Peru vs Bolivia
Two countries people mix up, side by side. Facts first, then how to keep them apart on the map.
| Peru | Bolivia | |
|---|---|---|
| Capital | Lima | Sucre |
| Continent | South America | South America |
| Population | 32.5 million | 11.5 million |
| Area | 1,285,216 km² | 1,098,581 km² |
| Neighbours | Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador | Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Peru |
| Languages | Spanish | Spanish, Aymara, Quechua |
| Currency | Peruvian sol (PEN) | Bolivian boliviano (BOB), Bolivian Mvdol (BOV) |
Peru is about 1.2 times the size of Bolivia, and Peru has about 2.8 times the population of Bolivia.
Why people mix them up
Peru and Bolivia are Andean neighbours that share Lake Titicaca, the high Altiplano plateau and a great deal of Inca and pre-Inca heritage. In both countries Spanish is joined by Indigenous languages such as Quechua and Aymara, and traditional dress, music and food can look very similar to visitors. People often ask which country Lake Titicaca belongs to, and the answer is both.
How to tell them apart
- Peru has a long Pacific coastline; Bolivia is landlocked, having lost its coast to Chile in the War of the Pacific.
- Peru's flag has three vertical stripes, red-white-red; Bolivia's has three horizontal stripes, red, yellow and green.
- Peru's capital is Lima, on the coast; Bolivia's constitutional capital is Sucre, while the government sits in La Paz, high in the Andes.
- Peru is the larger country, about 1.29 million km² against Bolivia's roughly 1.1 million km².
- The currencies are the sol (Peru) and the boliviano (Bolivia).
- Machu Picchu is in Peru; the Salar de Uyuni salt flat is in Bolivia.
Memory hook
Peru has the Pacific and Machu Picchu; Bolivia is the Boxed-in one, with no sea but the largest salt flat in the world.
On the map
Find the west coast of South America. Peru is the large country on the Pacific between Ecuador and Chile. Bolivia lies inland to its southeast, bordered by Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Chile. Lake Titicaca sits right on their shared border. If the country you are tapping has a coastline, it is Peru.
Practise
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