ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Peru. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Peru. Peruvians can change their government through free and fair elections. Peru's financial woes are the most notable factor contributing to spiraling national crime. The National Statistics Institute estimates that rapid increases in poverty have placed fully half the population in need, with one-third of the indigent population of 12 million living in extreme poverty. Racism against Peru's large Indian population has been prevalent among the middle and upper classes, although the Fujimori government made some effort to combat it and Toledo's election is considered a watershed.
