Perú - an indigenous country with many faces
| Capital | Lima |
| Currency | Nuevo Sol |
| Area | 1’285'216 km² |
| Population (2013) | 30.38 million |
| Oficial language | Spanish |
| Other languages (indigenous) | Quechua, Aymará |
| GDP (current USD, 2013) | USD 202.3 billion |
| GNI per Capita (current USD, 2013) | USD 6‘270 |
| Illiteracy rate (2012, total and youngsters 15-24 years) | approx. 6% / 2% |
| Unemployment rate (2013, total and youngsters 15-24 years) | approx. 4% / 9% |
| Unemployment rate (2013, persons with tertiary education) | approx. 1% |
| Gini-Coeffizient* (2012, estimate) | 45.3 |
Perú (in Quechua Piruw Republika, Aymará Piruw Suyu, officially República del Perú) is a state in western South America.
It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the west by the Pacific Ocean.
Similar to Bolivia and Guatemala, Perú is one of the three countries in Latin America characterized by a large indigenous population. 44% of its inhabitants are of mestizo, and approximately 31% of indianic provenience. The latter belong to the population that either speak Quechua or Aymará. A further 15% of the population are of European origin, and it is estimated that approximately 4% are so called Afroperuvians. Finally, 3% are of Asian origin.
The distribution of the population is quite uneven. Almost 50% live on the coast (Costa), while another 40% live in the Andean region. Finally, 10% live in the Amazonas basin.
Similar to many countries in Latin America, Perú is also characterized by a strong rural exodus. As a result about 25% of the population live in Lima, the capital of the country. Overall approximately 3/4 of the population live in cities, and only a about 1/4 live in rural areas. A substantial part of the mostly indigenous population live under or at the poverty line. Reionally, most of these poor live either in the peripheral zones of Lima or in the rural areas of the Sierra or Selva.
It is estimated that 15 not yet contacted indio cultures live in the rain forest at the borders to Ecuador. These groups have a legitimate claim to remain in isolation since they show a low resistance to illnesses, such as, for example, influenza.
* Download the definition of the GINI-Coefficient (PDF)
Sources:
This page is a translation from the German website, which is based on the article on Peru from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia under the double licence of the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported (Short version (en)). Wikipedia shows the List of authors.
http://data.worldbank.org/
www.eda.admin.ch/eda/de/home/vertretungen-und-reisehinweise/peru/peru-in-kuerze.html
Colombia – populous country in South America
| Capital | Bogotá |
| Currency | Colombian Peso |
| Area | 1’138'910 km² |
| Population (2013) | 48.32 million |
| Official langauge | Spanish |
| Other languages (indigenous) | Various |
| GDP (current USD, 2013) | USD 378.4 billion |
| GNI per Capita (current USD, 2013) | USD 7‘590 |
| Illiteracy rate (2011, total and youngsters of 15-24 years) | approx. 6% / 2% |
| Unemployment rate (2013, total and youngsters of 15-24 years) | approx. 11% / 21% |
| Unemployment rate (2013, persons with tertiary education) | approx. 3% |
| Gini-Coeffizient* (2012, estimate) | 53.5 |
Colombia (officially República de Colombia) is a state in the northern part of South America.
The country borders to the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean, and onshore to Panamá, Venezuela, Brazil, Perú and Ecuador. The name of the country is derived from Christopher Columbus.
After Brazil, Colombia is the second most populous country in South America. Due to its history it has a widely diversified population structure. At current over 70% of the population live in urban agglomerations or cities, principally in the valleys of the Río Magdalena, the Río Cauca or on the Caribbean coast. Most of the industry is domiciled in Bogotá, the capital of the country, and approximately 1/6 of the population live there.
The country is characterized by a very uneven distribution of its population. While about 39 millions live in the Andean region and the Caribbean low lands, only about 1 million can be found in the Amazonas region, the Orinoco region or in the Chocó. This means that almost half of the country's area is not or only sparsely populated.
During colonial times the population was divided into three groups: the indigenous peoples, the European people, mostly provenient from the Spanish colonists and the imported slaves of African origin. Today's population is a mixture of all these ethnic groups. From these approximately 48% are mestizos whose ancestors were Europeans and indigenous.
