Map of Bolivia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Bolivia named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and countercoups. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982 but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty social unrest and illegal drug production. In December 2005 Bolivians elected Movement Toward Socialism leader Evo MORALES president - by the widest margin of any leader since the restoration of civilian rule in 1982 - after he ran on a promise to change the country's traditional political class and empower the nation's poor indigenous majority. However since taking office his controversial strategies have exacerbated racial and economic tensions between the Amerindian populations of the Andean west and the non-indigenous communities of the eastern lowlands. In December 2009 President MORALES easily won reelection and his party took control of the legislative branch of the government which will allow him to continue his process of change.


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Location: Central South America southwest of Brazil

Geographic coordinates: 17 00 S 65 00 W

Map reference: South America

Area
Total: 1,098,581 km²
Rank: 28
Land: 1,083,301 km²
Water: 15,280 km²
Comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Montana

Land boundaries
Total: 6,940 km
Border countries: (5) Argentina 832 km; Brazil 3,423 km; Chile 860 km; Paraguay 750 km; Peru 1075 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid

Terrain: rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano) hills lowland plains of the Amazon Basin

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
Extremes highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m

Natural resources: tin natural gas petroleum zinc tungsten antimony silver iron lead gold timber hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 2.78%
Permanent crops: 0.19%
Other: 97.03% (2005)

Irrigated land: 1500 km² (2008)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 622.5 km³ (2000)

Natural hazards: flooding in the northeast (March-April)
Volcanism: Bolivia experiences volcanic activity in Andes Mountains on the border with Chile; historically active volcanoes in this region are Irruputuncu (elev. 5,163 m) which last erupted in 1995 and Olca-Paruma

Geography
Note: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m) with Peru


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Population: 10,118,683 (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 83
Growth rate: 1.694% (2011 est.)
Growth rate rank: 67
Below poverty line: 30.3%
Below poverty line note: based on percent of population living on less than the international standard of $2/day (2009 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Bolivian
Adjective: Bolivian

Ethnic groups: Quechua 30% mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30% Aymara 25% white 15%

Languages: Spanish (official) 60.7% Quechua (official) 21.2% Aymara (official) 14.6% foreign languages 2.4% other 1.2% (2001 census)

Religions: Roman Catholic 95% Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 34.6%
15-64 years: 60.7% (male 3,014,419/female 3,129,942)
65 years and over: 4.6% (male 207,792/female 261,904) (2011 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 22.5 years
Male: 21.8 years
Female: 23.2 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.694% (2011 est.)
Rank: 67

Birth rate: 24.71 births/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 63

Death rate: 6.85 deaths/1000 population (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 142

Net migration rate: -0.92 migrant(s)/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 150

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 67% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 2.2% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation
International agreements party to: Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Marine Dumping Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Tropical Timber 83 Tropical Timber 94 Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 42.16 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 61
Male: 45.95 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 38.18 deaths/1000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 67.57 years
Rank: 156
Male: 64.84 years
Female: 70.42 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Rank: 64

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 1.22 physicians/1000 population (2001)
Rank: 91

Hospital bed density: 1.1 beds/1000 population (2009)
Rank: 141

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 100
People living with hivaids: 12,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 91
Deaths: fewer than 1000 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 71

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever malaria and yellow fever
Water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 4.3% (2008)
Rank: 89

Education expenditures: 6.3% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 25

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 86.7%
Male: 93.1%
Female: 80.7% (2001 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years
Male: 14 years
Female: 14 years (2007)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Plurinational State of Bolivia
Conventional short form: Bolivia
Local long form: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia
Local short form: Bolivia

Government type: republic; note - the new constitution defines Bolivia as a 'Social Unitarian State'

Capital
Name: La Paz
Geographic coordinates: 16 30 S 68 09 W
Time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)
Note: Sucre (constitutional capital)

Administrative divisions: 9 departments (departamentos singular - departamento); Beni Chuquisaca Cochabamba La Paz Oruro Pando Potosi Santa Cruz Tarija

Dependent areas

Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day 6 August (1825)

Constitution: 7 February 2009

Legal system: civil law system with influences from Roman Spanish canon (religious) French and indigenous law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age universal and compulsory

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma ; Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
Elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term and are eligible for re-election; election last held on 6 December 2009 (next to be held in 2014)
Election results: Juan Evo MORALES Ayma reelected president; percent of vote - Juan Evo MORALES Ayma 64%; Manfred REYES VILLA 26%; Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana 6%; Rene JOAQUINO 2%; other 2%

