World Facts Index
 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.
Geography of Bolivia
|
Location:
|
Central South America,
southwest of Brazil |
|
Coordinates:
|
17 00 S, 65 00 W |
|
Area:
|
total: 1,098,580 sq
km
water: 14,190 sq km
land: 1,084,390 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) |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
Geography - note:
|
landlocked; shares control
of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m),
with Peru
|
More Geography
Population of Bolivia
|
Population:
|
9,247,816 (July 2008 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 35% (male 1,603,982/female 1,542,319)
15-64 years: 60.4% (male 2,660,806/female 2,771,807)
65 years and over: 4.6% (male 182,412/female 227,720) |
|
Median age:
|
21.8 years |
|
Infant mortality:
|
51.77 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 65.84 years
male: 63.21 years
female: 68.61 years |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
2.85 children born/woman |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and
Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, 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: 87.2%
male: 93.1%
female: 81.6%
|
Government
|
Country name:
|
long form: Republic of
Bolivia
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 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) |
|
Legislative branch:
|
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists
of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 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; 69 are directly elected from their districts
and 61 are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year
terms) |
|
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) |
Economy
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, which was made the sole
exporter of natural gas. The law also required that the state energy company
regain control over the five companies that were privatized during the 1990s -
a process that is still underway. In 2006, higher earnings for mining and
hydrocarbons exports pushed the current account surplus to about 12% of GDP
and the government's higher tax take produced a fiscal surplus after years of
large deficits. Debt relief from the G8 - announced in 2005 - also has
significantly reduced Bolivia's public sector debt burden. Private investment
as a share of GDP, however, remains among the lowest in Latin America, and
inflation reached double-digit levels in 2007.
|
GDP:
|
$39.75 billion (2007 est.) |
|
GDP growth rate:
|
4% |
|
GDP per capita:
|
$4,400 |
|
GDP composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 12.8%
industry: 35.2%
services: 52% |
|
Population below poverty line:
|
64% |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 32% |
|
Inflation rate:
|
5.4% |
|
Labor force:
|
4.22 million |
|
Unemployment:
|
8% in urban areas; widespread underemployment. |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $2.848 billion
expenditures: $3.189 billion |
|
Industries:
|
mining, smelting, petroleum, food and
beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing |
|
Electricity production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 44.4%
hydro: 54%
other: 1.5%
nuclear: 0% |
|
Agriculture:
|
soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn,
sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber |
|
Exports:
|
natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum,
zinc ore, tin |
|
Export partners:
|
Brazil 35.3%, Venezuela 12.1%, US 11.6%, Argentina 6.5%,
Colombia 5.9%, Peru 4.5% |
|
Imports:
|
petroleum products, plastics, paper, aircraft and aircraft
parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans |
|
Import partners:
|
Brazil 21.9%, Argentina 16.7%, US 13.8%, Chile 6.9%, Peru
6.5%, Japan 6.1%, China 5.8% |
|
Currency:
|
boliviano (BOB) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2008 worldfacts.us |