Metropolitan Lima has an area of 2,672.28 km2 (1,031.77 sq mi), of which 825.88 km2 (318.87 sq mi) (31%) comprise the actual city and 1,846.40 km2 (712.90 sq mi) (69%) the city outskirts. The urban area extends around 60 km (37 mi) from north to south and around 30 km (19 mi) from west to east. The city center is located 15 km (9.3 mi) inland at the shore of the Rimac river, a vital resource for the city, since it carries what will become drinking water for its inhabitants and fuels the hydroelectric dams that provide electricity to the area. While no official administrative definition for the city exists, it is usually considered to be composed of the central 30 out of the 43 districts of Lima Province, corresponding to an urban area centered around the historic Cercado de Lima district.[citation needed] The city is the core of the Lima Metropolitan Area, one of the ten largest metropolitan areas in the Americas. Lima is the second largest city in the world located in a desert, after Cairo, Egypt.
Lima's climate is quite mild, despite being located in the tropics and in a desert. Lima has a subtropical and desert climate, yet the microclimate also makes the atmosphere very humid throughout the year. Despite featuring a desert climate, temperatures vary from mild to warm. It's neither cold nor very hot, which is very unusual for a desert climate. The average daily temperatures in winter range from 12 °C (54 °F) to 20 °C (68 °F). Winter days usually come accompanied by continuous overcast skies, fog, and mist, but Lima sees no significant rainfall from this. In the summer, the daily maximum temperature averages around 29 °C (84 °F) with a daily minimum temperature around 19 °C (66 °F). During El Niño events, the climate of Lima gets severely disrupted, the water temperatures along the coast which usually average around 17–19 °C (63–66 °F) get much warmer (as in 1998 when the water temperature reached 26 °C (79 °F)), which causes the high and low temperatures to rise by several degrees. Such was the case when Lima hit its all-time record high of 34 °C (93 °F).
Relative humidity is always very high particularly in the mornings, and produces brief morning fog from June to December and persistent low clouds from May to November. Sunny, less humid, and warm summers last from December to April and are followed by cloudy, humid, and mild winters (lasting from June to October). The all-time record low in the metropolitan area is 9 °C (48 °F). Lima has only 1284 hours of sunshine a year, 28.6 hours in July and 179.1 hours in January, exceptionally low values for the latitude.
Rainfall is very low. The severely low rainfall impacts on water supply in the city. Inland locations receive anywhere between 1 to 6 cm (2.4 in) of rainfall, which accumulates mainly during the winter months. Summer rain occurs in the form of isolated light and brief afternoon or evening events, leftover from afternoon storms that generate over the Andes. The peak of the 'rainy season,' which does not produce "rain" in the true sense of the word, occurs during winter when late-night/morning drizzle events (locally called 'garúa','llovizna' or 'camanchacas') become frequent, leaving a light coating of dampness on the ground. All these climatic phenomena arise from the combination of semi-permanent coastal upwelling and the presence of the cold Humboldt Current just offshore.
With a municipal population of 7,605,743, and 8,472,935 for the metropolitan area and a population density of 3,008.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (7,793 /sq mi) as of 2007, Lima ranks as the 18th most populous city in the world. Its population features a very complex mix of racial and ethnic groups. Traditionally, Mestizos of mixed Amerindian and European (mostly Spanish) and descent are the largest contingent. The second group are White Caucasians, mainly Spanish and Italians, followed by French, British, German, Croatian and other Eastern Europeans. The third group is composed by Amerindian (mostly aymaras and quechuas) and there is a large number of Jews, and Middle Easterners. Asians make up a large number of the metropolitan population, especially of Chinese (Cantonese) and Japanese descent. Afro-Peruvians, whose African ancestors were initially brought to the region as slaves, are yet another part of the city's ethnic quilt. Lima has by far the largest Chinese community in Latin America.
The first settlement in what would become Lima was made up of only 117 housing blocks. In 1562, another district was built at the other side of the Rimac River and in 1610, the first stone bridge was built. Lima had, at this point in time, population of around 26,000, made up of 40% blacks (mostly slaves) and 38% whites. By 1748, the white population of criollos and Europeans totaled sixteen or eighteen thousand. In 1861, the amount of inhabitants surpassed 100,000, and by 1927 this amount was doubled.
