Peru 🇵🇪
Peru is a country in South America with a population of 34,049,588. Its capital is Lima. The official currency is PEN, and the main languages are Spanish.
Quick facts
- Capital: Lima
- Continent: South America
- Population: 34,049,588
- Area: 1,285,216 km²
- Density: 26.5 people per km²
- Currency: PEN
- Languages: Spanish
- ISO code: PE
Where Peru sits
Peru 🇵🇪 is one of 12 countries in South America, with its capital at Lima. It covers 1,285,216 square kilometres — 19th in the world — and is home to about 34,049,588 people, 44th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela and Chile. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Peru compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Peru sits closest to Malaysia and Yemen. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Chad and Niger.
At 26.5 people per square kilometre it is about 2.2 times below the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by area than by population, so it is more spacious than its population alone suggests.
Spanish is an official language in 20 countries here, among them Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Colombia, and 15 others. The PEN is used by Peru and no one else.
To see Peru next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Peru
Lima was founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535 as the 'City of Kings', in the desert on the Pacific coast. Think 'Lima by the sea'. For the flag, red-white-red standing upright, like Canada's colours without the leaf.
The flag of Peru: red and white
🇵🇪 The flag is three vertical stripes of red, white and red; the state version adds the coat of arms in the centre. Red stands for the blood shed for independence and white for peace. On the coat of arms, a vicuña stands for the animals, a cinchona tree (the source of quinine) for the plants, and a cornucopia of coins for mineral wealth.
Region and neighbours
Peru is a country in western South America, on the Pacific coast, stretching from the coastal desert over the Andes mountains to the Amazon rainforest in the east. It shares land borders with 5 countries: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile.
- Ecuador 🇪🇨 — capital Quito
- Colombia 🇨🇴 — capital Bogotá
- Brazil 🇧🇷 — capital BrasÃlia
- Bolivia 🇧🇴 — capital Sucre
- Chile 🇨🇱 — capital Santiago
Three facts about Peru
- The Inca Empire, centred in Peru, was the largest known state in the Americas before Columbus, and Machu Picchu is its best-known site.
- Huascarán, 6,768 m high in the Andes, is the highest peak in Peru.
- Lake Titicaca, high in the Andes, lies in both Peru and Bolivia.
Sources: Wikipedia: Peru, Wikipedia: Flag of Peru, Wikipedia: Lima, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Peru
- South American capitals quiz — match Peru to Lima
- South American flags quiz — spot the Peru flag among its neighbours
Quizzes that include Peru
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Peru those are:
- South America map quiz — place it on a blank map
- South America flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- South America capitals quiz — match it to Lima
- Peru capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Peru
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Peru
- Capital of Peru: Lima — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 12 countries of South America
Nearby countries
- Argentina 🇦🇷 — capital Buenos Aires
- Bolivia 🇧🇴 — capital Sucre
- Brazil 🇧🇷 — capital BrasÃlia
- Chile 🇨🇱 — capital Santiago
- Colombia 🇨🇴 — capital Bogotá
- Ecuador 🇪🇨 — capital Quito
- Guyana 🇬🇾 — capital Georgetown
- Paraguay 🇵🇾 — capital Asunción
- Suriname 🇸🇷 — capital Paramaribo
- Uruguay 🇺🇾 — capital Montevideo
- Venezuela 🇻🇪 — capital Caracas
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Peru flag?
The flag of Peru is three vertical stripes of red, white and red; the state version adds the coat of arms in the centre. Red stands for the blood shed for independence and white for peace. On the coat of arms, a vicuña stands for the animals, a cinchona tree (the source of quinine) for the plants, and a cornucopia of coins for mineral wealth.
Which countries border Peru?
Peru shares land borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile.
How can I remember the capital of Peru?
Lima was founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535 as the 'City of Kings', in the desert on the Pacific coast. Think 'Lima by the sea'. For the flag, red-white-red standing upright, like Canada's colours without the leaf.