Bolivia

• 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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, 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

0-14 years:

39.11% (male 1,624,404; female 1,564,057)

15-64 years:

56.42% (male 2,247,013; female 2,352,824)

65 years and over:

4.47% (male 164,473; female 199,849) (2000 est.)

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 (2000 est.)

noun:

Bolivian(s)

adjective:

Bolivian

conventional long form:

Republic of Bolivia

conventional short form:

Bolivia

local long form:

Republica de Bolivia

local short form:

Bolivia

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 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

• Alternative of Democratic Socialism or ASD [Jerjes JUSTINIANO];
• April 9 Revolutionary Vanguard or VR-9 [Carlos SERRATE];
• Bolivian Communist Party or PCB [Marcos DOMIC];
• Bolivian Renovating Alliance or ARBOL [Marcelo FERNANDEZ, Hugo VILLEGAS];
• Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB [leader NA];
• Christian Democrat or PDC [Benjamin MIGUEL];
• Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ];
• Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado];
• Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Antonio ARANIBAR];
• Front of Katarista Unity or FULKA [Genaro FLORES];
• Front of National Salvation or FSN [Manual MORALES Davila];
• Katarismo National Unity or KND [Filepe KITTELSON];
• Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Oscar EID];
• Movement Towards Socialism-Popular Instrument for Solidarity with the People or MAS-IPSP [leader Evo MORALES];
• Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Enrique TORO];
• Nationalist Katarista Movement or MKN [Fernando UNTOJA];
• Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA];
• New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES VILLA];
• New Youth Force [Alfonso SAAVEDRA Bruno];
• Patriotic Axis of Convergence or EJE-P [Ramiro BARRANECHEA];
• Popular Patriotic Movement or MPP [Julio MANTILLA];
• Revolutionary Front of the Left or FRI [Oscar ZAMORA];
• Socialist Party One or PS-1 [leader NA];
• Solidarity and Democracy or SYD [leader NA];
• Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement or MRTK-L [Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde];
• United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC];
• Unity and Progress Movement or MUP [Ivo KULJIS]

note: political blocs include: left - MBL, EJE-P, VR-9, ASD, FRI, PCB, IU, FSN, PS-1, FSB, and MAS; center left - MIR, PDC, and New Youth Force; center - MNR;

center right - ADN and NFR; populist - UCS, CONDEPA, SYD, MUP, and MPP; evangelical - ARBOL; indigenous - MRTK-L, MKN, and KND

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

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

telephone:

[591] (2) 430251

FAX:

[591] (2) 433900

• 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

lowest 10%:

2.3%

highest 10%:

31.7% (1990)

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)

total:

52,216 km

paved:

2,872 km (including 27 km of expressways)

unpaved:

49,344 km (1995 est.)

• crude oil 1,800 km;
• petroleum products 580 km;
• natural gas 1,495 km

total:

32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 116,373 GRT/182,283 DWT

ships by type:

bulk 3, cargo 17, chemical tanker 3, container 1, petroleum tanker 6, roll-on/roll-off 2 (1999 est.)

• world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Peru and Colombia) with an estimated 21,800 hectares under cultivation in 1999, a 45% decrease in overall cultivation of coca from 1998 levels;
• 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 [Country Listing] [ The World Factbook Home]