Economy - overview Thanks to strong foreign investment and the cooperation between the government and the IMF and World Bank, growth was strong in 1994-97 and inflation was brought under control. In 1998, El Nino's impact on agriculture, the financial crisis in Asia, and instability in Brazilian markets undercut growth. And 1999 was another lean year for Peru, with the aftermath of El Nino and the Asian financial crisis working its way through the economy. Political instability resulting from the presidential election and FUJIMORI's subsequent departure from office limited growth in 2000. The downturn in the global economy further depressed growth in 2001. President TOLEDO, who assumed the presidency in July 2001, is working to reinvigorate the economy and reduce unemployment. Economic growth in 2002 is projected to be 3 to 3.5%.

GDP purchasing power parity - $132 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate -0.3% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 10%
industry: 35%
services: 55% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line 50% (2000 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 35.4% (1996)

Distribution of family income - Gini index 46.2 (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 1.5% (2001 est.)

Labor force 7.5 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation agriculture, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, construction, transport, services

Unemployment rate 9%; widespread underemployment (2001 est.)

Budget
revenues: $10.4 billion
expenditures: $10.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)

Industries mining of metals, petroleum, fishing, textiles, clothing, food processing, cement, auto assembly, steel, shipbuilding, metal fabrication

Industrial production growth rate 1.5% (2001 est.)

Electricity - production 19.679 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 17.89%
hydro: 81.38%
other: 0.73% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 18.301 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products coffee, cotton, sugarcane, rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, plantains, coca; poultry, beef, dairy products, wool; fish

Exports $7.3 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)

Exports - commodities fish and fish products, gold, copper, zinc, crude petroleum and byproducts, lead, coffee, sugar, cotton

Exports - partners US 28%, UK 8%, Switzerland 8%, China 6%, Japan, Chile, Brazil (2000)

Imports $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)

Imports - commodities machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum, iron and steel, chemicals, pharmaceuticals

Imports - partners US 27%, Chile 8%, Spain 6%, Venezuela 4%, Colombia, Brazil, Japan (2000)

Debt - external $33.1 billion (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient $895.1 million (1995)

Currency nuevo sol (PEN)

Currency code PEN

Exchange rates nuevo sol per US dollar - 3.4400 (November 2001), 3.509 (2001), 3.4900 (2000), 3.3833 (1999), 2.9300 (1998), 2.6642 (1997)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Peru on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Peru Economy 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Peru Economy 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.