The Republic of Peru, "Peru" means "Corn Store" in Indian. The area is 1285216 square kilometers. Located in the western part of South America, it borders Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil and Bolivia to the east, Chile to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The coastline is 2254 kilometers long. Population of 25.5 million (February 1999). Among them, Indians accounted for 41%, Indo-European mixed races accounted for 36%, whites accounted for 19%, and other races accounted for 4%. Spanish is the official language. Quechua, Aimara and more than 30 other Indian languages are used in some areas.