Peru Economy Profile 2013

Economy - overview

Peru's economy reflects its varied geography - an arid lowland coastal region, the central high sierra of the Andes, the dense forest of the Amazon, with tropical lands bordering Colombia and Brazil. A wide range of important mineral resources are found in the mountainous and coastal areas, and Peru's coastal waters provide excellent fishing grounds. The Peruvian economy has been growing by an average of 6.4% per year since 2002 with a stable/slightly appreciating exchange rate and low inflation, which in 2013 is expected to be below the Central Bank target of 3 percent. Growth has been in the 6-9% range for the last three years, due partly to a leap in private investment, especially in the extractive sector, which accounts for more than 60% of Peru's total exports. Despite Peru's strong macroeconomic performance, dependence on minerals and metals exports and imported foodstuffs subjects the economy to fluctuations in world prices. Poor infrastructure hinders the spread of growth to Peru's non-coastal areas. Peru's rapid expansion coupled with cash transfers and other programs have helped to reduce the national poverty rate by 23 percentage points since 2002, but inequality persists and continues to pose a challenge for the new Ollanta HUMALA administration, which has championed a policy of social inclusion and a more equitable distribution of income. Peru's free trade policy has continued under the HUMALA administration; since 2006, Peru has signed trade deals with the US, Canada, Singapore, China, Korea, Mexico, and Japan, concluded negotiations with the European Free Trade Association and Chile, and begun trade talks with Central American countries and others. Peru also has signed a trade pact with Chile, Colombia, and Mexico called the Pacific Alliance that rivals Mercosur in combined population, GDP, and trade. The US-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement entered into force 1 February 2009, opening the way to greater trade and investment between the two economies. Trade agreements with South Korea, Japan, and Mexico also were signed in 2011. Although Peru has continued to attract foreign investment, political disputes and protests may impede development of some projects related to natural resource extraction.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$325.4 billion (2012 est.)
$306.9 billion (2011 est.)
$287 billion (2010 est.)
note: data are in 2012 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$200.3 billion (2012 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

6% (2012 est.)
6.9% (2011 est.)
8.8% (2010 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$10,700 (2012 est.)
$10,200 (2011 est.)
$9,700 (2010 est.)
note: data are in 2012 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 7.8%
industry: 33.9%
services: 58.4% (2012 est.)

Population below poverty line

31.3% (2010 est.)

Labor force

15.9 million
note: individuals older than 14 years of age (2011 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 0.7%
industry: 23.8%
services: 75.5% (2005)

Unemployment rate

7.7% (2012 est.)
7.9% (2011 est.)
note: data are for metropolitan Lima; widespread underemployment

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 14%
male: 12.5%
female: 15.6% (2008)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 36.1% (2010 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

46 (2010)
51 (2005)

Investment (gross fixed)

25.4% of GDP (2012 est.)

Budget

revenues: $58.15 billion
expenditures: $56.42 billion (2012 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

29% of GDP (2012 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

0.9% of GDP (2012 est.)

Public debt

18.3% of GDP (2012 est.)
19.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
note: data cover general government debt, and includes debt instruments issued by government entities other than the treasury; the data exclude treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.6% (2012 est.)
3.4% (2011 est.)
note: data are for metropolitan Lima, annual average

Central bank discount rate

5.05% (31 December 2011)
3.8% (31 December 2010)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

19.7% (31 December 2012 est.)
18.69% (31 December 2011 est.)
note: domestic currency lending rate

Stock of narrow money

$27.64 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
$25.35 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of money

$15.48 billion (31 December 2008)
$14.66 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money

$25.27 billion (31 December 2008)
$19.95 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of broad money

$73.97 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
$64.6 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$37.63 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
$33.37 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$121.6 billion (31 December 2011)
$160.9 billion (31 December 2010)
$107.3 billion (31 December 2009)

Agriculture - products

asparagus, coffee, cocoa, cotton, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, corn, plantains, grapes, oranges, pineapples, guavas, bananas, apples, lemons, pears, coca, tomatoes, mangoes, barley, medicinal plants, palm oil, marigold, onion, wheat, dry beans; poultry, beef, pork, dairy products; guinea pigs; fish

Industries

mining and refining of minerals; steel, metal fabrication; petroleum extraction and refining, natural gas and natural gas liquefaction; fishing and fish processing, cement, glass, textiles, clothing, food processing, beer, soft drinks, rubber, machinery, electrical machinery, chemicals, furniture

Industrial production growth rate

5% (2011 est.)

Current Account Balance

-$4.856 billion (2012 est.)
-$2.267 billion (2011 est.)

Exports

$47.38 billion (2012 est.)
$46.27 billion (2011 est.)

Exports - commodities

copper, gold, lead, zinc, tin, iron ore, molybdenum, silver; crude petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas; coffee, asparagus and other vegetables, fruit, apparel and textiles, fishmeal, fish, chemicals, fabricated metal products and machinery, alloys

Exports - partners

China 18.3%, US 15.2%, Canada 11.4%, Japan 5.4%, Spain 5.3%, Chile 4.8%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4.1% (2011)

Imports

$41.15 billion (2012 est.)
$36.97 billion (2011 est.)

Imports - commodities

petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, plastics, machinery, vehicles, color TV sets, power shovels, front-end loaders, telephones and telecommunication equipment, iron and steel, wheat, corn, soybean products, paper, cotton, vaccines and medicines

Imports - partners

US 24.5%, China 13.7%, Brazil 6.7%, Chile 5.9%, Ecuador 4.4%, South Korea 4% (2011)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$61.3 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
$48.93 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Debt - external

$38.91 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
$37.39 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
note: public debt component of total: $20.6 billion (31 December 2009)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$59.49 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
$49.8 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$3.597 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
$3.432 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Exchange rates

nuevo sol (PEN) per US dollar -
2.65 (2012 est.)
2.7541 (2011 est.)
2.8251 (2010 est.)
3.0115 (2009)
2.91 (2008)

Fiscal year

calendar year