Peru

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, and on the south by Chile. On the west, it overlooks the Pacific Ocean, and its capital is Lima

Peru was home to the Norte Chico civilization, one of the oldest civilizations in the world, and was followed by the Inca Empire, the largest country in pre-Columbian America. The area was occupied by the Spanish Empire in the 16th century and declared a vassal of the Spanish Crown. After independence in 1821, Peru experienced periods of political turmoil, financial crises, and periods of stability and economic prosperity

The Andes Mountains run parallel to the Pacific Ocean and divide the country into three geographical regions. The coast is to the west, which is a narrow and largely arid plain, with the exception of valleys created by seasonal rivers. The highlands is a region of the Andes and includes the Altiplano plateau, as well as the highest peak in the country, Hoskaran, with a height of 6,768 m (22,205 ft). The third region is the forest region, which is a large expanse of flat land covered by the Amazon rainforest extending to the east. About 60% of the country is located within this region (70 million hectares / 172,973,767 acres or 700,000 km2 / 270,272 square miles), which gives Peru the fourth largest area of ​​tropical forests in the world after Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia

Peru, unlike other tropical countries, does not have a special tropical climate. The Andes Mountains and the Humboldt Current play an important role in the great climate diversity of the country. The coast has moderate temperatures, low rains and high humidity, with the exception of the warmer and wetter northern regions. In the highlands, summer rain prevails, and temperatures and humidity decrease with altitude reaching the frozen peaks of the Andes

Forest areas are characterized by heavy rainfall and high temperatures, except for its cold southern side in winter and with monsoon rains. Due to the diversity of its geography and climate, Peru has a high biodiversity with 21,462 species of plants and animals according to 2003 reports, of which 5855 are of Peruvian origin. The Peruvian government has created several protected areas for their conservation

Most of Peru's rivers originate in the peaks of the Andes and drain into one of three basins. What flows into the Pacific Ocean is deep, short and flows only intermittently. The tributaries of the Amazon River are longer, flow much more and are less deep once they exit the heights. The rivers that flow into Lake Titicaca are generally short and have a large flow. The longest rivers in Peru are the Ucayali, Marañon, Putumayo, Yavari, Huallaga, Urubamba, Mantaro and Amazonia

Peru is a country with a diverse climate and surface, which made Peru an important agricultural country. A study showed that the crops of squash, peanuts, and cotton were cultivated in Peru about 10,000 years ago. Today, agricultural commodities such as asparagus, potatoes, corn, rice, and coffee are grown in Peru. Agriculture in Peru uses synthetic fertilizers in place of abundant bird droppings. Corn in Peru is not for export due to the large subsidies that Europe and the United States provide to high-cost producers, but coffee is for export. In recent years, Peru has become the world's leading exporter of high-quality organic coffee

Peru’s economy ranks 43rd in the world. Peru’s economy has grown substantially in the past 15 years. The country is considered an emerging market, according to Morgan Stanley Capital International, due to political and economic stability, improvement in terms of trade and investment, and high consumption. The diversification of the economy is constantly increasing but it is still dependent on exporting goods. Trade and industries are concentrated in Lima but agricultural exports have created development in all regions. As of 2010, the GDP per capita in purchasing power parity is roughly $ 10,000. The Human Development Index is high in Peru to score 0.806, according to the 2008 report

Peru is a multi-ethnic country made up of the amalgamation of different groups over five centuries. Native Americans inhabited Peru for several thousand years before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. The country's population declined from 9 million in an estimate of the 1620s to about 600,000 in 1620, mainly due to infectious diseases

 Laws were written to protect the indigenous population but are not always followed by the Peruvian government or companies such as Perinco, Repsol and Petrobras who seek to explore the natural resources on their lands. In 1994 Peru ratified the existing international law on indigenous peoples, the 1989 Indigenous Peoples and Tribes Convention

Spaniards and Africans arrived in large numbers under colonial rule and mingled on a large scale with each other and with indigenous peoples. After independence there was gradual European immigration from England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The Chinese arrived in the 1850s and replaced slave laborers and have since become highly influential in Peruvian society. Other groups include Arab and Japanese immigrants. Given the high rate of ethnic disparity in Peru, ethnic groups can be classified as follows: 31-45% of American Indians, 37% of mestizos (a mixture of Amerindians and Europeans), 15% of Europeans, 3% of Africans, Japanese, Chinese and others