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 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.

Geographic coordinates: 17 00 S 65 00 W

Map reference: South America

Area
Total: 1,098,580 km²
Land: 1,084,390 km²
Water: 14,190 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 1,075 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: 1320 km² (2003)

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

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

Population: 9,119,152 (July 2007 est.)
Growth rate: 1.42% (2007 est.)
Below poverty line: 64% (2004 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Bolivian
Adjective: Bolivian

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

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

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 34.3% (male 1,593,509/female 1,532,155)
15-64 years: 61.1% (male 2,730,359/female 2,841,872)
65 years and over: 4.6% (male 187,123/female 234,134) (2007 est.)

Median age
Total: 22.2 years
Male: 21.5 years
Female: 22.9 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.42% (2007 est.)

Birth rate: 22.82 births/1000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate: 7.44 deaths/1000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.18 migrant(s)/1000 population (2007 est.)

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, Ozone Layer Protection

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 0.961 male/female
65 years and over: 0.799 male/female
Total population: 0.979 male/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 50.43 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 53.93 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 46.76 deaths/1000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 66.19 years
Male: 63.53 years
Female: 68.97 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.76 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2003 est.)
People living with hivaids: 4,900 (2003 est.)
Deaths: less than 500 (2003 est.)

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

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
Conventional short form: Bolivia
Local long form: Republica de Bolivia
Local short form: Bolivia

Government type: republic

Capital
Name: La Paz (administrative capital)
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

Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day 6 August (1825)

Constitution: 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994; referendum on new constitution to be held 6 August 2007

Legal system: based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; 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: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); 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 single five-year term; election last held 18 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010)
Election results: Juan Evo MORALES Ayma elected president; percent of vote - Juan Evo MORALES Ayma 53.7%; Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez 28.6%; Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana 7.8%; Michiaki NAGATANI Morishit 6.5%; Felipe QUISPE Huanca 2.2%; Guildo ANGULA Cabrera 0.7%

Legislative branch
Elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 18 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010)
Election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PODEMOS 13, MAS 12, UN 1, MNR 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 73, PODEMOS 43, UN 8, MNR 6

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges appointed for 10-year terms by National Congress); District Courts (one in each department); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases)

Political parties and leaders: Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Juan Evo MORALES Ayma]; Movement Without Fear or MSM [Juan DEL GRANADO]; National Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Mirta QUEVEDO]; National Unity [Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana]; Poder Democratico Nacional or PODEMOS [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]; Social Alliance [Rene JOAQUINO]

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Gustavo GUZMAN Saldana
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 consulates general: Houston, Miami, New York, Oklahoma City, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Philip S. GOLDBERG
From the us embassy: Avenida Arce 2,780, 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

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: Bolivia long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries reformed its economy after suffering a disastrous economic crisis in the early 1980s. The reforms spurred real GDP growth which averaged 4% in the 1990s and poverty rates fell. Economic growth however lagged again beginning in 1999 because of a global slowdown and homegrown factors such as political turmoil civil unrest and soaring fiscal deficits all of which hurt investor confidence. In 2003 violent protests against the pro-foreign investment economic policies of ex-President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA led to his resignation and the cancellation of plans to export Bolivia's newly discovered natural gas reserves to large northern hemisphere markets. In 2005 the government passed a controversial natural gas law that imposed significantly higher taxes on the oil and gas firms and required production firms to sign new operating contracts which were completed in October 2006. Bolivian officials are in the process of revamping the defunct state-owned oil company and acquiring majority ownership of five gas production transportation refining and storage companies. The MORALES administration plans to increase state control over other sectors as well including mining electricity telecommunications transportation and forestry. Real GDP growth in 2003-06 - helped by increased demand for natural gas in neighboring Brazil - was positive but still below the levels seen during the 1990s. Bolivia's fiscal position has improved in recent years and the country had a record 6% fiscal surplus for 2006. In 2005 the G8 announced a $2 billion debt-forgiveness plan over the next few decades. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank forgave a total of approximately $1.8 billion of Bolivian debt in 2006 that has helped reduce fiscal pressures on the government.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $27.87 billion (2006 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 4.5% (2006 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $3,100 (2006 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 12.6%
Industry: 35.6%
Services: 51.8% (2006 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: 5.7% (2004 est.)

