top of pageBackground: 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 coups and countercoups, with the last coup occurring in 1978. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production.
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, lead, gold, timber, hydropower
Natural hazards: flooding in the northeast (March to April)
volcanism: volcanic activity in Andes Mountains on the border with Chile; historically active volcanoes in this region are Irruputuncu (5,163 m), which last erupted in 1995, and the Olca-Paruma volcanic complex (5,762 m to 5,167 m)
GeographyNote: note 1: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru
note 2: the southern regions of Peru and the extreme northwestern part of Bolivia are considered to be the place of origin for the common potato
top of pagePopulationDistribution: a high altitude plain in the west between two cordillera of the Andes, known as the Altiplano, is the focal area for most of the population; a dense settlement pattern is also found in and around the city of Santa Cruz, located on the eastern side of the Andes: 11,306,341 (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 80
Growth rate: 1.48% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 74
Below poverty line:38.6% (2015 est.)
note: based on percent of population living on less than the international standard of $2/day
Ethnic groups:
mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 68%, indigenous 20%, white 5%, cholo/chola 2%, black 1%, other 1%, unspecified 3% ; 44% of respondents indicated feeling part of some indigenous group, predominantly Quechua or Aymara (2009 est.)
note: results among surveys vary based on the wording of the ethnicity question and the available response choices; the 2001 national census did not provide 'mestizo' as a response choice, resulting in a much higher proportion of respondents identifying themselves as belonging to one of the available indigenous ethnicity choices; the use of 'mestizo' and 'cholo' varies among response choices in surveys, with surveys using the terms interchangeably, providing one or the other as a response choice, or providing the two as separate response choices
Languages:
Spanish (official) 60.7%, Quechua (official) 21.2%, Aymara (official) 14.6%, Guarani (official) 0.6%, other native languages 0.4%, foreign languages 2.4%, none 0.1% (2001 est.)
note: Bolivia's 2009 constitution designates Spanish and all indigenous languages as official; 36 indigenous languages are specified, including a few that are extinct
Religions: Roman Catholic 76.8%, Evangelical and Pentecostal 8.1%, Protestant 7.9%, other 1.7%, none 5.5% (2012 est.)
Demographic profile: Bolivia ranks at or near the bottom among Latin American countries in several areas of health and development, including poverty, education, fertility, malnutrition, mortality, and life expectancy. On the positive side, more children are being vaccinated and more pregnant women are getting prenatal care and having skilled health practitioners attend their births.Bolivia’s income inequality is the highest in Latin America and one of the highest in the world. Public education is of poor quality, and educational opportunities are among the most unevenly distributed in Latin America, with girls and indigenous and rural children less likely to be literate or to complete primary school. The lack of access to education and family planning services helps to sustain Bolivia’s high fertility rate—approximately three children per woman. Bolivia’s lack of clean water and basic sanitation, especially in rural areas, contributes to health problems.Between 7% and 16% of Bolivia’s population lives abroad (estimates vary in part because of illegal migration). Emigrants primarily seek jobs and better wages in Argentina (the principal destination), the US, and Spain. In recent years, more restrictive immigration policies in Europe and the US have increased the flow of Bolivian emigrants to neighboring countries. Fewer Bolivians migrated to Brazil in 2015 and 2016 because of its recession; increasing numbers have been going to Chile, mainly to work as miners.
Age structure0-14 years: 31.34% (male 1,805,765 /female 1,737,647)
15-24 years: 19.37% (male 1,109,388 /female 1,080,662)
25-54 years: 37.9% (male 2,098,847 /female 2,185,890)
55-64 years: 5.96% (male 310,250 /female 363,403)
65 years and over: 5.43% (male 270,435 /female 344,054) (2018 est.)
