Peru

Capital: Lima

Local time:
It is %T:%M %A in Lima

Exchange rate on :

GDP growth rate: 5.734% in 2012

FDI inward stock: 24 744 million USD in 2007

Country risk: See the country risk analysis from Peru provided by Ducroire.

Economic trends

Peru’s economy is one of the most dynamic in Latin America, showing strong growth over the last five years. Recent economic expansion has been driven by construction, mining, investments (particularly for the natural gas project in Camisea region), domestic demand and exports. Unlike its Latin American neighbors such as Brazil and Argentina, the country did not suffer from currency devaluation, thanks to a  vigilant monetary policy and a stable currency. The county should succeed in keeping inflation anchored around the 2.5% central target. In the coming years, Peru will have to face two main challenges: poverty (50% of the population is still living below the poverty line) and unemployment, estimated at around 10%.

Main branches of industry

Agriculture contributes around 10% to the country’s GDP and barely employs 1% of the population. The main agricultural products are cotton, sugarcane, coffee, wheat, rice, corn and barley.

The industry sector employs almost 24% of the population. Peru has a large mining industry, which was privatized during the1990s and attracts significant investments. Peru is the world’s second biggest producer of silver, sixth biggest producer of gold and copper, and a considerable supplier of zinc and lead. The country also has significant natural gas and oil reserves, even though it is a net energy importer.

The main manufacturing activities are textiles, consumer goods, food processing and fish products. The tourism sector is also well developed. The tertiary sector contributes around 56% of the GDP.

International trade

Peru is very open to international trade. It is a member of the WTO. Its economy substantially benefits from the Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) with the USA.  Peru’s three main export partners are the United States, China and Chile. The main export commodities are ores, precious stones, copper and oil. The three main import partners are the United States, China and Brazil. Peru mainly imports fuels, machinery, electronic equipment, plastic products and vehicles.