Labor force: 4.297 million (2006 est.)
By occupation agriculture: NA%
By occupation industry: NA%
By occupation services: NA%

Unemployment rate: 7.8% in urban areas; widespread underemployment (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line: 64% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 0.3%
Highest 10: 47.2% (2002)

Distribution of family income gini index: 60.1 (2002)

Budget
Revenues: $4.48 billion
Expenditures: $3.95 billion (2006 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 4.3% (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $2.2 billion (2005)

Current account balance: $1.32 billion (2006 est.)

Exports: $3.696 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Commodities: natural gas soybeans and soy products crude petroleum zinc ore tin
Partners: Brazil 45.6% US 10.8% Argentina 9.2% Colombia 6.8% Japan 5.5% South Korea 4.3% (2006)

Imports: $2.636 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Commodities: petroleum products plastics paper aircraft and aircraft parts prepared foods automobiles insecticides soybeans
Partners: Brazil 29.3% Argentina 16% Chile 12.1% US 9.1% Peru 8.1% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $3.194 billion (2006 est.)

Debt external: $4.455 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $NA

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $NA

Exchange rates: bolivianos per US dollar - 8.0159 (2006) 8.0661 (2005) 7.9363 (2004) 7.6592 (2003) 7.17 (2002)

Electricity
Production: 5.041 billion kWh (2005)
Consumption: 4.207 billion kWh (2005)
Exports: 0 kWh (2005)
Imports: 0 kWh (2005)

Natural gas
Production: 11.84 billion m³ (2005 est.)
Consumption: 2.024 billion m³ (2005 est.)
Exports: 9.821 billion m³ (2005 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2005)
Proven reserves: 651.8 billion m³ (1 January 2006 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 646,300 (2005)
Mobile cellular: 2.421 million (2005)

Telephone system
General assessment: privatization beginning in 1995; reliability has steadily improved; new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile- cellular telephone use expanding rapidly; fixed-line teledensity of 7 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 27 per 100 persons
Domestic: primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded
International: country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)

Internet
Country code: .bo
Hosts: 24,363 (2007)
Users: 580,000 (2006)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 1.9% (2006)

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; when annual number of volunteers falls short of goal compulsory recruitment is effected including conscription of boys as young as 14; one estimate holds that 40% of the armed forces are under the age of 18 with 50% of those under the age of 16; conscript tour of duty - 12 months (2004)

Airports: 1061 (2007)
With paved runways total: 16
With paved runways over 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 1,045
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 57
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 183
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 800 (2007)

Pipelines: gas 4,860 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,475 km; refined products 1589 km; unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2006)

Railways
Total: 3,504 km
Narrow gauge: 3,504 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)

Roadways
Total: 62,479 km
Paved: 3,749 km
Unpaved: 58,730 km (2004)

Waterways: 10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2007)

Merchant marine
Total: 25 ships (1000 GRT or over) 73,877 GRT/110,148 DWT
By type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 12, carrier 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 9
Foreign owned: 9 (Argentina 1, China 1, Egypt 1, Iran 1, Italy 1, Singapore 1, Syria 1, Taiwan 1, Yemen 1) (2007)

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

Disputes international: Chile rebuffs Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor ceded to Chile in 1884 offering instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian natural gas and other commodities

Illicit drugs: world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 26,500 hectares under cultivation in August 2005 an 8% increase from 2004; transit country for Peruvian and Colombian cocaine destined for Brazil Argentina Chile Paraguay and Europe; cultivation steadily increasing despite eradication and alternative crop programs; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade especially along the borders with Brazil and Paraguay; major cocaine consumption