Legislative branch: bicameral Plurinational Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (36 seats; members are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats total; 70 uninominal deputies directly elected from a single district 7 'special' indigenous deputies directly elected from non-contiguous indigenous districts and 53 plurinominal deputies elected by proportional representation from party lists; all deputies serve five-year terms)
Elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held on 6 December 2009 (next to be held in 2014)
Election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 26 PPB-CN 10; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 89 PPB-CN 36 UN 3 AS 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms); District Courts (one in each department); Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal (seven primary or titulares and seven alternate or suplente magistrates elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms; to rule on constitutional issues (at least two candidates must be indigenous)); Plurinational Electoral Organ (seven members elected by the Assembly and the president; one member must be of indigenous origin to six-year terms); Agro-Environmental Court (judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms; to run on agro-environmental issues); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases)

Political parties and leaders: Bolivia-National Convergence or PPB-CN [Manfred REYES VILLA]; Fearless Movement or MSM [Juan DE GRANADO Cosio]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Juan Evo MORALES Ayma]; National Unity or UN [Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana]; People or Gente [Roman LOAYZA]; Social Alliance or AS [Rene JOAQUINO]

International organization participation: CAN FAO G-77 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO (correspondent) ITSO ITU LAES LAIA Mercosur (associate) MIGA MINUSTAH MONUSCO NAM OAS OPANAL OPCW PCA RG UN UNASUR UNCTAD UNESCO UNFICYP UNIDO Union Latina UNMIL UNOCI UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador ; Charge d'Affaires Freddy BERSATTI Tudela
In the us chancery: 3,014 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 483-4,410
In the us fax: [1] (202) 328-3,712
In the us consulate general: Los Angeles Miami New York San Francisco
In the us note: as of September 2008 the US has expelled the Bolivian ambassador to the US
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador ; Charge d'Affaires John CREAMER
From the us embassy: Avenida Arce 2,780 Casilla 425 La Paz
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 425 La Paz; APO AA 34,032
From the us telephone: [591] (2) 216-8,000
From the us fax: [591] (2) 216-8,111
From the us note: in September 2008 the Bolivian Government expelled the US Ambassador to Bolivia and the countries have yet to reinstate ambassadors

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top) yellow and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; red stands for bravery and the blood of national heroes yellow for the nation's mineral resources and green for the fertility of the land
Note: similar to the flag of Ghana which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; in 2009 a presidential decree made it mandatory for a so-called wiphala - a square multi-colored flag representing the country's indigenous peoples - to be used alongside the traditional flag

National symbols: llama; Andean condor

National anthem
Name: 'Cancion Patriotica'
Lyricsmusic: Jose Ignacio de SANJINES/Leopoldo Benedetto VINCENTI
Note: adopted 1852

National heritage


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Economy overview: Bolivia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in Latin America. Following a disastrous economic crisis during the early 1980s reforms spurred private investment stimulated economic growth and cut poverty rates in the 1990s. The period 2003-05 was characterized by political instability racial tensions and violent protests against plans - subsequently abandoned - to export Bolivia's newly discovered natural gas reserves to large northern hemisphere markets. In 2005 the government passed a controversial hydrocarbons law that imposed significantly higher royalties and required foreign firms then operating under risk-sharing contracts to surrender all production to the state energy company in exchange for a predetermined service fee. After higher prices for mining and hydrocarbons exports produced a fiscal surplus in 2008 the global recession in 2009 slowed growth. Nevertheless Bolivia recorded the highest growth rate in South America that year. During 2010 an increase in world commodity prices resulted in the biggest trade surplus in history. However a lack of foreign investment in the key sectors of mining and hydrocarbons and higher food prices pose challenges for the Bolivian economy.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 93
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 89

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 151
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 12%
Industry: 38%
Services: 50% (2010 est.)

