You are here -allRefer - Reference - Country Study & Country Guide - Peru >

allRefer Reference and Encyclopedia Resource

allRefer    
allRefer
   


-- Country Study & Guide --     

 

Peru

 
Country Guide
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belize
Bhutan
Bolivia
Brazil
Bulgaria
Cambodia
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Caribbean Islands
Comoros
Cyprus
Czechoslovakia
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Estonia
Ethiopia
Finland
Georgia
Germany
Germany (East)
Ghana
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Cote d'Ivoire
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Laos
Lebanon
Libya
Lithuania
Macau
Madagascar
Maldives
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Moldova
Mongolia
Nepal
Nicaragua
Nigeria
North Korea
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Seychelles
Singapore
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
Soviet Union [USSR]
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Syria
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkmenistan
Turkey
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yugoslavia
Zaire

Peru

SOCIETY

Population: 22,767,543 in July 1992 with 2.0 percent growth rate; density, 17.8 persons per square kilometer. Projected population growth to 28 million by 2000 with annual growth rate of at least 2.1 percent. Population 70 percent urban in 1991.

Education and Literacy: Three-level, eleven-year educational system based on reforms made after the 1968 revolution. First preprimary level for children up to six years of age. Free, six-year primary education at second level (compulsory) for children between six and fifteen years of age. Five-year secondary education begins at age twelve. In 1990 primary school enrollment ratio 126 percent, but only 58.6 percent of school-age children attended school. Over 27,600 primary schools in 1988; over 5,400 secondary schools in 1990. In 1990 Peru had twenty-seven national and nineteen private universities, all government-regulated and recipients of public funding. Estimated 85 percent literacy rate in 1990 (male 92 percent, female 79 percent) age fifteen and over.

Health: Peru's health indicators poor, with annual public health expenditure per capita of US$18 in 1985-90. In 1992 birth rate 27 births per 1,000 population; infant mortality rate 69 per 1,000 live births; life expectancy 63 years male, 67 years female. Over 25 percent of urban residences and over 90 percent of rural residences lacked potable water and sewerage, resulting in high death rates from infectious diseases. The 1990-91 cholera epidemic ranked behind other more common diseases as cause of death (2,387 cholera deaths as of August 1991). In 1990-92 some 12 million Peruvians suffered extreme poverty. Malnutrition and starvation leading causes of illnesses. In 1991 about 1,200 children died weekly from malnutrition and extreme poverty, while 38 percent of the survivors suffered chronic malnutrition. Total of 21,800 physicians in 1989 (1 per 1,000 persons). In early 1992, abortion considered one of the prime health threats for Peruvian women. According to the Ministry of Public Health, 43 percent of all maternal hospitalizations in Peru resulted from botched abortions. Abortion illegal in Peru except in cases where the mother's life is in danger.

Religion: Predominantly (92.5 percent) Roman Catholic. Protestantism, including Mormonism growing rapidly among urban poor and some indigenous tribes, although accounting for only about 4.5 percent of Peruvians in 1990. Other denominations in 1990 included the Anglican Communion; the Methodist Church, with about 4,200 adherents; and the Bahai Faith.

Official language: Spanish.

Ethnic Groups: Unofficial estimates: Native American, 45 percent; mestizo (mixed native American and European ancestry), 37 percent; white, 15 percent; black, Asian, and other, 3 percent. Other estimates put native Americans as high as 52.5 percent (Quechua, 47.1 percent; Aymara, 5.4 percent).

Data as of September 1992

Peru - TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • COUNTRY PROFILE


  • Go Up - Top of Page

    Make allRefer Reference your HomepageAdd allRefer Reference to your FavoritesGo to Top of PagePrint this PageSend this Page to a Friend


    Information Courtesy: The Library of Congress - Country Studies


    Content on this web site is provided for informational purposes only. We accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by any person resulting from information published on this site. We encourage you to verify any critical information with the relevant authorities.

     

     

     
     


    About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy | Links Directory
    Link to allRefer | Add allRefer Search to your site

    ©allRefer
    All Rights reserved. Site best viewed in 800 x 600 resolution.