Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Peru
conventional short form: Peru
local long form: Republica del Peru
local short form: Peru
etymology: exact meaning is obscure, but the name may derive from a native word "biru" meaning "river"

Government type:
presidential republic

Capital:
name: Lima
geographic coordinates: 12 03 S, 77 03 W
time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
etymology: the word "Lima" derives from the Spanish pronunciation of "Limaq," the native name for the valley in which the city was founded in 1535; "limaq" means "talker" in coastal Quechua and referred to an oracle that was situated in the valley but which was eventually destroyed by the Spanish and replaced with a church

Administrative divisions:
25 regions (regiones, singular - region) and 1 province* (provincia); Amazonas, Ancash, Apurimac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Callao, Cusco, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Ica, Junin, La Libertad, Lambayeque, Lima, Lima*, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Pasco, Piura, Puno, San Martin, Tacna, Tumbes, Ucayali
note: Callao, the largest port in Peru, is also referred to as a constitutional province, the only province of the Callao region

Independence:
28 July 1821 (from Spain)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 28-29 July (1821)

Constitution:
history: several previous; latest promulgated 29 December 1993, enacted 31 December 1993
amendments: proposed by Congress, by the president of the republic with the approval of the "Cabinet, " or by petition of at least 0.3% of voters; passage requires absolute majority approval by the Congress membership, followed by approval in a referendum; a referendum is not required if Congress approves the amendment by greater than two-thirds majority vote in each of two successive sessions; amended many times, last in 2018 (2018)

Legal system:
civil law system

International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: yes
citizenship by descent only: yes
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 2 years

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory until the age of 70
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Martin Alberto VIZCARRA Cornejo (since 23 March 2018); First Vice President (vacant); Second Vice President (vacant); note - the 21 March 2018 resignation of President Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard (since 28 July 2016) was accepted by parliament on 23 March 2018; the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Martin Alberto VIZCARRA Cornejo (since 23 March 2018); First Vice President (vacant); Second Vice President (vacant)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for nonconsecutive terms); election last held on 10 April 2016 with a runoff on 5 June 2016 (next to be held in April 2021)
election results: Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Keiko FUJIMORI Higuchi (Fuerza Popular) 39.9%, Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard (Peruanos Por el Kambio) 21.1%, Veronika MENDOZA (Broad Front) 18.7%, Alfredo BARNECHEA (Popular Action) 7%, Alan GARCIA (APRA) 5.8%, other 7.5%; percent of vote in second round - Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI Godard 50.1%, Keiko FUJIMORI Higuchi 49.9%
note: Prime Minister Vicente Antonio ZEBALLOS Salinas (since 30 September 2019) does not exercise executive power; this power rests with the president

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Congress of the Republic of Peru or Congreso de la Republica del Peru (130 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed party-list proportional representation vote to serve single 5-year terms); note - a referendum held in December 2018 banned congressional reelection, holding members to a single consecutive term
elections: last held on 10 April 2016 with run-off election on 6 June 2016 (next to be held in April 2021); note - President VIZCARRA dissolved the Congress on 30 September 2019 and called new congressional elections for 26 January 2020; the new Congress will serve an abbreviated term, with the next regular election to be held in April 2021
election results: percent of vote by party/coalition - Fuerza Popular 36.3%, PPK 16.5%, Frente Amplio 13.9%, APP 9.2%; APRA 8.3%; AP 7.2%, other 8.6%; seats by party/coalition - Fuerza Popular 73, Frente Amplio 20, PPK 18, APP 9; APRA 5; AP 5; composition - men 94, women 36, percent of women 27.7%

Judicial branch:
highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of 16 judges and divided into civil, criminal, and constitutional-social sectors)
judge selection and term of office: justices proposed by the National Board of Justice (a 7-member independent body), nominated by the president, and confirmed by the Congress; justices can serve until mandatory retirement at age 70
subordinate courts: Court of Constitutional Guarantees; Superior Courts or Cortes Superiores; specialized civil, criminal, and mixed courts; 2 types of peace courts in which professional judges and selected members of the local communities preside

Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Progress (Alianza para el Progreso) or APP [Cesar ACUNA Peralta]American Popular Revolutionary Alliance or APRA
Broad Front (Frente Amplio; also known as El Frente Amplio por Justicia, Vida y Libertad) (coalition includes Nuevo Peru [Veronika Mendoza], Tierra y Libertad [Marco ARANA Zegarra], and Fuerza Social [Susana VILLARAN de la Puente]
Fuerza Popular (formerly Fuerza 2011) [Keiko FUJIMORI Higuchi]
National Solidarity (Solidaridad Nacional) or SN [Luis CASTANEDA Lossio]
Peru Posible or PP (coalition includes Accion Popular and Somos Peru) [Alejandro TOLEDO Manrique]
Peruvian Aprista Party (Partido Aprista Peruano) or PAP [Javier VELASQUEZ Quesquen] (also referred to by its original name Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Americana or APRA)
Peruvian Nationalist Party [Ollanta HUMALA]
Peruvians for Change (Peruanos Por el Kambio) or PPK [Pedro Pablo KUCZYNSKI]
Popular Action (Accion Popular) or AP [Mesias GUEVARA Amasifuen]
Popular Christian Party (Partido Popular Cristiano) or PPC [Lourdes FLORES Nano]

International organization participation:
APEC, BIS, CAN, CD, CELAC, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance, PCA, SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNOCI, UN Security Council (temporary), UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
Ambassador Carlos Jose PAREJA Rios (since 16 September 2016)
chancery: 1700 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 833-9860 through 9869
FAX: [1] (202) 659-8124
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Hartford (CT), Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paterson (NJ), San Francisco, Washington DC

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Krishna R. URS (since 18 October 2017)
telephone: [51] (1) 618-2000
embassy: Avenida La Encalada, Cuadra 17 s/n, Surco, Lima 33
mailing address: P. O. Box 1995, Lima 1; American Embassy (Lima), APO AA 34031-5000
FAX: [51] (1) 618-2397

Flag description:
three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), white, and red with the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a shield bearing a vicuna (representing fauna), a cinchona tree (the source of quinine, signifying flora), and a yellow cornucopia spilling out coins (denoting mineral wealth); red recalls blood shed for independence, white symbolizes peace

National symbol(s):
vicuna (a camelid related to the llama); national colors: red, white

National anthem:
name: "Himno Nacional del Peru" (National Anthem of Peru)
lyrics/music: Jose DE LA TORRE Ugarte/Jose Bernardo ALZEDO
note: adopted 1822; the song won a national anthem contest