* Download the definition of the GINI-Coefficient (PDF)
Sources:
This page is a translation from the German website, which is based on the article Kolumbien from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia under the double licence of the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported (Short version (en)). Wikipedia shows a list of authors.
http://data.worldbank.org/
www.eda.admin.ch/eda/de/home/vertretungen-und-reisehinweise/kolumbien/reisehinweise-fuerkolumbien.html
El Salvador – smallest country in Central America
| Capital | San Salvador |
| Currency | USD |
| Area | 21‘041 km² |
| Population (2013) | 6.340 million |
| Official language | Spanisch |
| Other languages (indigenous) | none |
| GDP (current USD, 2013) | USD 24.3 billion |
| GNI per Capita (current USD, 2013) | USD 3‘720 |
| Illiteracy rate (2011, total and youngsters of 15-24 years) | approx. 6% / 4% |
| Unemployment rate (2013, total and youngsters of 15-24 years) | approx. 6% / 12% |
| Unemployment rate (2013, persons with tertiary educatio) | ca. <1% |
| Gini-Coeffizient* (2012, estimate) | 41.8 |
El Salvador (Spanish „The Redeemer“ or „The Savior“, officially República de El Salvador) is a state in Central America. It borders to Guatemala, Honduras and to the Pacific Ocean.
The country is in an earthquake-prone area, it is the smallest country in Central America yet it contains the highest population density.
Approximately 90% of the population are mestizos, 9% of European origin, and 1% are indigenouos.
In the past, one of the most important languages was the Nawat (Pipil) which today is only spoken by a handful of people. From an ethnical viewpoint today only 200.000 people are considered as Pipils, while a few thousands are either Lencas or Cacaoperas. These indigenous languages are no longer spoken.
With the gradual extinction of the Nawat El Salvador is, after Uruguay, the second country on the American continent in which no indigenous language is spoken anymore.
* Download of the definition of the GINI-Coefficient (PDF)
Sources:
This page is a translation from the German website which is based on the article El Salvador from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia under the double licence of the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported (Short version (en)). Wikipedia shows a List of authors.
http://data.worldbank.org/
www.eda.admin.ch/eda/de/home/vertretungen-und-reisehinweise/el-salvador/el-salvador-in-kuerze.html
Guatemala – Land of the Mayas in Central America
| Capital | Guatemala City |
| Currency | Quetzal / USD |
| Area | 108‘890 km² |
| Population (2013) | 15.47 million |
| Official language | Spanish |
| Other languages (indigenous) | 7 further recognized languages, 53 indigenous languages |
| GDP (current USD, 2013) | USD 53.8 billion |
| GNI per Capita (current USD, 2013) | USD 3‘340 |
| Illiteracy rate (2011, total and youngsters of 15-24 years) | approx. 12% / 7% |
| Unemployment rate (2013, total and youngsters of 15-24 years) | approx. 3% / 5% |
| Unemployment rate (2013, persons with tertiary education) | approx. <1% |
| Gini-Coeffizient* (2012, estimate) | 52.4 |
Guatemala (officially República de Guatemala) is a state at the south of the Yucatán peninsula.
Guatemala borders in the Southeast to Honduras, in the South to El Salvador, in the North to Mexico und and in the East to Belize. Guatemala has two coasts, in the East a small access to the Gulf of Honduras, part of the Caribbean, and in the South to the Pacific Ocean.
Approximately 60% of the Guatemalans are of European or European-Indigenous provenience. Unlike in other countries in Central America this ethnic group in Guatemala is called Ladinos. Most of the people with European origin stem from the Spanish colonists.
The other approximate 40% of the population are of indigenous provenience, mostly descendants from the Mayas. The small remaining part of the population has Asian origins or is part of the Garifuna. The latter live at the Caribbean coast and are descendants Black Africans who lived with and intermarried with indigenous peoples from St. Vincent.
* Download of the definition of the GINI-Coefficient (PDF)
Sources:
This page is a translation from the German website which is based on the article Guatemala from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia under the double licence of the GNU Free Documentation License and the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported (Short version (en)). Wikipedia shows a List of authors.
http://data.worldbank.org/
www.eda.admin.ch/eda/de/home/laender-reise-information/guatemala.html
Costa Rica – ...
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Costa Rica ...
