Nationality:
noun: Peruvian(s)
adjective: Peruvian

Ethnic groups:
Amerindian 45%, mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 37%, white 15%, black, Japanese, Chinese, and other 3%

Languages:
Spanish (official) 84.1%, Quechua (official) 13%, Aymara (official) 1.7%, Ashaninka 0.3%, other native languages (includes a large number of minor Amazonian languages) 0.7%, other (includes foreign languages and sign language) 0.2% (2007 est.)

Religions:
Roman Catholic 81.3%, Evangelical 12.5%, other 3.3%, none 2.9% (2007 est.)

Demographic profile:
Peru's urban and coastal communities have benefited much more from recent economic growth than rural, Afro-Peruvian, indigenous, and poor populations of the Amazon and mountain regions. The poverty rate has dropped substantially during the last decade but remains stubbornly high at about 30% (more than 55% in rural areas). After remaining almost static for about a decade, Peru's malnutrition rate began falling in 2005, when the government introduced a coordinated strategy focusing on hygiene, sanitation, and clean water. School enrollment has improved, but achievement scores reflect ongoing problems with educational quality. Many poor children temporarily or permanently drop out of school to help support their families. About a quarter to a third of Peruvian children aged 6 to 14 work, often putting in long hours at hazardous mining or construction sites.
Peru was a country of immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but has become a country of emigration in the last few decades. Beginning in the 19th century, Peru brought in Asian contract laborers mainly to work on coastal plantations. Populations of Chinese and Japanese descent - among the largest in Latin America - are economically and culturally influential in Peru today. Peruvian emigration began rising in the 1980s due to an economic crisis and a violent internal conflict, but outflows have stabilized in the last few years as economic conditions have improved. Nonetheless, more than 2 million Peruvians have emigrated in the last decade, principally to the US, Spain, and Argentina.

Population:
30,147,935 (July 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.3% (male 4,184,330/female 4,040,096)
15-24 years: 19.2% (male 2,894,168/female 2,889,409)
25-54 years: 39.4% (male 5,715,542/female 6,161,540)
55-64 years: 7.3% (male 1,071,688/female 1,125,100)
65 years and over: 6.7% (male 979,854/female 1,086,208) (2014 est.)
population pyramid:

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 53.7 %
youth dependency ratio: 43.6 %
elderly dependency ratio: 10 %
potential support ratio: 10 (2014 est.)

Median age:
total: 27 years
male: 26.3 years
female: 27.7 years (2014 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.99% (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
18.57 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
5.99 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 165
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
-2.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 175
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Urbanization:
urban population: 77.3% of total population (2011)
rate of urbanization: 1.55% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas - population:
LIMA (capital) 9.13 million; Arequipa 804,000 (2011)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth:
22.2
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2013 est.)
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]

Maternal mortality rate:
67 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 90
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 20.21 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 90
male: 22.44 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 17.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.23 years
country comparison to the world: 127
male: 71.23 years
female: 75.33 years (2014 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.22 children born/woman (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 101
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
68.9% (2011)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
4.8% of GDP (2011)
country comparison to the world: 145
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Physicians density:
0.92 physicians/1,000 population (2009)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
1.5 beds/1,000 population (2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 91.2% of population
rural: 71.6% of population
total: 86.8% of population
unimproved:
urban: 8.8% of population
rural: 28.4% of population
total: 13.2% of population (2012 est.)

Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 81.2% of population
rural: 44.8% of population
total: 73.1% of population
unimproved:
urban: 18.8% of population
rural: 55.2% of population
total: 26.9% of population (2012 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.4% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
75,500 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
4,100 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 45
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease: dengue fever, malaria, and Bartonellosis (Oroya fever) (2013)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
15.7% (2008)
country comparison to the world: 117
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
4.5% (2008)
country comparison to the world: 93
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
2.8% of GDP (2012)
country comparison to the world: 145
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 89.6%
male: 94.9%
female: 84.6% (2007 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 13 years
male: 13 years
female: 13 years (2010)

Child labor - children ages 5-14:
total number: 2,545,855
percentage: 34 %
note: data represents children ages 5-17 (2007 est.)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 9.5%
country comparison to the world: 111
male: 9.4%
female: 9.7% (2011)