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PERU
Society

Cities in PERU

Lima

Society

State structure

Congress building PeruCongress building PeruPhoto:Protontorniyo CC 3.0 no changes made

According to the Constitution of December 29, 1993, Peru is a presidential republic and legislative power rests with the Congress or "Congreso Constituyente Democratíco". Congress consists of a 120-member Chamber of Deputies who are elected by direct elections for a period of 5 years. 25 members are directly appointed by the House itself.

Executive power rests with the President, who is elected for a term of office of 5 years. The incumbent president was already allowed to go for a second term for a new term, in 2000 Congress approved a possible third term. If a candidate obtains 56% or more of the votes in direct elections, he is elected, with a lower vote percentage a second round of voting will follow. Since April 2001 elections have been made according to a district system. Voting is compulsory for citizens aged 18 and older (since 1980 also for illiterate people).

The president appoints the prime minister and also heads the armed forces. He also has the power to block legislation if the executive disagrees. For the current political situation see chapter history.

Administrative division

Peru Administrative DivisionPeru Administrative DivisionPhoto:AgainErick CC 3.0 no changes made

Peru is administratively divided into 25 regions and further divided into 156 provinces. The regions are governed by appointed prefects, the districts by a directly elected mayor.

overview regions:

regioncapital xitysurfacepopulation
AmazonasChachapoyas39.249 km2395.000
AncashHuaráz35.826 km21.050.000
ApurimacAbancay20.896 km2420.000
ArequipaArequipa63.345 km21.040.000
AyacuchoAyacuchu43.814 km2530.000
CajamarcaCajamarca33.247 km21.380.000
CallaoCallao147 km2740.000
CuscoCusco71.892 km21.140.000
HuancavelicaHuancavelica22.131 km2425.000
HuánucoHuánaco36.938 km2750.000
IcaIca21.328 km2635.000
JunínHuancayo44.410 km21.170.000
La LibertadTrujillo25.570 km21.450.000
LambayegueChiclayo14.231 km21.055.000
LimaLima34.802 km27.200.000
LoretoIquitos368.852 km2850.000
Madre de DiosPuerto Maldonado85.138 km280.000
MoqueguaMoquegua15.734 km2145.000
PascoCerro de Pasco25.320 km2250.000
PiuraPiura35.892 km21.550.000
PunoPuno71.999 km21.200.000
San MartínMoyobamba51.253 km2700.000
TacnaTacna16.076 km2265.000
TumbesTumbes4.669 km2185.000
UcayaliPucallpa102.411 km2400.000

Education

From 1972, education has been compulsory for children between the ages of seven and sixteen, but unfortunately the educational level in Peru is among the lowest in Latin America. Pupil dropout rate in primary school is up to 40%, and few pupils continue to secondary school. Of all six to eleven year olds, mainly outside the big cities, about 12.7% are without education. In 2000 Peru had about 50,000 educational institutions.

University Lima, PeruUniversity Lima, PeruPhoto: Utec2016 CC 4.0 International no changes made

One third of the fifty or so universities are located in the capital Lima and about half a million students follow a university degree. Qualitatively much better is education at private universities, which, however, is reserved for only a few.

Approx. 13% of the population is illiterate, the majority of which are women. In rural areas, 45% of women cannot read, against 11% of men.

Typically Peru

NAZCA LINES

Nazca is located in the south of Peru, not far from the Pacific Ocean on the Pampa de San José. It is the place of the mysterious drawings that have given rise to the most diverse theories. The lines and figures of Nazca were protected by UNESCO as a cultural world heritage site in December 1994. The lines were discovered in 1939 by the American Paul Kosok of Long Island University.

Nazca Lines PeruNazca Lines, PeruPhoto: Paul Williams CC 2.0 no changes made

The Nazca lines are a series of drawings of birds (including pelican, hummingbird), other animals and geometric figures such as triangles, rectangles and spirals, sometimes with a diameter of up to 300 meters and furthermore there are straight lines of ten kilometers in length.

The figures were made by excavating the desert soil about ten centimeters, revealing a less weathered and lighter colored part of the soil.

It is still unclear who made the enormous drawings. Some archaeologists think of it as an astronomical calendar, others think of copies of certain star constellations that could be used to record the exact movement of the stars. Fantasies think about runways for foreign airships! The figures are believed to have been made between 200 BC. and 600 after. Chr.

Nobel Prize for Literature

The Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa recieved the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was awarded the prize for his striking characterization of power and resistance, the Nobel Committee reported.

Mario Vargas Llosa, PeruMario Vargas Llosa, PeruPhoto: Arild Vågen CC 3.0 Unported no changes made

Vargas Llosa considered the award of the Nobel Prize to him as a recognition of Latin American literature and literature in the Spanish language.


Sources

Le Grand, J.W. / Peru : mensen, politiek, economie, cultuur
Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen : Novib

Luft, A. / Peru
Elmar,

Lyle, G. / Peru
Chelsea House Publishers,

Peru
Cambium,

Peru, Bolivia
Lannoo

Rensink, E. / Peru
Gottmer,

Te gast in Peru
Informatie Verre Reizen

CIA - World Factbook

BBC - Country Profiles

Last updated February 2024
Copyright: Team The World of Info