More Peru (Part II)

English narration

Texto en Español

Peru:

Symbols: Historians said that José San Martín, when he was in Paracas in 1821 saw a bird with red and white colors. Then he decided to use these colors for the flag. Later on partisans in the early 19th century adopted a red-white-red flag resembling that of Spain, but they soon made its stripes vertical. In 1825 the current design was established.

The shield or coat of arms includes figures symbolic of national wealth-the vicuña (a relative of the alpaca), a cinchona tree, (a source of the quinine,) and a yellow cornucopia spilling out gold coins, all framed by a green wreath.

Political divisions: Perú has 24 departments (departamentos) and one constitutional province (provincia constitucional)

The departments are: Amazonas, Ancash, Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Ica, Junin, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco, Piura, Puno, San Martin, Tacna, Tumbes, and Ucayali. The constitutional province is Callao, which is also the most important sea port and it is located west of the City of Lima.

Important events: Many of the main festivals favor the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar. These are often celebrated with great pageantry, especially in highland Indian villages, where the Catholic feast day is usually linked with a traditional agricultural festival. Some of the major events which vary depending of the location include:

Carnaval (February-March), which is particularly popular in the highlands and features numerous water fights and parties.

Inti Raymi (24 June), the greatest of the Inca festivals with spectacular dances and parades (in Cuzco).

Peru's Independence (28 July) which is celebrated two days (28 and 29 July) with military and school parades.

All Souls Day (2 November), celebrated with gifts of food, drink and flowers which are taken to family graves.

Statistics:

Demographic index:
Current population is estimated on 25,232,000 inhabitants approximately. The grown rate is 430,000 people every year.

Birth rate per year Mortality Net growth

609,800 159,900 431,400

Break down by sex:

Men Women

49.6% 50.4%

Comparing with Latin America.

Men Women

49.9% 50.1%

There is a balance between females and males.

Age structure:

0-14 15-64 65 and more

33.9% 61.4% 4.7%

school age working age retired people

Consequently Peru is a young country.

Concentration:
Population of Peru live

71.9% 28.1%

urban area rural area

Metropolitan Lima and other places

Metropolitan Lima Other important cities Rural areas Urban areas

29.1% 22.0% 28.1% 20.8%

Break down by city (thousands)

Metropolitan Lima Arequipa Trujillo Chiclayo Iquitos Piura Chimbote Huancayo Cuzco

7,060 696.9 571.3 469.2 324.0 302.6 298.8 294.7 278.8

Density:

Inhabitants /km2

Inhabitants/square mile

Coast Mountain Jungle Metropolitan Lima Peru

97 23 3 2614 20

248 59 7.7 6691 51

Population lives basically in the coast of the country and Lima.

Projections from 1999 to 2025 from 25.2 millions to

38.6 millions 35.5 millions 32.5 millions

High Medium Low

Keeping the trend.

Education:

1998

None Elementary High School College

8.1 % 30.4 % 41.3 % 20.2 %

Illiterates: 1998 .... 8%.
Infant mortality has dropped from 118 in 1970 to 44 in 1998. 118 children per 1000 born.

Foreign debt:
28,893 millions of dollars.