Population distribution: a high altitude plain in the west between two cordillera of the Andes, known as the Altiplano, is the focal area for most of the population; a dense settlement pattern is also found in and around the city of Santa Cruz, located on the eastern side of the Andes
Major urban areasPopulation: 278,000 Sucre (constitutional capital) (2018); 1.835 million LA PAZ (capital), 1.677 million Santa Cruz, 1.271 million Cochabamba (2019)
EnvironmentCurrent 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
top of pageAdministrative divisions: 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
ConstitutionHistory: many previous; latest drafted 6 August 2006 to 9 December 2008, approved by referendum 25 January 2009, effective 7 February 2009; note - in late 2017, the Constitutional Tribunal declared inapplicable provisions of the constitution that prohibit elected officials, including the president, from serving more than 2 consecutive terms
Amendments: proposed through public petition by at least 20% of voters or by the Plurinational Legislative Assembly; passage requires approval by at least two-thirds majority vote of the total membership of the Assembly and approval in a referendum; amended 2013 (2018)
Legal system: civil law system with influences from Roman, Spanish, canon (religious), French, and indigenous law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branchChief of state:Interim President Jeanine ANEZ Chavez (since 12 November 2019); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
note: former President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma resigned from office on 10 November 2019 over alleged election rigging; resignations of all his constitutionally designated successors followed, including the Vice President, President of the Senate, President of the Chamber of Deputies, and First Vice President of the Senate, leaving the Second Vice President of the Senate, Jeanine ANEZ Chavez, the highest-ranking official still in office; her appointment to the presidency was endorsed by Bolivias Constitutional Court
Head of government: Interim President Jeanine ANEZ Chavez (since 12 November 2019); Vice President (vacant)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
Electionsappointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot one of 3 ways: candidate wins at least 50% of the vote, or at least 40% of the vote and 10% more than the next highest candidate; otherwise a second round is held and the winner determined by simple majority vote; president and vice president are elected by majority vote to serve a 5-year term; no term limits (changed from two consecutive term limit by Constitutional Court in late 2017); election last held on 20 October 2019 (next to be held NA); note - on 10 November 2019, as a result of an Organization of American States report citing manipulations of the voting system, President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma announced that the October election results would be annulled and called for fresh elections; MORALES resigned from his position later that day
Election results:
results from the 12 October 2014 election: Juan Evo MORALES Ayma reelected president; percent of vote - Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (MAS) 61%; Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana (UN) 24.5%; Jorge QUIROGA Ramirez (POC) 9.1%; other 5.4%
results from the annulled 20 October 2019 election: Juan Evo MORALES Ayma reelected president; percent of vote - Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (MAS) 47.1%; Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (CC) 36.5%; CHI Hyun Chung (PDC) 8.8%; Oscar ORTIZ Antelo (MDS) 4.2%, other 3.4%; note - MORALES was reelected without runoff because his margin over the runner-up was more than 10%
: note: weeks of protest in La Paz and other cities over allegations of fraud following the October 2019 general election, an announcement by the Organization of American States that the election was manipulated, and pressure from the Bolivian military all culminated in the annulment of the election and the resignation of President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma on 10 November 2019; Interim President Jeanine ANEZ Chavez has pledged to hold new elections as soon as possible
Legislative branchDescription:bicameral Plurinational Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional consists of:
Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (36 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)
Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; 70 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 53 directly elected in single-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote, and 7 - apportioned to non-contiguous, rural areas in 7 of the 9 states - directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections:
Chamber of Senators - last held on 20 October 2019 (next to be held in October 2024)
Chamber of Deputies - last held on 20 October 2019 (next to be held in October 2024)
Election results:
Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 21, ACC 14, MDS 1
Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 67, ACC 50, PDC 9, MDS 4
Judicial branchHighest courts: Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (consists of 12 judges or ministros organized into civil, penal, social, and administrative chambers); Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal (consists of 7 primary and 7 alternate magistrates); Plurinational Electoral Organ (consists of 7 members and 6 alternates); National Agro-Environment Court (consists of 5 primary and 5 alternate judges; Council of the Judiciary (consists of 3 primary and 3 alternate judges)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court, Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal, National Agro-Environmental Court, and Council of the Judiciary candidates pre-selected by the Plurinational Legislative Assembly and elected by direct popular vote; judges elected for 6-year terms; Plurinational Electoral Organ judges appointed - 6 by the Legislative Assembly and 1 by the president of the republic; members serve single 6-year terms
Subordinate courts: National Electoral Court; District Courts (in each of the 9 administrative departments); agro-environmental lower courts
Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]Community Citizen Alliance or ACC [Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert]Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Juan Evo MORALES Ayma]National Unity or UN [Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana]Social Democrat Movement or MDS [Ruben COSTAS Aguilera]
em>note:/em> the Democrat Unity Coalition or UD [Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana] was a coalition comprised of several of the largest opposition parties participating in the 2014 election, which included the Democrats (MDS), National Unity Front (UN), and Without Fear Movement
International organization participation: CAN, CD, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, 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, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAMID, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representationIn the us chancery: 2,109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20,037
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 483-4,410
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 328-3,712
In the us consulate: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Washington, DC
In the us: note: in September 2008, the US expelled the Bolivian ambassador to the US in reciprocity for Bolivia expelling the US ambassador to Bolivia
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge dAffaires Bruce WILLIAMSON (since December 2017)
From the us telephone: [591] (2) 216-8,000
From the us embassy: Avenida Arce 2,780, Casilla 425, La Paz
From the us mailing address: 3,220 La Paz Place, Dulles, VA, 20,189-3,220
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, Philip GOLDBERG, and both countries have yet to reinstate their 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, two national flowers: the cantuta and the patuju; national colors: red, yellow, green
top of pageEconomy overview: Bolivia is a resource rich country with strong growth attributed to captive markets for natural gas exports - to Brazil and Argentina. However, the country remains one of the least developed countries in Latin America because of state-oriented policies that deter investment.Following an economic crisis during the early 1980s, reforms in the 1990s spurred private investment, stimulated economic growth, and cut poverty rates. 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 2005-06, the government passed hydrocarbon laws 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; the laws engendered much public debate. High commodity prices between 2010 and 2014 sustained rapid growth and large trade surpluses with GDP growing 6.8% in 2013 and 5.4% in 2014. The global decline in oil prices that began in late 2014 exerted downward pressure on the price Bolivia receives for exported gas and resulted in lower GDP growth rates - 4.9% in 2015 and 4.3% in 2016 - and losses in government revenue as well as fiscal and trade deficits.A lack of foreign investment in the key sectors of mining and hydrocarbons, along with conflict among social groups, pose challenges for the Bolivian economy. In 2015, President Evo MORALES expanded efforts to court international investment and boost Bolivia’s energy production capacity. MORALES passed an investment law and promised not to nationalize additional industries in an effort to improve the investment climate. In early 2016, the Government of Bolivia approved the 2016-2020 National Economic and Social Development Plan aimed at maintaining growth of 5% and reducing poverty.
