PERU+-+Economy

Economy of Peru
Peru is a small country, but it is great for it's size. Peru's population has reached 25 million. There are many different occupations and natural resources. Many people in Peru are in extreme poverty, close to one forth. Most live in rural areas. A majority of Peru's population is found in Lima, Peru's capital city. [as you can see in the picture below, Lima is a very busy city] Lima, Peru

Peru's population has reached 25 million. The unemployment rate of Peru is 7.7%. For the 25 million people with jobs, the chief occupation is farming, but there are still other occupations. Some other jobs are food processing, ship building, and another big occupation is working for lumber industries.

Agriculture is a big part of Peru's economy. Some of the crops they grow are Cocoa, coffee, sugarcane, and coca. Coca is a plant, which Peru is highly familiar with. Peru is one of three counties that grow this plant. The other countries that grow coca are Bolivia, and Columbia. The dried leaves turn into a narcotic called cocaine.

Zinc, lead, copper, and silver are some natural resources Peru has many of. Peru is one of the worlds leading producers of these natural resources. The production growth rate of Peru is 6.6%. Some products of Peru are fishmeal, sugar, and petroleum. Different industries are mining of minerals, textiles, wood industry, food processing, cement, and clothing. Peru has a number of forests, so this helps the wood industry. Peru's wide farmland is good for making clothing because the Peruvians can grow cotton for material.

Peru has many different exports and imports. Their partners for exporting products are U.S., Mainland China, Japan, Chile, Switzerland, Germany, Brazil, and United Kingdom. The U.S. is where a majority of Peru's exports go. Peru exports many products. Sugarcane and coffee are two big export products. They gain at least 22.69 billion dollars a year from their exports. Now this may seem like a lot of money, and it is more than a lot of its surrounding countries gain, but it's not that much compared to some of the other countries, like Argentina. Importing partners of Peru are many of the same countries as partners for export. Like U.S, Chile, Brazil. Others are Venezuela, and Columbia. Through these countries, Peru imports pharmaceuticals, electronics, and iron/ steel. They spend 15.38 billion dollars a year on imports.

It is hard to communicate, and there is a challenge for transportation in Peru due to the Andes mountain range. Peru is home to the highest railroad tracks in the world, this track is 1,306 miles long. Most of the railroad tracks run through the Andes. people also travel on the streets of Peru. Most streets in Peru are unpaved. There is an average of only one car, every 50 people! This is not a lot. Instead of cars people usually use llamas as pack animals. One major form of Transportation is water travel. People in Peru travel down many rivers in the Amazon river system. Peruvians also travel by airline. Peru has two airlines. They go to all different parts of Peru, and Latin American countries.

Peru's Struggle with Narcotics
One major problem Peruvians have is narcotics. Peru was first introduced to coca by the Incas. Cocaine's travel usually starts in Peru or Columbia, travels to Bolivia, then travels by plane, or ship to the U.S. People in Peru usually don't grow on there own land, instead they sometimes pay a farmer to grow illegal plants for them.

Cocaine, a narcotic in Peru

There are some programs helping children, and even adults, in Peru say no to drugs. There was a guy who died from OD, or overdose of drugs named Chris Farley. He was a very well known movie producer, and was about to launch his acting career. His family started a foundation after his death, named after him, to try to encourage children to say no to drugs/ narcotics. The U.S. government is also getting involved in helping Peru's fight against narcotics. They are donating money. A graph of U.S.'s aid to Peru