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Peru vs. Ecuador

Demographics

PeruEcuador
Population32,201,224 (July 2021 est.)17,093,159 (July 2021 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 25.43% (male 4,131,985/female 3,984,546)

15-24 years: 17.21% (male 2,756,024/female 2,736,394)

25-54 years: 41.03% (male 6,279,595/female 6,815,159)

55-64 years: 8.28% (male 1,266,595/female 1,375,708)

65 years and over: 8.05% (male 1,207,707/female 1,361,276) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 25.82% (male 2,226,240/female 2,138,219)

15-24 years: 17.8% (male 1,531,545/female 1,478,222)

25-54 years: 40.31% (male 3,333,650/female 3,480,262)

55-64 years: 7.92% (male 647,718/female 691,759)

65 years and over: 8.15% (male 648,761/female 728,491) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 29.1 years

male: 28.3 years

female: 29.9 years (2020 est.)
total: 28.8 years

male: 28 years

female: 29.6 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate0.88% (2021 est.)1.16% (2021 est.)
Birth rate16.67 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)16.71 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate6.09 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)5.15 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-1.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.92 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female

total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.96 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female

total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 19.37 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 22.02 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 16.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 18.55 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 22.18 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 14.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 74.96 years

male: 72.84 years

female: 77.19 years (2021 est.)
total population: 77.76 years

male: 74.8 years

female: 80.87 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate2.02 children born/woman (2021 est.)2.07 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.3% (2020 est.)0.3% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Peruvian(s)

adjective: Peruvian
noun: Ecuadorian(s)

adjective: Ecuadorian
Ethnic groupsMestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 60.2%, Amerindian 25.8%, White 5.9%, African descent 3.6%, other (includes Chinese and Japanese descent) 1.2%, unspecified 3.3% (2017 est.)Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 71.9%, Montubio 7.4%, Amerindian 7%, White 6.1%, Afroecuadorian 4.3%, Mulatto 1.9%, Black 1%, other 0.4% (2010 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS91,000 (2020 est.)45,000 (2020 est.)
ReligionsRoman Catholic 60%, Christian 14.6% (includes Evangelical 11.1%, other 3.5%), other 0.3%, none 4%, unspecified 21.1% (2017 est.)Roman Catholic 74%, Evangelical 10.4%, Jehovah's Witness 1.2%, other 6.4% (includes Mormon, Buddhist, Jewish, Spiritualist, Muslim, Hindu, indigenous, African American, Pentecostal), atheist 7.9%, agnostic 0.1% (2012 est.)

note: data represent persons at least 16 years of age from five Ecuadoran cities
HIV/AIDS - deaths<1000 (2020 est.)<500 (2020 est.)
LanguagesSpanish (official) 82.9%, Quechua (official) 13.6%, Aymara (official) 1.6%, Ashaninka 0.3%, other native languages (includes a large number of minor Amazonian languages) 0.8%, other (includes foreign languages and sign language) 0.2%, none 0.1%, unspecified 0.7% (2017 est.)

major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Spanish (Castilian) 93% (official), Quechua 4.1%, other indigenous 0.7%, foreign 2.2%; note - (Quechua and Shuar are official languages of intercultural relations; other indigenous languages are in official use by indigenous peoples in the areas they inhabit) (2010 est.)

major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 94.4%

male: 97.1%

female: 91.7% (2018)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 92.8%

male: 93.8%

female: 92.1% (2017)
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and Bartonellosis (Oroya fever)

note: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Peru; as of 19 July 2021, Peru has reported a total of 2,093,754 cases of COVID-19 or 6,350.13 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 591.86 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 18 July 2021, 20.6% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine
degree of risk: high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 15 years

male: 14 years

female: 15 years (2017)
total: 15 years

male: 15 years

female: 16 years (2015)
Education expenditures3.8% of GDP (2019)5% of GDP (2015)
Urbanizationurban population: 78.3% of total population (2020)

rate of urbanization: 1.33% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 64.4% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.62% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 95.6% of population

rural: 77.4% of population

total: 92.1% of population

unimproved: urban: 4.4% of population

rural: 22.6% of population

total: 7.9% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 83.5% of population

total: 94% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 16.2% of population

total: 6% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 92.2% of population

rural: 60.8% of population

total: 85.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 7.8% of population

rural: 14.8% of population

total: 23.8% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 91.9% of population

total: 97.1% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 8.1% of population

total: 2.1% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population10.883 million LIMA (capital), 935,000 Arequipa, 878,000 Trujillo (2021)3.043 million Guayaquil, 1.901 million QUITO (capital) (2021)
Maternal mortality rate88 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)59 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight2.4% (2019)5.2% (2018/19)
Health expenditures5.2% (2018)8.1% (2018)
Physicians density1.3 physicians/1,000 population (2016)2.04 physicians/1,000 population (2016)
Hospital bed density1.6 beds/1,000 population (2017)1.4 beds/1,000 population (2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate19.7% (2016)19.9% (2016)
Demographic profile

Peru's urban and coastal communities have benefited much more from recent economic growth than rural, Afro-Peruvian, indigenous, and poor populations of the Amazon and mountain regions. The poverty rate has dropped substantially during the last decade but remains stubbornly high at about 30% (more than 55% in rural areas). After remaining almost static for about a decade, Peru's malnutrition rate began falling in 2005, when the government introduced a coordinated strategy focusing on hygiene, sanitation, and clean water. School enrollment has improved, but achievement scores reflect ongoing problems with educational quality. Many poor children temporarily or permanently drop out of school to help support their families. About a quarter to a third of Peruvian children aged 6 to 14 work, often putting in long hours at hazardous mining or construction sites.

Peru was a country of immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but has become a country of emigration in the last few decades. Beginning in the 19th century, Peru brought in Asian contract laborers mainly to work on coastal plantations. Populations of Chinese and Japanese descent - among the largest in Latin America - are economically and culturally influential in Peru today. Peruvian emigration began rising in the 1980s due to an economic crisis and a violent internal conflict, but outflows have stabilized in the last few years as economic conditions have improved. Nonetheless, more than 2 million Peruvians have emigrated in the last decade, principally to the US, Spain, and Argentina.

Ecuador's high poverty and income inequality most affect indigenous, mixed race, and rural populations. The government has increased its social spending to ameliorate these problems, but critics question the efficiency and implementation of its national development plan. Nevertheless, the conditional cash transfer program, which requires participants' children to attend school and have medical check-ups, has helped improve educational attainment and healthcare among poor children. Ecuador is stalled at above replacement level fertility and the population most likely will keep growing rather than stabilize.

An estimated 2 to 3 million Ecuadorians live abroad, but increased unemployment in key receiving countries - Spain, the United States, and Italy - is slowing emigration and increasing the likelihood of returnees to Ecuador. The first large-scale emigration of Ecuadorians occurred between 1980 and 2000, when an economic crisis drove Ecuadorians from southern provinces to New York City, where they had trade contacts. A second, nationwide wave of emigration in the late 1990s was caused by another economic downturn, political instability, and a currency crisis. Spain was the logical destination because of its shared language and the wide availability of low-skilled, informal jobs at a time when increased border surveillance made illegal migration to the US difficult. Ecuador has a small but growing immigrant population and is Latin America's top recipient of refugees; 98% are neighboring Colombians fleeing violence in their country.

Contraceptive prevalence rate76.3% (2018)80.1% (2007/12)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 50.2

youth dependency ratio: 37.1

elderly dependency ratio: 13.1

potential support ratio: 7.6 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 53.8

youth dependency ratio: 42.1

elderly dependency ratio: 11.7

potential support ratio: 8.6 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook