| Bolivia |
Introduction Geography People Government Economy Communications Transportation Military Transnational Issues

Bolivia | Introduction | Top of Page

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 counter-coups. Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in the 1980s, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and drug production. Current goals include attracting foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, continuing the privatization program, and waging an anti-corruption campaign.

Bolivia | Geography | Top of Page

Location: | Central South America, southwest of Brazil

Geographic coordinates: | 17 00 S, 65 00 W

Map references: | South America

Area: | total: 1,098,580 sq km land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km

Area - comparative: | slightly less than three times the size of Montana

Land boundaries: | total: 6,743 km border countries: 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

Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m 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% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 53% other: 21% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: | 1,750 sq km (1993 est.)

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

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

Environment - international agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection

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

Bolivia | People | Top of Page

Population: | 8,300,463 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: | 0-14 years: 38.46% (male 1,626,698; female 1,565,748) 15-64 years: 57.07% (male 2,315,098; female 2,421,987) 65 years and over: 4.47% (male 166,986; female 203,946) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: | 1.76% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: | 27.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: | 8.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: | -1.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: | 58.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 64.06 years male: 61.53 years female: 66.72 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: | 3.51 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.1% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 4,200 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 380 (1999 est.)

Nationality: | noun: Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian

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

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

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

Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.1% male: 90.5% female: 76% (1995 est.)

Bolivia | Government | Top of Page

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: | 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; revised in August 1994

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 Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997); Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 6 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997); Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 6 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held May or June 2002) election results: Hugo BANZER Suarez elected president; percent of vote - Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN) 22%; Jaime PAZ Zamora (MIR) 17%, Juan Carlos DURAN (MNR) 18%, Ivo KULJIS (UCS) 16%, Remedios LOZA (CONDEPA) 17%; no candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Hugo BANZER Suarez won a congressional runoff election on 5 August 1997 after forming a "megacoalition" with MIR, UCS, CONDEPA, NFR, and PDC

Legislative branch: | bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - some members are drawn from party lists, thus not directly elected) elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA June 2002) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ADN 11, MIR 7, MNR 4, CONDEPA 3, UCS 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ADN 32, MNR 26, MIR 23, UCS 21, CONDEPA 19, MBL 5, IU 4

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: | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [leader NA]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Antonio ARANIBAR]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Hugo BANZER Suarez]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [leader NA]; Pachacuti Indigenous Movement [Filipe QUISPE]; United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC] note: the ADN, MIR, and UCS comprise the ruling coalition

Political pressure groups and leaders: | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions

International organization participation: | CAN, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Marlene FERNANDEZ del Granado chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador V. Manuel ROCHA embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 432254 FAX: [591] (2) 433854

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

Bolivia | Economy | Top of Page

Economy - overview: | Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, has made considerable progress toward the development of a market-oriented economy. Successes under President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993-97) included the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and joining the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur), as well as the privatization of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. His successor, Hugo BANZER Suarez has tried to further improve the country's investment climate with an anticorruption campaign. Growth slowed in 1999, in part due to tight government budget policies, which limited needed appropriations for anti-poverty programs, and the fallout from the Asian financial crisis. In 2000, major civil disturbances in April, and again in September and October, held down overall growth to 2.5%.

GDP: | purchasing power parity - $20.9 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: | 2.5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 16% industry: 31% services: 53% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: | 70% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 31.7% (1990)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 4.4% (2000 est.)

Labor force: | 2.5 million

Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate: | 11.4% (1997) note: widespread underemployment

Budget: | revenues: $2.7 billion expenditures: $2.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998)

Industries: | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing

Industrial production growth rate: | 4% (1995 est.)

Electricity - production: | 3.625 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 56.61% hydro: 41.6% nuclear: 0% other: 1.79% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: | 3.377 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: | 4 million kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: | 10 million kWh (1999)

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

Exports: | $1.26 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood

Exports - partners: | UK 16%, US 12%, Peru 11%, Argentina 10%, Colombia 7% (1998)

Imports: | $1.86 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food

Imports - partners: | US 32%, Japan 24%, Brazil 12%, Argentina 12%, Chile 7%, Peru 4%, Germany 3%, other 6% (1998)

Debt - external: | $6.6 billion (2000)

Economic aid - recipient: | $588 million (1997)

Currency: | boliviano (BOB)

Currency code: | BOB

Exchange rates: | bolivianos per US dollar - 6.4071 (January 2001), 6.1835 (2000), 5.8124 (1999), 5.5101 (1998), 5.2543 (1997), 5.0746 (1996)

Fiscal year: | calendar year

Bolivia | Communications | Top of Page

Telephones - main lines in use: | 327,600 (1996)

Telephones - mobile cellular: | 116,000 (1997)

Telephone system: | general assessment: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile cellular telephone use expanding rapidly 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: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999)

Radios: | 5.25 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: | 48 (1997)

Televisions: | 900,000 (1997)

Internet country code: | .bo

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 9 (2000)

Internet users: | 35,000 (2000)

Bolivia | Transportation | Top of Page

Railways: | total: 3,691 km (single track) narrow gauge: 3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge (13 km electrified) (1995)

Highways: | total: 49,400 km paved: 2,500 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 46,900 km (1996)

Waterways: | 10,000 km (commercially navigable)

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

Ports and harbors: | none; however, Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay

Merchant marine: | total: 42 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 141,017 GRT/211,058 DWT ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 20, chemical tanker 3, container 1, petroleum tanker 10, roll on/roll off 3 (2000 est.)

Airports: | 1,093 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: | total: 13 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 1,080 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 65 914 to 1,523 m: 212 under 914 m: 800 (2000 est.)

Bolivia | Military | Top of Page

Military branches: | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia)

Military manpower - military age: | 19 years of age

Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 2,005,660 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 1,306,452 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 90,120 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $147 million (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.8% (FY99)

Bolivia | Transnational Issues | Top of Page

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 third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru, a distant second) with an estimated 14,600 hectares under cultivation in 2000, a 33% decrease in overall cultivation of coca from 1999 levels; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to the US and other international drug markets; eradication and alternative crop programs have slashed illicit coca cultivation during the BANZER administration beginning in 1997