Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
Independence date
28 July 1821 (from Spain)
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
Religions
Roman Catholic 81%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.4%, other Christian 0.7%, other 0.6%, unspecified or none 16.3% (2003 est.)
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Languages
Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
nuevo sol (PEN) per US dollar - 2.9322 (2008 est.), 3.1731 (2007), 3.2742 (2006), 3.2958 (2005), 3.4132 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.500%
4.060%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
110
Location
Western South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Chile and Ecuador
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Area
1,285,216 km sq
9,826,675 km sq
Coastline
2,414 km
19,924 km
Climate
varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
