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Textile market and shops, Lima (c) Jon Spaull/Panos Pictures

Producing garments from pima cotton (c) Annie Bungeroth/Panos Pictures

Peru is as large as the combined area of the United Kingdom, France and Spain. It is the third largest country in Latin America and has extreme geographical features with human habitation very difficult in places.

The long Pacific coast is virtually desert. The Andes rise steeply from a narrow coastal shelf. The high plateau of the mountains has towering snow-covered peaks and deep canyons. The forested Andean slopes become more gentle towards the east, and further still, towards Brazil and Colombia, the rainforest of the Amazon begins.

Main industries:
mining of metals,
petroleum,
fishing,
textiles,
clothing,
food processing,
cement,
auto assembly,
steel,
shipbuilding,
metal fabrication

Main export commodities:
copper,
zinc,
fishmeal,
crude petroleum and byproducts,
lead,
refined silver,
coffee, cotton