Bolivia

Republic of BoliviaRepublica de Bolivia

republicIndependence 6 August 1825 (from Spain)

Bolivia as the 1999 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 108 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalLa Paz (seat of government)
Position17 00 S, 65 00 W
Area1,098,580 sq km
LocationCentral South America, southwest of Brazil
1999

Every edition of Bolivia

Populationas each edition published it
7.98 million July 1999 est. · 6.71m in 1990
Population growth% a year
1.96% 1999 est. · 2.31% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 20.8 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
61.43 years 1999 est. · 62.77 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
3.93 children per woman 1999 est. · 4.7 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
62.02 deaths per 1,000 live births 1999 est. · 125 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$3,000 1998 est. · $670 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
4.7% 1998 est. · 3.8% in 1993

Introduction

1 field

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.

Geography

Central South America, southwest of Brazil

18 fields

Land useshare of 1,098,580 sq km

arable land 2%permanent crops 0%permanent pastures 24%forests and woodland 53%other 21% (1993 est.)irrigated 1,750 sq km (1993 est.)
Area
1,098,580sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq kmwater: 14,190 sq kmslightly less than three times the size of Montana
Coastline
0km
(landlocked)Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Highest point
6,542m
Nevado Sajamalowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
Land boundaries
6,743km
border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km

Location

Central South America, southwest of Brazil

Geographic coordinates

17 00 S, 65 00 W

Map references

South America

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

Natural hazards

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; 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified:
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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

People

15 fields
Population
7,982,850
(July 1999 est.)growth rate: 1.96% (1999 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1999 est.)

Birth
30.72Death
9.61Net migration
-1.5

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (1999 est.)61.43
58.51 · 64.51
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1995 est.)83.1%
90.5% · 76%
MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Ethnic groups

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

Age structure

0-14 years:
39% (male 1,573,391; female 1,540,123)
15-64 years:
56% (male 2,199,077; female 2,307,490)
65 years and over:
5% (male 164,213; female 198,556) (1999 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.83 male(s)/female
total population:
0.97 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate

62.02 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.93 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Bolivian(s)
adjective:
Bolivian

Religions

Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)

Languages

Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)

Government

Republic; President Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997); President Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997)

19 fields

Legislature, 130 seatsone dot, one seat

-ADN 32MNR 26MIR 23UCS 21CONDEPA 19MBL 5IU 4

Country name

conventional long form:
Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form:
Bolivia
local long form:
Republica de Bolivia
local short form:
Bolivia

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

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 from a panel of candidates proposed by the Senate
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 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)

elections:
Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies--last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held 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 (Corte Suprema), judges appointed for a 10-year term by National Congress

Center-Left Parties

Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR SANCHEZ DE LOZADA] FERNANDEZ, Hugo VILLEGAS]

Indigenous Parties

Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement

International organization participation

CAN, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador Marcelo PEREZ Monasterios
chancery:
3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general:
Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission:
Ambassador Donna Jean HRINAK
embassy:
Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz
mailing address:
P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032

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

With its long history of semifeudal social | controls, dependence on mineral exports, and bouts of | hyperinflation, Bolivia has remained one of the poorest and least | developed Latin American countries.

31 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$3,000
purchasing power parity? · (1998 est.)
Real growth rate
4.7%
(1998 est.)industrial production growth: 4% (1995 est.)
Unemployment rate
11.4%
(1997) with widespread underemployment

GDP--composition by sector(1995 est.)

agriculture 17%industry 26%services 57% (1995 est.)

Budget

Revenues
$2.7 billionExpenditures
$2.7 billion (1998)

Electricity

fossil fuel 40.68%hydro 59.32%nuclear 0% · other 0%
Electricity production
2.95 billion (1996)Electricity consumption
2.948 billion (1996)Electricity exports
2 million (1996)

Economy--overview

With its long history of semifeudal social controls, dependence on 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. President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993-1997) vowed to advance the market-oriented economic reforms he helped launch as PAZ Estenssoro's planning minister.

His successes included the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur) as well as the privatization of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. Hugo BANZER Suarez has tried to further improve the country's investment climate with an anticorruption campaign. With the scheduled completion of a $2 billion natural gas pipeline to Brazil in 1999, Bolivia hopes to become an energy hub in the region.

GDP

purchasing power parity--$23.4 billion (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%:
2.3%
highest 10%:
31.7% (1990)

Labor force

2.5 million

Labor force--by occupation

agriculture NA%, services and utilities NA%, manufacturing, mining and construction NA%

Industries

mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing

Agriculture--products

soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber

Exports

$1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Exports--commodities

metals 34%, natural gas 9.4%, soybeans 8.4%, jewelry 11%, wood 6.9%

Exports--partners

US 22%, UK 9.3%, Colombia 8.7%, Peru 7.4%, Argentina 7.2%

Imports

$1.7 billion (c.i.f. 1998)

Imports--commodities

capital goods 48%, chemicals 11%, petroleum 5%, food 5% (1993 est.)

Imports--partners

US 20%, Japan 13%, Brazil 12, Chile 7.5% (1996)

Debt--external

$4.1 billion (1998)

Economic aid--recipient

$588 million (1997)

Currency

1 boliviano ($B) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates

bolivianos ($B) per US$1--5.6491 (January 1999), 5.5101 (1998), 5.2543 (1997), 5.0746 (1996), 4.8003 (1995), 4.6205 (1994)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

6 fields
Fixed lines
144,300
(1987 est.)

Telephone system

new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities

domestic:
microwave radio relay system being expanded
international:
satellite earth station--1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 177, FM 68, shortwave 112 (1998)

Televisions

500,000 (1993 est.)

Transportation

9 fields

Merchant marine, 6 ships by typeone square, one ship · (1998 est.)

bulk 1cargo 5

Airports by runway lengthunpaved only

under 914 m
821
total: 1,118 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 70 914 to 1,523 m: 224

Networkskm

Highways
52,216Railways
3,691
Highways: paved: 2,872 km (including 27 km of expressways) · unpaved: 49,344 km (1995 est.) · Railways: (single track) · narrow gauge: 3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge (13 km electrified) (1995)

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:
52,216 km
paved:
2,872 km (including 27 km of expressways)
unpaved:
49,344 km (1995 est.)

Waterways

10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways

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 the maritime ports of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay

Airports

1,130 (1998 est.)

Airports--with paved runways

total:
12
over 3,047 m:
4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1998 est.)

Military

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

7 fields

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--availability

males age 15-49: 1,908,454 (1999 est.)

Military manpower--fit for military service

males age 15-49: 1,241,311 (1999 est.)

Transnational Issues

2 fields

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 Peru and Colombia) with an estimated 46,900 hectares under cultivation in 1997, a 2.5% decrease in overall cultivation of coca from 1996 levels;
  • Bolivia, however, is the second-largest producer of coca leaf;
  • even so, farmer abandonment and voluntary and forced eradication programs resulted in leaf production dropping from 75,100 metric tons in 1996 to 73,000 tons in 1997, a 3% decrease from 1996;
  • government considers all but 12,000 hectares illicit;
  • intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to the US and other international drug markets;
  • alternative crop program aims to reduce illicit coca cultivation

Central Intelligence Agency. “Bolivia.” The World Factbook 1999. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/bolivia/1999.

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