Regional Geography of Peru/ Southwest
Pacific
Outline
1.
Physical Characteristics
o Relative location
o Landscape and Physical Environment
o Weather and climate
2.
Human Characteristics
o Population, Density and Age/Sex characteristics
o Language and religion
o Cultural/ethnic groups
3.
Economic Characteristics
o Major economic activities
o Imports and Exports
o GNP and GNP per capita
4.
References
Physical Characteristics
The country of Peru is
located along the west coast of South America. Peru is bordered with the
Pacific Ocean to its west, Ecuador to the northwest, Colombia to the northeast,
Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the southeast, and Chile to the south (Moore).
Peru covers an area of 496,225 square miles that stretches among 25 regions.
With Peru being so close to the equator, it is a tropical
country, but also has a vast landscape. Peru is often described with three
regions: the arid coastal plain on the west, the Andes Mountain range in the
center, and the Amazon tropical rainforest on the east (Moore). The coastal
plain can be broken into three sub-regions: north, central, and south, and they
are divided by the level of coastal land (Moore). In the north, the plains
reach up to 50 km wide, with a maximum width of 140 km in the Sechura Desert (Moore). The central region is narrower than
the north and is mostly hills going from the Andes to the coast (Moore). And in
the south, this is the narrowest part and is lined by low mountains (Moore).
The Andes Mountains were created from tectonic plate movement and are like most
mountain ranges in the Pacific Rim, unstable (Moore). This mountain range is
much higher towards central Peru, with its peak, Mount Huascaran, at 22,205
feet (Moore). Going northwest of Arequipa is a volcanic chain that stretches in
northern Chile, which includes Misti volcano (Moore). The tropical Amazonia
occupies over 60% of Peru’s area (Moore). This area is lined with jungle and
has a pretty low elevation.
Within Peru’s three regions are three different climates.
The coastal desert is very dry, along with most of the west coast of South
America (Moore). Uniquely, this is a cool desert, with average temperatures
around 66 F in the winter, and 72 F in the summer (Moore). The mountain climate
varies due elevation (higher up you are, colder it becomes) with permanent
snowfall on most peaks of this mountain range. The winter months in Cuzco are
around 52 F and the summer months average around 47 F (Moore). The tropical
rainforest climate is much different than the other two, averaging as much as
90 inches annually in Iquitos (Moore). Highs in Iquitos reach mid-90 F
temperatures, while the night-time temperatures fall to around 60 F (Moore).
Human Characteristics
According to the
Population Reference Bureau (PRB), Peru has a population of about 32.2 million
people. Some of the dynamics of their population is there are 19 births per
1000 people; there are 6 deaths per 1000 people; the infant mortality rate is
16; and the total fertility rate is 2.4. This is a natural increase of 1.4% and
projects Peru to be at 36.4 million people by 2030. And expects this to jump to
41.1 million people by 2050. Peru has a very young population, with roughly 27%
being under age 15 and only 7% being over age 65. Life expectancy in Peru is 72
for males, 78 for females. Almost 80% of the population lives in urban areas,
with a population of 775 people per square kilometer.
Religion has is large
role in Peruvian history. In the 16th century, when Spanish
conquests were happening, Catholicism was introduced. There is freedom of
religion within Peru, in which Christianity has emerged strong. Almost 94% of
the Peruvian population identify as a type of Christianity, with over 81% as
Catholic and 12% identifying as Evangelical (Culture Atlas). The socio-economic
status of the people typically decide what type of Catholicism is practiced.
The middle-class go by many traditional methods of the Catholic Church, while
poorer-urban practices tend to be more liberal interpretation (Culture Atlas).
Peru is a Spanish-speaking country with several forms of native tongue as well.
The official language is Spanish, while some of the dialects include Quechua,
Aymara, and Ashaninka. These languages are specific
to their regions, Ashaninka coming from the
rainforest, Aymara from the Andes, and Quechua being to a few South American
nations.
