What we do

Peru

Peru is the third largest country in South America. The western Amazon basin, which covers more than half the country, is the world’s fourth largest tropical forest and the most relevant reserve of biological diversity on the planet. Policy advances, a series of reforms and a stable macroeconomic framework are helping Peru meet its development challenges. Over the past decade, its economy has grown by more than 5% and the country experienced an impressive reduction in poverty rates (from 54 percent in 2001 to 31.3 percent in 2010). Nonetheless disparities remain high, particularly between rural and urban areas. 10 million people (36.2% of the total population) still live below the poverty line, and almost 3 million (12.6%) in extreme poverty. The decentralization of basic services such as health and education remains incomplete, fuelling a lack of trust in government, poor accountability systems, inadequate legal frameworks, social conflict and slow micro-level economic growth. Achieving a balance between economic growth - especially infrastructure and extractive industry development - and the conservation of Peru’s fragile ecosystem is one of the major challenges. (Sources: UNICEF 2017; UNDP 2018; UNAIDS 2017; World Bank 2017)

total population (thousands)

31,774

GNI per capita

5960$

Life expectancy at birth

75 years

Human Development Index

89 (out of 189)

Under-5 mortality rate

15‰

Primary school net enrolment

94%

Adult HIV prevalence (% of the population)

0.4%

People of all ages living with HIV (thousands)

72

improved access to safe water (% of the population)

90%

moderate-severe underweight (% children under-5)

14%