. Despite the strong macroeconomic performance, the TOLEDO administration remained unpopular in 2004, and unemployment and poverty have stayed persistently high. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.683 billion kWh (2003) | 20.22 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 1.81 billion kWh (2003) | 22.88 billion kWh (2004 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Nevado Huascaran 6,768 m |
Environment - current issues | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal | deforestation (some the result of illegal logging); overgrazing of the slopes of the costa and sierra leading to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% | Amerindian 45%, mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 37%, white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese, and other 3% |
Exchange rates | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2005), 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001) | nuevo sol per US dollar - 3.4132 (2004), 3.4785 (2003), 3.5165 (2002), 3.5068 (2001), 3.49 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Arthur D. HANNA (since 1 February 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
chief of state: President Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique (since 28 July 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; additionally, the constitution provides for two vice presidents, First Vice President (vacant) and Second Vice President David WAISMAN Rjavinsthi (since 28 July 2001)
head of government: President Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique (since 28 July 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; additionally, the constitution provides for two vice presidents, First Vice President (vacant) and Second Vice President David WAISMAN Rjavinsthi (since 28 July 2001) note: Prime Minister Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI (since 25 August 2005) does not exercise executive power; this power is in the hands of the president cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; special presidential and congressional elections held 8 April 2001, with runoff election held 3 June 2001; next to be held 9 April 2006 election results: President Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique elected president in runoff election; percent of vote - Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique 53.1%, Alan GARCIA 46.9% |
Exports | transhipments of 29,000 bbl/day (2003) | 49,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals, fruit and vegetables | copper, gold, zinc, crude petroleum and petroleum products, coffee |
Exports - partners | US 31%, Spain 29.7%, Poland 9.3%, Germany 5.6%, Guatemala 4.1% (2005) | US 29.5%, China 9.9%, UK 9%, Chile 5.1%, Japan 4.4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side | three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), white, and red with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a shield bearing a vicuna, cinchona tree (the source of quinine), and a yellow cornucopia spilling out gold coins, all framed by a green wreath |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 27% services: 65% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2005 est.) | 4.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 15 N, 76 00 W | 10 00 S, 76 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited | shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia; a remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316 m peak, is the ultimate source of the Amazon River |
Heliports | 1 (2006) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 78,230 km
paved: 10,452 km unpaved: 67,778 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: 27% |
lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 37.2% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center | until 1996 the world's largest coca leaf producer; emerging opium producer; cultivation of coca in Peru fell 15 percent to 31,150 hectares between 2002 and the end of 2003; much of the cocaine base is shipped to neighboring Colombia for processing into cocaine, while finished cocaine is shipped out from Pacific ports to the international drug market; increasing amounts of base and finished cocaine, however, are being moved to Brazil and Bolivia for use in the Southern Cone or transshipped to Europe and Africa |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals | petroleum and petroleum products, plastics, machinery, vehicles, iron and steel, wheat, paper |
Imports - partners | US 22.5%, South Korea 20.2%, Spain 7.8%, Brazil 7.1%, Italy 6.5%, Germany 5.4% (2005) | US 30.3%, Spain 11.5%, Chile 7.2%, Brazil 5.4%, Colombia 5.2% (2004) |
Independence | 10 July 1973 (from UK) | 28 July 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 5.2% (2004 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe | mining and refining of minerals and metals, petroleum extraction and refining, natural gas, fishing and fish processing, textiles, clothing, food processing, steel, metal fabrication |
Infant mortality rate | total: 24.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.29 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 31.94 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 34.53 deaths/1,000 live births female: 29.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% ( 2004) | 3.8% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOM, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), WToO | APEC, CAN, CSN, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (2003) | 11,950 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Privy Council (London); Courts of Appeal; Supreme (lower) Court; magistrates courts | Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (judges are appointed by the National Council of the Judiciary) |
Labor force | 176,300 (2004) | 11 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (2005 est.) | agriculture 9%, industry 18%, services 73% (2001) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 5,536 km
border countries: Bolivia 900 km, Brazil 1,560 km, Chile 160 km, Colombia 1,496 km (est.), Ecuador 1,420 km |
Land use | arable land: 0.58%
