The Republic of Peru is the official name for the country in western South America. Ecuador and Colombia lie to its north, Brazil to its east, Bolivia to its southeast, Chile to its south, and the Pacific Ocean to its west, south, and west. Peru is a hugely diverse nation that has habitats that range from the arid plains of the Pacific coast in the west to the Andes mountains in the north to the southeast and the tropical Amazon basin rainforest in the east with the Amazon River. Lima is Peru's capital and largest city, and it has 34 million people living there. Peru is the third-largest country in South America and the 19th largest in the world with a land area of 1.28 million km2 (0.5 million mi2).

Peruvian territory has one of the longest histories of civilization of any country, dating back to the 10th millennium BCE. During the ancient and medieval periods, it was home to several cultures. The Caral-Supe civilization, considered one of the cradles of civilization, the Nazca culture, the Wari and Tiwanaku empires, the Kingdom of Cusco, and the Inca Empire, the largest known state in the pre-Columbian Americas, are notable pre-colonial cultures and civilizations.