- Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacifi
c Ocean. - Lima is the capital of Peru.
- Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico civilization, one of the oldest in the world, and to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian America.
- Peru is roughly the size of Alaska.
- Peru is home of the Nazca Lines, football field sized drawings built for unknown purposes. Most of the drawing weren’t even discovered until viewed from the air.
- Peru has roughly 1,500 miles of coastline on the Pacific Ocean.
- Peru is a representative democratic republic divided into 25 regions.
- Spain ruled Peru for nearly three hundred years starting in the early 16th century.
- The Incan Empire was based in Peru, with the famous Machu Picchu in the Andes being the best known location. It was discovered in 1911.
- Peru was the last Spanish colony in South America.
- The Peruvian population, estimated at 29 million, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Europeans, Africans and Asians.
- Spain introduced Christianity to Peru and forced locals to take Spanish names.
- Leftist guerrilla groups including Shining Path and Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement tried to overthrow the government for 20 years from 1980 to 2000.
- Peru achieved independence from Spain on July 28, 1821.
- Natural resources include copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower and natural gas.
- The climate varies from tropical in the east to dry desert in the west and temperate to frigid in the Andes.
- The main spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechua or other native languages.
- A remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316 m peak, is the ultimate source of the Amazon River.
- Peru shares control of Lake Titicaca, the world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia.
- As of 2009, the population of Peru was 29,000,000 people.
- In 1995, Peru was the biggest cocaine producer in the world. Production rates have dropped, but opium production is on the rise.
- Peru's main agricultural crops are coffee, cotton, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, corn, plantains, grapes, oranges, coca; poultry, beef, dairy products and fish.
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