Agriculture products: soybeans, quinoa, Brazil nuts, sugarcane, coffee, corn, rice, potatoes, chia, coca
Industries: mining, smelting, electricity, petroleum, food and beverages, handicrafts, clothing, jewelry
Unemployment rate:
4% (2017 est.)
4% (2016 est.)
note: data are for urban areas; widespread underemployment
Rank: 49
Public debt:
49% of GDP (2017 est.)
44.9% of GDP (2016 est.)
note: data cover general government debt and includes debt instruments issued by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities
Rank: 104
Exports:
$7.746 billion (2017 est.)
$7.214 billion (2016 est.)
Rank: 98
Partners: Brazil 17.9%, Argentina 16%, US 7.8%, Japan 7.3%, India 6.6%, South Korea 6.3%, Colombia 5.8%, China 5.1%, UAE 4.7% (2017)
Commodities: natural gas, silver, zinc, lead, tin, gold, quinoa, soybeans and soy products
Imports:
$8.601 billion (2017 est.)
$7.888 billion (2016 est.)
Rank: 108
Commodities: machinery, petroleum products, vehicles, iron and steel, plastics
Partners: China 21.7%, Brazil 16.8%, Argentina 12.6%, US 8.4%, Peru 6.5% (2017)
Debt external:
$12.81 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$7.268 billion (31 December 2016 est.)
Rank: 106
Exchange rates:
6.86 (2017 est.)
6.86 (2016 est.)
6.91 (2015 est.)
6.91 (2014 est.)
6.91 (2013 est.)
top of pagetop of pageTelephone systemGeneral assessment: state-owned Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Entel) is the countrys incumbent long-distance operator, and offers local telephone service, DSL, and satellite TV; its subsidiary Entel Movil is Bolivias largest mobile network provider, reliability, and coverage have steadily improved, but some remote areas are still underserved; Entel plans to extend fiber to all 339 municipal capital cities by 2022; MNP (mobile number potability) launched in October 2018; Bolivian Space Agency planning to launch a second telecom satellite after 2020 (2019)
Domestic: most telephones are concentrated in La Paz, Santa Cruz, and other capital cities; 8 per 100 fixed-line, mobile-cellular telephone use expanding rapidly and teledensity stands at 91 per 100 persons (2018)
International: country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); Bolivia has no direct access to submarine cable networks and must therefore connect to the rest of the world either via satellite or through terrestrial links across neighboring countries (2019)
Broadcast media: large number of radio and TV stations broadcasting with private media outlets dominating; state-owned and private radio and TV stations generally operating freely, although both pro-government and anti-government groups have attacked media outlets in response to their reporting
top of pageMilitary and security forces: Bolivian Armed Forces: Bolivian Army (Ejercito Boliviano, EB), Bolivian Naval Force (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, FNB, includes Marines), Bolivian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana, FAB); Ministry of Interior: National Police (Policía Nacional de Bolivia, PNB; includes Anti-Narcotics Special Forces (Fuerza Especial de Lucha Contra el Narcotráfico, FELCN) (2019)
Military service age and obligation: 16-49 years of age for 12-month voluntary male and female military service; Bolivian citizenship required; minimum age for combat duty is 18; 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 (2017)
top of pagePipelines: 5,457 km gas, 51 km liquid petroleum gas, 2,511 km oil, 1627 km refined products (2013)
Waterways: 10,000 km
Note: (commercially navigable almost exclusively in the northern and eastern parts of the country) (2012)
Rank: 13
Ports and terminalsRiver port: Puerto Aguirre (Paraguay/Parana):
note: Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay
Bolivia - Transnational issues 2019
top of pageDisputes 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 products; contraband smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal narcotic trafficking are problems in the porous areas of its border regions with all of its neighbors (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru)
Illicit drugs: world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 37,500 hectares under cultivation in 2016, a 3 percent increase over 2015; third largest producer of cocaine, estimated at 275 metric tons potential pure cocaine in 2016; transit country for Peruvian and Colombian cocaine destined for Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Europe; weak border controls; some money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade; major cocaine consumption
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