The ethnic groups in Peru according to worldatlas.com are
Native Americans (45%), Mestizos (37%), White Europeans (15%), and several
other small ethnic groups to make up the remaining 3%. The Native Americans, or
Amerindians, inhabited the area before European expansion back in the 1500s.
This ethnic group is divided into the Quechuas and the Aymaras
and make up about 13.3 million people. These people are traditional and have
bright colors and customs. Sadly, due to urbanization these traditions are
being lost. The Mestizos are “mixed” between the Amerindians and Europeans and
make up about 11.5 million people. Most of these people are urbanized with
heavy European influences. White Europeans, or white Peruvians, and the third
large population group at around 5 million people.
Economic Characteristics
The Peruvian economy was on a steady incline form 2009-13,
by an average of 5.6% per year. This was due to Peru’s metal and mineral
exports, which account for over half of Peru’s exports. This incline stopped in
2014 and has stayed down since then, due to the worldwide need for these
products being down. This causes a heavy fluctuation in Peru’s economy, basing
it off the need of these products. Peru has free trade with several countries,
including the United States, Canada, Singapore, China, Korea, Mexico, Japan,
and the EU. Peru also has a trade pact with Chile, Colombia, and Mexico
(Pacific Alliance), that seeks the integration of services, capital,
investment, and movement of people (CIA) There are also trade deals with El
Salvador, India, and Turkey. These deals have helped reduce the nation poverty
rate by over 35% since 2004. With lower mining prices siting currently, the
economy has been down, but when mining prices rise again, the economy will get
a boost once again. Peru has a labor force of roughly 17.03 million people,
which is of people age 14 and older (CIA). The labor force is broken down into
almost 26% agriculture, 17% industry, and about 57% services (CIA). Industries
include mining, steel, natural gas liquefaction, fishing, cement, glass,
textiles, clothing, food processing, etc (CIA). The
agricultural products include artichokes, asparagus, avocados, blueberries,
coffee, cocoa, cotton, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, corn, plantains, oranges,
guavas, medicinal plants, dry beans, poultry, beef, pork, etc
(CIA).
Some of Peru’s major
imports include petroleum, chemicals, plastic, vehicles, vehicles, paper,
cotton, corn, wheat, soybean, iron and steel. Their major partners for all
imports include China (22.3%), the United States (20.1%), and Brazil (6%). In
2017 Peru’s imports exceeded $38.65 billion. Some of Peru’s major exports are
copper, gold, lead, silver, natural gas, coffee, fruit, vegetables, fish, and
alloys. Their major partners in exports are China (26.5%), the United States
(15.2%), and Switzerland (5.2%). In 2017 Peru’s exports were roughly $44.92
billion. According to www.ceicdata.com,
Peru’s Gross National Product (GNP) was said to be 203.003 USD in 2017. This is
an increase from 186.545 USD in 2016. T has been on a steady incline over the
last 10 years, where in 2006 this number was at just 81.483 USD. The GNP per
capita is at 6,397.831 USD in June 2017, which is up from 6,038.613 USD in June
2016.
References
Kimutai, K. (2016, October
27). Major Ethnic Groups of Peru. Retrieved April 23, 2019, from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/major-ethnic-groups-of-peru.html
Map. (n.d).
Retrieved April 23, 2019, from https://www.worldpopdata.org/map
Moore, J. P., Davies, T. M., Kus, J. S., Burr, R. N., & Pulgar-Vidal,
J. (2018, October 25). Peru. Retrieved April 23, 2019, from https://www.britannica.com/place/Peru
Peru GDP per Capita [1991 – 2019] [Data
& Charts]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2019, from https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/peru/gdp-per-capita
Pier. (n.d.). Peruvian Culture –
Religion. Retrieved April 23, 2019, from https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/peruvian-culture/religion-1c926493-2368-4796-9ab9-33c4e7957aa3
The World Factbook: Peru. (2018,
February 01). Retrieved April 23, 2019, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geps/pe.html
Submitted by Trey Mumma
on 4.12.2019.