Peru’s progress since the start of its economic reforms three decades ago and since its subsequent return to democracy two decades ago has been remarkable. Across a wide range of indicators, Peruvians have experienced dramatic and widely shared improvements in well-being. Prosperity has increased, inequality has fallen, and the poor have seen marked gains in their standard of living. And unlike previous episodes of growth in Peruvian history, the progress has not been geographically limited; rather, the rural sector, as well as the urban sector, has benefited, as has much of the interior of the country in addition to the capital city of Lima and the coast.

Critics of Peru’s market democracy, however, downplay the improvements, ignore the data, or misrepresent the record, creating a narrative to justify radically changing the country’s course. Leftist political leaders, including the leading candidate in Peru’s presidential elections scheduled for June 6, for example, have outlined an explicitly socialist agenda and are calling for a constitutional convention to achieve their goals. To be sure, Peruvians have much with which to be dissatisfied. Corruption scandals have proliferated, and the political system has become increasingly dysfunctional in recent years. Government incompetence, meanwhile, worsened the effects of the pandemic.

Those factors have undoubtedly influenced the national mood, increasing the appeal of “anti-system” messages. But it is manifestly untrue that democratic capitalism has made Peruvians worse off. Below, we put together 38 graphs that tell the story of the past few decades: in terms of human well-being, Peru has seen unprecedented progress. Plenty of problems remain, but it would be a monumental mistake to try to address them by throwing out the policies and institutions that have so notably improved living standards.

Income and Poverty

Health

Education

Water, Sanitation, and Energy

Housing

Agriculture

Travel and Communication

A version of this article in Spanish can be found here. We would like to thank Guillermina Sutter Schneider for producing the above charts.