Peru
Lima · South America
Peru is a country in South America. Its capital city is Lima, the official currency is the Sol, and the main language is Spanish.
With a population of roughly 34.4 million people spread over 1,285,216 km², Peru is the 45th most populous country in the world and the 19th largest by area. That works out at about 27 people per square kilometre.
Peru shares land borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile — 5 neighbours in all. Its largest urban centres are Lima, Arequipa and Trujillo. The highest point in the country is Huascarán, at 6,768 metres.
For scale, it covers almost exactly the same area as Chad, while its population is closest to that of Yemen.
- Capital
- Lima
- Region
- South America
- Population
- 34,400,000
- Area
- 1,285,216 km²
- Currency
- Sol
- Main language
- Spanish
- Highest point
- Huascarán
6,768 m - Land borders
- 5
Peru: things worth knowing
- Machu Picchu, built in the 15th century, was never found by the Spanish and stayed largely unknown outside the region until 1911.
- Peru shares Lake Titicaca with Bolivia, the highest navigable lake in the world.
- The potato was domesticated in the Peruvian Andes, where thousands of varieties are still grown.
Peru in context
South America has 12 sovereign countries in total. Peru ranks 4th among them by population.
See the full list of South America countries, or browse all 195 countries.