Area comparison map:

almost twice the size of Texas; slightly smaller than Alaska

Land boundaries:
total: 7,062 km
[see also: Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
border countries (5): Bolivia 1212 km, Brazil 2659 km, Chile 168 km, Colombia 1494 km, Ecuador 1529 km

Coastline:
2,414 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
continental shelf: 200 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]

Climate:
varies from tropical in east to dry desert in west; temperate to frigid in Andes
More Climate Details

Terrain:
western coastal plain (costa), high and rugged Andes in center (sierra), eastern lowland jungle of Amazon Basin (selva)

Elevation:
mean elevation: 1,555 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Nevado Huascaran 6,746 m

Natural resources:
copper, silver, gold, petroleum, timber, fish, iron ore, coal, phosphate, potash, hydropower, natural gas

Land use:
agricultural land: 18.8% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 3.1% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 1.1% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 14.6% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 53% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 28.2% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
25,800 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population distribution:
approximately one-third of the population resides along the desert coastal belt in the west, with a strong focus on the capital city of Lima; the Andean highlands, or sierra, which is strongly identified with the country's Amerindian population, contains roughly half of the overall population; the eastern slopes of the Andes, and adjoining rainforest, are sparsely populated

Natural hazards:
earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity

volcanism: volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains; Ubinas (5,672 m), which last erupted in 2009, is the country's most active volcano; other historically active volcanoes include El Misti, Huaynaputina, Sabancaya, and Yucamane; see note 2 under "Geography - note"

Environment - current issues:
deforestation (some the result of illegal logging); overgrazing of the slopes of the costa and sierra leading to soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Lima; pollution of rivers and coastal waters from municipal and mining wastes; overfishing

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

note 1: shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Bolivia; a remote slope of Nevado Mismi, a 5,316 m peak, is the ultimate source of the Amazon River

note 2: Peru is one of the countries along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire

note 3: on 19 February 1600, Mount Huaynaputina in the southern Peruvian Andes erupted in the largest volcanic explosion in South America in historical times; intermittent eruptions lasted until 5 March 1600 and pumped an estimated 16 to 32 million metric tons of particulates into the atmosphere reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the earth's surface and affecting weather worldwide; over the next two and a half years, millions died around the globe in famines from bitterly cold winters, cool summers, and the loss of crops and animals

note 4: the southern regions of Peru and the extreme northwestern part of Bolivia are considered to be the place of origin for the common potato