Lima is the capital city of Peru. It’s situated in the central coastal part of the country, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Lima is among the oldest of the world’s great cities and one of the most cosmopolitan in South America. It is the country’s economic, transportation, and cultural centre. Since the Colonial era, Lima is renowned for influencing other cities around the world. It is famous for its astounding colonial architecture and modern structures that stand side by side to complement each other. Some of the places that make it famous include the amazing ancient buildings, Plaza de Armas, San Francisco Church, Larco Museum, and the Magic Water Circuit.

The National Institute of Statistics and Information (INEI) in Peru conducts a census every 10 years and 2017 was the last time that it was conducted. According to the 2017 census, Lima had a population of 9,751,717. Compared to other cities in Peru, Lima is considered to be more diverse. When it comes to religious beliefs, Lima is known to be diverse as most people identify themselves as Catholic, Evangelical, and other religions. According to the data collected during the 2017 census, 76.03% people in Lima identified themselves as Catholic, 14.1% as Evangelical, 4.8% other religions. On the other hand, 5.1% of respondents declared that they followed no religion. As one of the most diverse cities in South America, Lima houses over 9 million residents, who collectively speak two main languages, Spanish and Quechua. The city of Lima has a famous legend about the Bridge of Sighs, a traditional place in the bohemian district of Barranco. According to the legend, if you can hold your breath while crossing the bridge for the first time, you can make a wish and it will come true.

There are two tiers under local government in Lima. They are citywide and local tier. Citywide administration is coordinated by the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima, while local administration is carried out by 43 smaller district municipalities. The Metropolitan Municipality of Lima is headed by the Mayor of Lima, who has executive powers, and the Metropolitan Council, who scrutinize the Mayor's decisions. The Metropolitan Municipality is responsible for strategic planning, policing, the fire service, most aspects of transport and economic development. On the other hand, the 43 district municipalities are responsible for local services not overseen by the Metropolitan Municipality, such as local planning, schools, social services, local roads and refuse collection. The district municipalities each have a council made up from representatives from political parties and single issue organizations elected every four years by local residents.

Lima has always been a commercial city and today enjoys the status of having one of the largest city economies in South America. The city thrives in trade and commerce and has a vibrant culture steeped in commerce. It has a GDP of over $66 billion, which is about 50 percent of Peru's total GDP. The size of its economy is larger than that of several South American nations. The Port of Callao, the chief seaport of Peru, located in Lima metropolitan area, handles 20.7 million tons of cargo every year.

The Metropolitan Municipality of Lima has recently implemented a new urban plan: Lima 2025 Metropolitan Development Plan. It includes a range of infrastructure priorities for Lima, such as new energy, water, sewerage infrastructure, to enhanced digital connectivity and new transport and road schemes. Some of the investment is provided by the private sector, through the privatized utilities. While this has generally worked well in Lima, there is a need for improvement in the lack of capacity in digital infrastructure. The take-up of high speed broadband by business is low compared to other world cities; and there are areas in Lima that cannot access superfast broadband in the first place. Business sees these as priority areas for action by the Mayor.