permanent crops: 0.29% other: 99.13% (2005) |
arable land: 2.89%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 96.71% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the Parliament and call elections at any time
elections: last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4 |
unicameral Congress of the Republic of Peru or Congreso de la Republica del Peru (120 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 8 April 2001 (next to be held 9 April 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - PP 26.3%, APRA 19.7%, UN 13.8%, FIM 11.0%, others 29.2%; seats by party - PP 47, APRA 28, UN 17, FIM 11, others 17 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 65.6 years
male: 62.24 years female: 69.03 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 69.53 years
male: 67.77 years female: 71.37 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.7% male: 93.5% female: 82.1% (2004 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba | Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 1,177 ships (1000 GRT or over) 37,743,270 GRT/50,918,747 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 253, cargo 250, chemical tanker 64, container 79, liquefied gas 35, livestock carrier 2, passenger 115, passenger/cargo 34, petroleum tanker 175, refrigerated cargo 114, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 5, vehicle carrier 30 foreign-owned: 1,093 (Angola 5, Australia 2, Belgium 13, Canada 18, China 3, Cuba 1, Cyprus 13, Denmark 59, Estonia 1, Finland 8, France 37, Germany 22, Greece 232, Hong Kong 8, Iceland 1, India 1, Indonesia 4, Ireland 2, Israel 1, Italy 5, Japan 51, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Latvia 1, Malaysia 12, Monaco 17, Montenegro 2, Netherlands 24, Nigeria 2, Norway 259, Philippines 1, Poland 15, Reunion 1, Russia 6, Saudi Arabia 12, Singapore 12, Slovenia 1, Spain 12, Sweden 6, Switzerland 2, Thailand 1, Turkey 8, UAE 16, UK 69, Uruguay 2, US 121, Venezuela 1) registered in other countries: 4 (Barbados 1, Liberia 1, Panama 2) (2006) |
total: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 13,666 GRT/17,611 DWT
by type: cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1 foreign-owned: 1 (United States 1) registered in other countries: 14 (2005) |
Military branches | Royal Bahamian Defense Force: Marines, Air Wing (2006) | Army (Ejercito Peruano), Navy (Marina de Guerra del Peru; includes Naval Air, Naval Infantry, and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea del Peru; FAP) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $829.3 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.4% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) | Independence Day, 28 July (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
noun: Peruvian(s)
adjective: Peruvian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage | earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity |
Natural resources | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land | copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas |
Net migration rate | -2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 388 km; oil 1,557 km; refined products 13 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Free National Movement or FNM [Hubert INGRAHAM]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] | Independent Moralizing Front or FIM [Fernando OLIVERA Vega]; National Unity (Unidad Nacional) or UN [Lourdes FLORES Nano]; Peru Posible or PP [David WAISMAN]; Peruvian Aprista Party or PAP (also referred to by its original name Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana or APRA) [Alan GARCIA]; Popular Action or AP [Javier DIAZ Orihuela]; Solucion Popular [Carlos BOLANA]; Somos Peru or SP [Alberto ANDRADE]; Union for Peru or UPP [Roger GUERRA Garcia] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | leftist guerrilla groups include Shining Path [Abimael GUZMAN Reynoso (imprisoned), Gabriel MACARIO (top leader at-large)]; Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement or MRTA [Victor POLAY (imprisoned), Hugo AVALLENEDA Valdez (top leader at-large)] |
Population | 303,770
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
27,925,628 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 9.3% (2004) | 54% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.64% (2006 est.) | 1.36% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Callao, Iquitos, Matarani, Pucallpa, Yurimaguas
note: Iquitos, Pucallpa, and Yurimaguas are on the upper reaches of the Amazon and its tributaries |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2006) | AM 472, FM 198, shortwave 189 (1999) |
Railways | - | total: 3,462 km
standard gauge: 2,962 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 500 km 0.914-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000 census) | Roman Catholic 81%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.4%, other Christian 0.7%, other 0.6%, unspecified or none 16.3% (2003 est.) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory until the age of 70; note - members of the military and national police may not vote |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: country code - 1-242; tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 2 (2005) |
general assessment: adequate for most requirements
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations international: country code - 51; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); Pan American submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 139,900 (2004) | 1,839,200 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 186,000 (2004) | 2,908,800 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (2006) | 13 (plus 112 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills | western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva) |
Total fertility rate | 2.18 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.56 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.2% (2005 est.) | 9.6% in metropolitan Lima; widespread underemployment (2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 8,808 km
note: 8,600 km of navigable tributaries of Amazon system and 208 km of Lago Titicaca (2004) |