Agriculture products: soybeans coffee coca cotton corn sugarcane rice potatoes; timber

Industries: mining smelting petroleum food and beverages tobacco handicrafts clothing

Industrial production growth rate: 4% (2010 est.)
Rank: 103

Labor force: 4.614 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 80
By occupation agriculture: 40%
By occupation industry: 17%
By occupation services: 43% (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate: 7.9% (2009 est.)
Rank: 85
Note: data are for urban areas; widespread underemployment

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 30.3%
Note: based on percent of population living on less than the international standard of $2/day (2009 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1%
Highest 10: 45.4% (2007)

Distribution of family income gini index: 57.9 (1999)
Rank: 10

Budget
Revenues: $8.623 billion
Expenditures: $8.239 billion (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 2% of GDP (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 24

Taxes and other revenues: 44.5% of GDP (2010 est.)
Rank: 28

Public debt: 42.5% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 75

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 3.3% (2009 est.)
Rank: 83

Central bank discount rate: 3% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 99

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 12.36% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 79

Stock of narrow money: $3.524 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 94

Stock of broad money: $12.16 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 93

Stock of domestic credit: $5.695 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 107

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 89

Current account balance: $813.2 million (2009 est.)
Rank: 48

Exports: $4.918 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 104
Commodities: natural gas soybeans and soy products crude petroleum zinc ore tin
Partners: Brazil 43.5% US 12.3% Peru 6.8% Colombia 5.5% Japan 5.1% Argentina 4.8% (2010)

Imports: $4.144 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 115
Commodities: petroleum products plastics paper aircraft and aircraft parts prepared foods automobiles insecticides soybeans
Partners: Brazil 27.4% Argentina 17.3% US 11.9% Peru 9.6% Chile 7.8% China 4.1% (2010)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $8.581 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 71

Debt external: $5.812 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 105

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $6.876 billion (31 December 2009)
Rank: 84

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $63.8 million (31 December 2008)
Rank: 85

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 6.085 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 108
Consumption: 5.814 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 108
Exports: 0 kWh (2009 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2010 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 14.73 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Production rank: 34
Consumption: 3.01 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 73
Exports: 11.72 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 18
Imports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 89
Proven reserves: 750.4 billion m³ (1 January 2011 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 30

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 848,200 (2010)
Main lines in use rank: 86
Mobile cellular: 7.179 million (2010)
Mobile cellular rank: 88

Telephone system
General assessment: Bolivian National Telecommunications Company was privatized in 1995 but re-nationalized in 2007; the primary trunk system is being expanded and employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; system operations reliability and coverage have steadily improved.
Domestic: most telephones are concentrated in La Paz Santa Cruz and other capital cities; mobile-cellular telephone use expanding rapidly and in 2010 teledensity reached about 75 per 100 persons
International: country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2010)

Broadcast media: large number of radio and television broadcasting stations with private media outlets dominating; state-owned and private radio and television stations generally operating freely although both pro-government and anti-government groups have attacked media outlets in response to their reporting (2010)

Internet
Country code: .bo
Hosts: 125,462 (2010)
Hosts rank: 74
Users: 1.103 million (2009)
Users rank: 95

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 1.3% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 115

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18-49 years of age for 12-month compulsory male and female military service; when annual number of volunteers falls short of goal compulsory recruitment is effected including conscription of boys as young as 14; 15-19 years of age for voluntary premilitary service provides exemption from further military service (2011)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 881 (2010)
Rank: 8
With paved runways total: 16
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 865
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 58
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 187
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 615 (2010)

Heliports

Pipelines: gas 5,330 km; liquid petroleum gas 51 km; oil 2,510 km; refined products 1627 km (2010)

Railways
Total: 3,652 km
Rank: 46
Narrow gauge: 3,652 km 1.000-m gauge (2010)

Roadways
Total: 13,602 km
Rank: 127
Paved: 4,990 km
Unpaved: 8,612 km (2004)

Waterways: 10,000 km (commercially navigable almost exclusively in the northern and eastern parts of the country) (2010)
Rank: 13

Merchant marine
Total: 22
Rank: 99
By type: bulk carrier 3 cargo 11 carrier 1 passenger/cargo 1 petroleum tanker 2 roll on/roll off 3 specialized tanker 1
Foreign owned: 7 (Bahamas 1 Ecuador 1 Iran 1 Syria 4) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Puerto Aguirre (inland port on the Paraguay/Parana waterway at the Bolivia/Brazil border); Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina Brazil Chile and Paraguay


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Disputes international: Chile and Peru rebuff Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor ceded to Chile in 1884 but Chile offers instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian natural gas; contraband smuggling human trafficking and illegal narcotic trafficking are problems in the porous areas of the border with Argentina

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 35,000 hectares under cultivation in 2009 an increase of ten percent over 2008; third largest producer of cocaine estimated at 195 metric tons potential pure cocaine in 2009 a 70 percent increase over 2006; transit country for Peruvian and Colombian cocaine destined for Brazil Argentina Chile Paraguay and Europe; weak border controls; some money-laundering activity related