Resources

Agriculture is one of the main economic activities of the department, because it groups a good part of the economically active population. The diverse inter-andean valleys offer fertile land and a propitious climate for the farming of diverse products like the corn, wheat, quinua and the fruit trees. Towards east the tropical climate of the high forest favors the seed of great demand plants abroad such as coffee and cacao. In Andean high plateaus, potatoes, ollucos and other tubercles are farmed, simultaneously they practice an important cattle activity taking advantage of the natural grass the zone.

Extractive activities as forestry and mining are partly practiced in Cusco territory, and there have been found deposits of zinc, iron, uranium, coal and saltpeter. But, without a doubt, the activity that greater benefit has brought Cusco in the last years is the tourism. Cusco received more than 300 thousand tourists in 2000, between Peruvian and foreign, confirming its leadership in the national scope in this field. The tourism has generated important gains to the department, as well as jobs for thousands of people.

Population

The estimated Cusco population for year 2000 was 1´158,142 inhabitants (according to the National Institute of Statistic and Computer science, INEI). This number of inhabitants represents 5.61% of the total population of the country. The department has, in addition, a population density of the 16.06 inhabitants per km2, a lot less than most of Peruvian departments, and its distribution by sexes is very similar: the masculine population is 578.384 inhabitants, whereas the feminine is 579,758.

The rural and urban populations are also divided of very similarly: the rural population is of 589.000 inhabitants (54.1% of the total inhabitans), whereas the urban population is 569.000 inhabitants (45.9%).

The population growth of Cusco, since 1940, has occurred in the following way:

1940: 486,592 inhabitants.
1961: 611,972 inhabitants.
1972: 715,237 inhabitants.
1981: 832,504 inhabitants.
1993: 1,028,763 inhabitants.
2000: 1,158,142 inhabitants (estimated).
2015: 1,359,534 inhabitants (estimated).

In the health sector it is counted on an average of 5.1 doctors by each 10 thousand inhabitants, which makes evident the necessity of medical personnel that has the department. On the other hand, by each 10 thousand inhabitants there is an average of 2.6 establishments of health.

In Education, the rate of illiteracy of Cusco is the fifth highest of the country, reaching to 25% of the total population. The average of students by professor is of 27,9.

Cusco counts with an estimated of 247.200 homes, that have an average of 4.3 inhabitants each. Inhouse water services are held by less than a fourth of the total population of the department, 23,3%; Only 16.7% of the population counts whit hygienic service; 5,3% counts with telephone; at least locomotion means, 20%; at least 77,4% hasa household-electric device.