Marcelo Pinto and Joon-Hyung Yee

Guiding Question:

How does the information in the categories relate to economic growth and the standard of living in that country?

• How does your country compare to the US? You need to address this question under each topic that allows for an answer.

 

Peru (English)

Republica del Peru (Spanish)

 

 

         

http:/ /www.questconnect.org/images/PERU_map2.gif (left)

   http://www.strive4impact.com/callingadvice_files/flags/cheap-calling-to-peru-flag.jpg (right)

Capital:

The capital of Peru, which is Lima, is located on the pacific coast. This city was first founded by Fransisco Pizarro in the year of 1535. Lima is a very polluted city due to all of the low clouds and mist and it is said that you can taste some of the fumes. The weather is very humid and the temperature is very warm year around ranging from about 60 to 80 degrees fahrenheit. This land could be essential for farming, but now there are hardly any plants or trees in Lima, because there have been three major earthquakes that have struck parts of the city. However, there is a lot of shopping done in Peru. Almost 50 percent of visitors that come to Peru, visit Lima. Since many people spend money on shopping and goods, the country makes a lot of money from tourism.

 

Official Government Website:

At the official government website which is, www.peru.gob.pe/ you can see and read about all the recent things that are happening in Peru such as events and nationwide news.

 

Monetary Unit:

The monetary unit for Peru is the nuevo sol. Even, though that this is the monetary unit, US dollars are widely accepted throughout the country. About 3.5 nuevo sol equal up to one US dollar.

 

Chief Exports:

The chief exports are, minerals, petroleum, fish, fish meal, coffee, and textiles. Peru depends a lot of their export money on the resources they have. In colonial Peru, silver and gold were prized commodities but recently, minerals such as lead, copper, zinc, and iron ore have become important export earners. One of the biggest materials that Peru exports is fish meal. It has become a major undertaking. Coffee and textiles are also some of the chief exports. Having many useful exports helps the GDP because then many other countries will buy the exports. If many countries buy the exports, Peru will get more money from the exports, which highers the GDP, which highers the standard of living in the whole country.

 

 

http://www.ftp.pcworld.com/pub/screencams/fish_2.jpg (left)

http://www.greenzer.com/blog/blog_image_store/2009/08/oil-companies-campaign-against-climate-change.jpg (right)

 

Chief Imports:

The chief imports are, machinary and transportation equipment, oil, agriculture imports, and medicine. Like many countries in the world, they receive many imports of oil and machinary. However, having many imports is not so good because then you have to pay the other country which highers their GDP and standard of living, but lowers yours. So, it is good if a country's money from exports are greater or equal to what the country spent on imports.

 

Gross Domestic Product:

The gross domestic product of Peru is 116 billion US dollars which does not even compare to the GDP of the US which is 14.2 trillion dollars. From the big difference, you can predict that the US has more jobs, goods, land, and population. Even though the GDP seems low right now, it has increased tremendously from the past, and it is still increasing.

Balance of Trade:

Exports: US$5.9 billion

Imports: US$8.4 billion

Statistically saying this is a bad balance because the money spent on buying imports, is more money than the money earned from exports. But then again, many countries also similar statistics like this one. To basically summarize this situation up, Peru is right now basically indebt for trade.

 

My Country Overview (Location and Size, Population):

Peru is located in western South America. It is bordered by all countries on the north, south, and east, besides for the Pacific Ocean on the west. The size of Peru in area is about 496,226 square miles which is about the size of Alaska. Peru is the third largest country in all of South America. Similar to the US, Peru has many different environmental conditions throughout the whole country. The three contrasting topographical regions are the coast, highlands, and rainforests. For the good part, Peru contains nearly about 50 rivers which is an extrodinary amount. However, there are a couple of bad things about the location that Peru is in. There are many earthquake and pollution is more easy because the clouds are more low. For example, in June of 2001, There was  an earthquake with a 8.4 magnitude near the coastal region, so it created a tsunami which killed many people and destroyed buildings, farms, and houses.

 

The population as of 2007 was 28,674,757 people. The total population of Peru is ranked 41 out of the 194 nations in the world. This makes the population density, 22 people per square mile. With the economy expanding there is only a couple of things that affect the population. Similar to the US, competition is starting to appear for jobs. Also, the once remembered poor people are not forgotten.

My Government is:

Peru's government is presidential representative democratic republic with a multi-party system. There have been many interesting events in the history of the Peru government. For example, in 1968, military leader took control of the government. Also, in 1992, the constitution was suspended and a new one was written due to the autogolpe.

 

Detailed Overview of my Economy:

Even though the economy of Peru is expanding currently, it did not always expand. For example, from 1960 to 1990, policies were aimed at social reform but it even worsened poverty. Then starting from 1990, the government pursued a bold reform agenda. It strengthened the country as a whole, defeating terrorism and fighting against drugs. Then, starting from 2000, the economy started to expand and in 2004, the government expanded by 4.8 percent. Even though in 2005 the inflation rate went up by 2.1 percent, it still did not have a major problem in the economy. The problem now is that even though the economy is expanding, like the US, the unemployment rate is increasing. 

