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, 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:

37.1% (male 1,624,366; female 1,562,501)

15-64 years:

58.4% (male 2,452,892; female 2,561,873)

65 years and over:

4.5% (male 172,292; female 212,519) (2003 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:

0.81 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

noun:

Bolivian(s)

adjective:

Bolivian

conventional long form:

Republic of Bolivia

conventional short form:

Bolivia

local short form:

Bolivia

local long form:

Republica de Bolivia

chief of state:

• President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 17 October 2003);
• Vice President (vacant);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

• President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 17 October 2003);
• Vice President (vacant);
• 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 30 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007)

election results:

• as a result of no candidate winning a majority in the 30 June 2002 election, Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante was chosen president by Congress;
• Congressional votes - Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante 84, Evo MORALES 43;
• note - following the resignation of the elected president on 17 October 2003, Vice President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert assumed the presidency

• 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)

• Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB [Romel PANTOJA];
• Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ];
• Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS];
• Marshal of Ayacucho Institutional Vanguard or VIMA [Freddy ZABALA];
• Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora];
• Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Evo MORALES];
• Movement Without Fear or MSM [Juan DEL GRANADO];
• Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez];
• Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA];
• New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES-VILLA];
• Pachakuti Indigenous Movement or MIP [Felipe QUISPE];
• Socialist Party or PS [Jeres JUSTINIANO]

note: the MNR, MIR, and UCS comprise the ruling coalition

• Cocalero Groups;
• indigenous organizations;
• labor unions;
• Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Felipe QUISPE]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Jaime APARICIO Otero

chancery:

3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

consulate(s) general:

Miami, New York, and San Francisco

consulate(s):

Washington, DC

FAX:

[1] (202) 328-3712

telephone:

[1] (202) 483-4410

chief of mission:

Ambassador David N. GREENLEE

embassy:

Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz

mailing address:

P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032

telephone:

[591] (2) 2430120, 2430251

FAX:

[591] (2) 2433900

• 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%:

1.3%

highest 10%:

32% (1999)

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)

total:

3,519 km

narrow gauge:

3,519 km 1.000-m gauge (2002)

total:

53,790 km

paved:

3,496 km (including 13 km of expressways)

unpaved:

50,294 km (2000 est.)

• gas 4,860 km;
• liquid petroleum gas 47 km;
• oil 2,460 km;
• refined products 1,589 km;
• unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2003)

• Puerto Aguirre (on the Paraguay/Parana waterway, at the Bolivia/Brazil border);
• also, Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay

• world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 24,400 hectares under cultivation in June 2002, a 23% increase from June 2001;
• 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 under the SANCHEZ DE LOZADA administration have been unable to keep pace with farmers' attempts to increase cultivation after significant reductions in 1998 and 1999;
• money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade, especially along the borders with Brazil and Paraguay