Background: Bolivia broke away from Spanish rule in 1825. Its subsequent history has been marked by a seemingly endless series of coups, counter-coups, and abrupt changes in leaders and policies. Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in the 1980s, but the leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, strikes, and drug dealing. Current issues include encouraging and negotiating the terms for foreign investment; strengthening the educational system; continuing the privatization program; pursuing judicial reform and an anti-corruption campaign.

Map reference: South America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area
Total area total: 1,098,580 km²
Land: 1,084,390 km²

Land boundaries: total 6,743 km, Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 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

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

Land use
Arable land: 3%
Permanent crops: 0%
Meadows and pastures: 25%
Forest and woodland: 52%
Other: 20%

Irrigated land: 1,650 km² (1989 est.)

Natural hazards: flooding in the northeast (March to April)

Geography
Note: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru; cold, thin air of high plateau is obstacle to efficient fuel combustion, as well as to physical activity by those unaccustomed to it from birth

Population: 7,719,445 (July 1994 est.)
Growth rate: 2.28% (1994 est.)

Nationality: noun:Bolivian(s)

Ethnic groups: Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed European and Indian ancestry) 25%-30%, European 5%-15%

Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)

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

Population growth rate: 2.28% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 32.22 births/1000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 8.37 deaths/1000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.04 migrant(s)/1000 population (1994 est.)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation contributing to loss of biodiversity; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation

Infant mortality rate: 73.7 deaths/1000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 63.31 years
Male: 60.86 years
Female: 65.88 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.21 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Total population: 78%
Male: 85%
Female: 71%

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
Conventional short form:

Government type: republic

Capital: La Paz (seat of government; Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary)

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

Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 August (1825)

Constitution: 2 February 1967

Legal system: based on Spanish law and Code Napoleon; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married; 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single)

Executive branch: chief of state and head of government:President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamente (since 6 August 1993; Vice President Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde (since 6 August 1993; election last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held May 1997; results - Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (MNR) 34%, Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN/MIR alliance) 20%, Carlos PALENQUE Aviles (CONDEPA) 14%, Max FERNANDEZ Rojas (UCS) 13%, Antonio ARANIBAR Quiroga (MBL) 5%; no candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA won a congressional runoff election on 4 August 1993 after forming a coalition with Max FERNANDEZ and Antonio ARANIBAR

Legislative branch: Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy includes Marines (La Fuerza Naval Boliviana), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force ( Policia Nacional de Bolivia)
Chamber of Deputies Camara de Diputados: elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held May 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (130 total) MNR 52, UCS 20, ADN 17, MIR 17, CONDEPA 13, MBL 7, ARBOL 1, ASD 1, EJE 1, PDC 1
Chamber of Senators Camara de Senadores: elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held May 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (27 total) MNR 17, ADN 4, MIR 4, CONDEPA 1, UCS 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

International organization participation: AG, ECLAC, FAO, GATT, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Charles R. BOWERS
From the us chancery: 3,014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
From the us telephone: [591] (2) 350,251 or 350,120
From the us fax: (202) 328-3,712
From the us consulates general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco
From the us embassy: Banco Popular del Peru Building, corner of Calle Mercado and Calle Colon, La Paz
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz, or APO AA 34,032
From the us FAX: [591] (2) 359,875

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band

Economy overview: With its long history of semifeudal social controls, dependence on volatile prices for its mineral exports, and bouts of hyperinflation, Bolivia has remained one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries. However, Bolivia has experienced generally improving economic conditions since the PAZ Estenssoro administration (1985-89) introduced market-oriented policies which reduced inflation from 11,700% in 1985 to about 20% in 1988. PAZ Estenssoro was followed as President by Jaime PAZ Zamora (1989-93) who continued the free-market policies of his predecessor, despite opposition from his own party and from Bolivia's once powerful labor movement. By maintaining fiscal discipline, PAZ Zamora helped reduce inflation to 9.3% in 1993, while GDP grew by an annual average of 3.25% during his tenure. Inaugurated in August 1993, President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA has vowed to advance government market-oriented economic reforms he helped launch as PAZ Estenssoro's Planning Minister. A major privatization bill was passed by the Bolivian legislature in late March 1994.

Real gdp growth rate: 2.2% (1993)

Real gdp per capita: $2,100 (1993 est.)

Agriculture products: accounts for about 21% of GDP (including forestry and fisheries; principal commodities - coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, timber; self-sufficient in food

Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverage, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing; illicit drug industry reportedly produces 15% of its revenues

Industrial production growth rate: 7% (1992; accounts for almost 30% of GDP

Labor force: 3.54 million
By occupation agricultureNA servicesandutilities: 20%
By occupation miningand construction: 7% (1993)

Unemployment rate: 5.8% (1993)

Budget: revenues:$3.19 billion

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $752 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
Commodities: metals 35%, natural gas 26%, other 39% (coffee, soybeans, sugar, cotton, timber)
Partners: US 16% , Argentina (1992 est.)

Imports: $1.17 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
Commodities: food, petroleum, consumer goods, capital goods
Partners: US 23.3% (1992)

Debt external: $3.8 billion (January 1994)

Exchange rates: bolivianos ($B) per US$1 - 4.5 (March 1994), 4.4604 (November 1993), 3.9005 (1992), 3.5806 (1991), 3.1727 (1990), 2.6917 (1989), 2.3502 (1988)

Electricity
Capacity: 865,000 kW
Production: 1.834 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 250 kWh (1992)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: exchange rate conversion - $130.48 million; NA% of GDP (1994 est.)

Airports: 1,395
Usable: 1,188
With permanentsurface runways: 9
With runways over 3659 m: 2
With runways 2440-3659 m: 7
With runways 1220-2439 m: 165

Pipelines: crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km

Waterways: 10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways

Merchant marine: 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,214 GRT/6,390 DWT

Disputes international: has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Chile over Rio Lauca water rights

Illicit drugs: world's second-largest producer of coca (after Peru) with an estimated 45,500 hectares under cultivation in 1992; voluntary and forced eradication program unable to prevent production from rising to 80,300 metric tons in 1992 from 78,200 tons in 1989; government considers all but 12,000 hectares illicit; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia and Brazil to the US and other international drug markets