During the early twentieth century thousands of immigrants came to the city, a significant number of French, Italians and Germans, many of them had been adapting to the Peruvian society. They organized in social clubs, and they built their own schools; for example, The American-Peruvian school which is located in Miraflores, The French Alliance (Alianza Francesa de Lima), famous Lycée Franco-Péruvien and the hospital Maison de Sante, the British-Peruvian school in Monterrico, and also several German-Peruvian schools. They also influenced Peruvian cuisine, the Italians in particular exerting a strong influence in the Miraflores and San Isidro areas with their restaurants, called Trattorias.
A great number of Chinese immigrants, and a lesser amount of Japanese, came to Lima and established themselves in the Barrios Altos neighborhood near downtown Lima. Lima residents refer to their Chinatown as "Calle Capon," and the city's ubiquitous Chifa restaurants – a small, sit-down, usually Chinese-run restaurant serving the Peruvian spin on Chinese cuisine – can be found by the dozen in this Chinese enclave.
Lima is the industrial and financial center of Peru, home to many national companies. It accounts for more than two thirds of Peru's industrial production and most of its tertiary sector.
The Metropolitan area, with around 7000 factories, spearheads the industrial development of the country, thanks to the quantity and quality of the available workforce, cheap infrastructure and the mostly developed routes and highways in the city. The most relevant industrial sectors are textiles, clothing and food. Chemicals, fish, leather and oil derivatives are also manufactured and/or processed in Lima. The financial district is located in the district of San Isidro, while much of the industrial activity takes place in the area stretching west of Downtown Lima to the airport in Callao.
Industrialization began to take hold in Lima in 1930s and by 1950s, through import substitution policies, by 1950 manufacturing made up 14% of the GNP. In the late 1950s, up to 70% of consumer goods were manufactured in Peruvian, and primarily Limean, factories.
The Callao seaport is one of the main fishing and commerce ports in South America, with 75% of the country's imports and 25% of its exports using it as their entry/departure point. The main export goods leaving the country through Callao are oil, steel, silver, zinc, cotton, sugar and coffee.
In 2004, Lima's GDP represented 45% of the country's GDP (5% more than the previous year). The GDP per capita in Lima is $14,600. Most of the foreign companies operating in the country have settled in Lima, which has led to the previously mentioned concentration of economic and financial activity on the city.
There has been a noticeable increase in light industries, services and high technologies. In 2007, the Peruvian economy grew 9%, the largest growth rate in all of South America which was spearheaded by economic policies originating in Lima. The Lima Stock Exchange grew 185.24% in 2006 and in 2007 grew 168.3%, making it one of the fastest growing stock exchanges in the world. In 2006, the Lima Stock Exchange was the most profitable in the world. The unemployment rate in the metropolitan area is 7.2%.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit and the Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union Summit were hosted by the city of Lima.
Lima is headquarters to many major banks such as Banco de Crédito del Perú, Interbank, Bank of the Nation, Banco Continental, Mi Banco, Banco Interamericano de Finanzas, Banco Finaciero, Banco de Comercio, and Credi Scotia. It is also a regional headquarters to Standard Chartered. Major insurance coorperations based in Lima include Rimac Seguros, Mapfre Peru, Interseguro, Pacifico, Protecta, and La Positiva.
Lima is the capital city of the Republic of Peru and the department of Lima. As such, it is home to the three branches of the Government of Peru. The executive branch is headquartered in the Government Palace, located in the Plaza Mayor. The legislative branch is headquartered in the Legislative Palace and is home to the Congress of Peru. The Judicial branch is headquartered in the Palace of Justice and is home to the Supreme Court of Peru.
Likewise, all the ministries are located in the city of Lima. In international government, the city of Lima is home to the headquarters of the Andean Community of Nations and the South American Community of Nations, along with other regional and international organizations.
The city is roughly equivalent to the Province of Lima, which is subdivided into 43 districts. The Metropolitan Municipality of Lima is utmost authority of the entire city while each district further has its own local government. Unlike the rest of the country, the Metropolitan Municipality, although a provincial municipality, acts as and has functions similar to a regional government, as it does not belong to any of the 25 regions of Peru. |