 

 

Unemployment Rate:

The current unemployment rate of Peru is about 8.4 percent. Even though it is still not as high as the US's unemployment rate which is currently at 9.4 percent. This is still a major increase from the recent years. As I mentioned earlier this huge increase is probably due to all the competition and also from the people that are migrating here from other countries. 

 

Percentage of Population Under the Poverty Line:

The percentage of the population that is under the poverty line for Peru is about 39 percent. This is very high compared to the US percentage which is only 12 percent. Peru's percentage is probably more higher because it is less developed and less organized than America.

 

Foreign Aid/Grantz:

Right now Peru is getting foreign aid from countries such as the US, The US support Peru with food and medicine. US does not need foreign aid becase they have all the supplies and materials to make all the medicine and people in the US have many oppurtunities to learn about medical. However in Peru, they have to import medicine because they do not have all the supplies to make the medicine.

 

Taxation Policy:

The basic corporate tax rate in Peru is 30 percent. There is also only a 4.1 percent tax on the distributions of dividends to nonresidents and individuals. The personal income tax though, gets charged at progressive rates. The rates are 15, 21, and 30 percent. Also, there is the main consumption tax which is the value-added tax with a standard rate of 19 percent. After the main taxes, there are other taxes such as excise, social security, and healthcare.

 

Economic Sectors:

Services 66%

• Tourism, financial services, and retail.
• Tourist industry into two categories: ecotourism and historical/ cultural tourism.

Agriculture 5%

• Cotton, sugar, rice, cocoa, tobacco, and coffee.
• Divided between two sectors: small- scale farming and export-oriented production.

Industry 29%

• Fishing, mining, and manufacturing.
• Facts: Peru catches 10% of the world's fish. Peru is in top 5 producers of lead and zinc.

International Trade:

trade from peru provides a a lot of the asparagus that is on the american market, peru also exports a lot of fruit such as oranges, mangoes, and avocado, Peru also exports a lot of fish, and cooper.

 

Name of Stock Exchange:

 

 

Natural Resources:

 

Cooper, coal, natural gas. 

Environmental Issues:

the rainforest in peru is rapidly being cut down, and in big citties such as Lioma, and Arequipa, smog levels are rising rapidly.

 

 

Net Migration Rate/Migration Section

the migration rate in peru is -0.95 out of 1000 people. this is probably because the opportunities in others parts of the world such as europe and the U.S are a lot better.  

 

Banking and Securities:

 

 

Literacy Rate and Education Expenditures (Education Section):

The literacy rate in peru is 92.9% for the whole population, 96.4% for males, and 89.4% women. compared to theU.S this is a little bit low where it is 99% for both males, and females. Peru spends 2.4% of its Gdp on education, that falls low compared to The american 3.1% in peru, public education is 11 grades long, and college is not nearly as expensive as it is in america. In peru, practically all schools use an school uniform.

 

 

Consumption Section:

• Electricity consumption
•  Oil consumption
• Exports and imports
• Internet users

 

Future Trends:

 

Peru will probably grow into a very strong economy n the future because of its many exports, and rapidly growing economy, although peru has been hit by the economic crysis, the impact on peru has not been very stong, so the economy will probably recover very fast.

 

 

 

Current Event found in the Business Section of the New York Times:

 Growth.pdf

 

This article basically talks about what big improvement Peru has made in the recent years. Even though Peru has poverty in a few places, they are growing in the economy. This can relate to economics because people are happy now and that is one of the main things that shows how the economy is doing. People can make a living by working now which makes them happy, and happiness leads to a growth in the economy. Even though life in Peru is very happy for many people, some people say that the economy is very bad now. They say that it is very bad because the poor are getting forgotten now. -Joon-Hyung Yee

 

This article talks about how Peru has recently improved economically. How many Peruvians are very happy, and improving economically. It talks about how some people are getting angry because they think that the poor are being forgotten.  It also points out that even though the economy has flourished recently, Peruvians are ready to forget the former president, and are opting to go with a nationalist, or a proven bad leader instead of heading for globalization. It talks of how the prime minister talks about how people want change, and most candidates only offer quick changes that will not last for long.

Marcelo Pinto

 

Works Cited:

"Peru." Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations. 12th ed. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2007. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History/ Print.

 

Crossette, Barbara. "Ire in Congress Delays Nicaragua Aid as U.S. Resumes Help for Peru.(Foreign Desk)." The New York Times (June 4, 1992) Foreign Desk: Global Issues In Context. Gale. INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL. 16 Dec. 2009. <http://find.galegroup.com/gic/start.do?prodId=GIC>. Print.

 

16 December 2009. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Americas/Peru.html

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