Iquitos, Peru
Iquitos, Peru is the largest city in the world (500,000+) without an access road in or out. The only way into or out of the city is by boat (3 day journey), or by plane (1.5 hours from the capital of Lima). Iquitos is an island surrounded by three rivers: Amazon, Nanay, and Itaya. It is the capital of the state of Loreto. Loreto is 1/3 of the land mass of Peru, encompassing 142,414.53 sq mi, has a population of 1,000,000 plus and borders with Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil. Loreto has a poverty rate of 70% and only produces 2.51% of Peru’s GDP. The main source of income is agricultural 142,414.53 sq mil. According to the Peruvian Institute of Economy in 2022, 40% of the population of the state of Loreto live in poverty and around 22% in Extreme poverty. The average wage in Iquitos up until March of 2023 was $1581.5 soles or around $416 U.S. dollars a month. The average monthly expenses of a family of 3 in Iquitos are around between 3,755.01 and 8,037.29 soles or $988 and $2,115 U.S. dollars a month. The most impoverished areas of the immediate area of Iquitos are communities are neighborhoods in the areas of: Itaya (districs of Belen), Bajo Nanay (Punchana), Alto Itaya, Nanay and the highway from Iquitos to Nauta (San Juan). These are areas where there is a proliferation of infeccious diseases that affect the health of the people in general, such as: chronic diarrea, chronic respiratory issues, urinary tract infections, head lice, psoriasis, Lumbago, Malaria and Dengue fever, and severe dental issues that in most cases requires tooth extractions.
