Bolivia
Republic of BoliviaRepublica de Bolivia
republicIndependence 6 August 1825 (from Spain)
Bolivia as the 2008 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 136 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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
Central South America, southwest of Brazil
20 fieldsLand useshare of 1,098,580 sq km
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, hydropower
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)
- total:
- 1.44 cu km/yr (13%/7%/81%)
- per capita:
- 157 cu m/yr (2000)
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, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
- signed, but not ratified:
- Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note
landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru
People
21 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2008 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2008 est.)
Male · female
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:
- 0.8 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.98 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Major infectious diseases
- degree of risk:
- high
- food or waterborne diseases:
- bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
- vectorborne diseases:
- dengue fever, malaria, and yellow fever
- water contact disease:
- leptospirosis (2008)
Languages
Spanish 60.7% (official), Quechua 21.2% (official), Aymara 14.6% (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% (2001 census)
Government
Republic; President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Chamber of Senators, 130 seatsone dot, one seat
Country name
- conventional long form:
- Republic of Bolivia
- conventional short form:
- Bolivia
- local long form:
- Republica de Bolivia
- local short form:
- Bolivia
Capital
- name:
- La Paz (administrative capital)
- geographic coordinates:
- 16 30 S, 68 09 W
- time difference:
- UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
note: Sucre (constitutional capital)
Administrative divisions
9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
Constitution
- 2 February 1967;
- revised in August 1994;
- possible referendum on new constitution to be held in 2008
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)
- election results:
- Juan Evo MORALES Ayma elected president;
- percent of vote - Juan Evo MORALES Ayma 53.7%;
- Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez 28.6%;
- Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana 7.8%;
- Michiaki NAGATANI Morishit 6.5%;
- Felipe QUISPE Huanca 2.2%;
- Guildo ANGULA Cabrera 0.7%
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; 70 members are directly elected from their districts and 60 are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms)
- elections:
- Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 18 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010)
- election results:
- Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA;
- seats by party - PODEMOS 13, MAS 12, UN 1, MNR 1;
- Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA;
- seats by party - MAS 73, PODEMOS 43, UN 8, MNR 6
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);
- Constitutional Tribunal (five primary or titulares and five alternate or suplente magistrates appointed by Congress; to rule on constitutional issues);
- National Electoral Court (six members elected by Congress, Supreme Court, the President, and the political party with the highest vote in the last election for 4-year terms)
Political parties and leaders
- Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS];
- Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Juan Evo MORALES Ayma];
- Movement Without Fear or MSM [Juan DEL GRANADO];
- National Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Mirta QUEVEDO];
- National Unity [Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana];
- Poder Democratico Nacional or PODEMOS [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez];
- Social Alliance [Rene JOAQUINO]
Political pressure groups and leaders
Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB
- other:
- Cocalero groups;
- indigenous organizations;
- labor unions
International organization participation
CAN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINURCAT, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Erika DUENAS
- chancery:
- 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 483-4410
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 328-3712
- consulate(s) general:
- Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Oklahoma City, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Krishna URS
- embassy:
- Avenida Arce 2780, Casilla 425, La Paz
- mailing address:
- P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032
- telephone:
- [591] (2) 216-8000
- FAX:
- [591] (2) 216-8111
Flag description
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band note: similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band
Economy
Bolivia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in Latin America.
51 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2006 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
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.
Imports - commodities
petroleum products, plastics, paper, aircraft and aircraft parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans
Exchange rates
bolivianos (BOB) per US dollar - 7.8616 (2007), 8.0159 (2006), 8.0661 (2005), 7.9363 (2004), 7.6592 (2003)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- general assessment:
- privatization begun in 1995;
- reliability has steadily improved;
- new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties;
- most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities;
- mobile-cellular telephone use expanding rapidly;
- fixed-line teledensity of 7 per 100 persons;
- mobile-cellular telephone density of 35 per 100 persons
- 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:
- country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)
Transportation
9 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Pipelines
- gas 4,860 km;
- liquid petroleum gas 47 km;
- oil 2,475 km;
- refined products 1,589 km;
- unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2007)
Merchant marine
- total:
- 23
- by type:
- bulk carrier 1, cargo 11, carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated cargo 1, specialized tanker 1
- foreign-owned:
- 7 (Bahamas 1, China 1, Iran 1, Singapore 1, Syria 2, Taiwan 1) (2008)
Ports and terminals
- Puerto Aguirre (inland port on the Paraguay/Parana waterway at the Bolivia/Brazil border);
- Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay
Military
Bolivian Armed Forces: Bolivian Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Bolivian Navy (Armada Boliviana; includes marines), Bolivian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana, FAB) (2008)
6 fieldsMilitary branches
Bolivian Armed Forces: Bolivian Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Bolivian Navy (Armada Boliviana; includes marines), Bolivian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana, FAB) (2008)
Military service age and obligation
- 18 years of age for 12-month compulsory military service;
- when annual number of volunteers falls short of goal, compulsory recruitment is effected, including conscription of boys as young as 14;
- 15-19 years of age for voluntary premilitary service, provides exemption from further military service (2008)
Manpower available for military service
- males age 16-49:
- 2,295,746
- females age 16-49:
- 2,366,828 (2008 est.)
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - international
- Chile and Peru rebuff Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, but Chile offers instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian natural gas and other commodities;
- an accord placed the long-disputed Isla Suárez/Ilha de Guajará-Mirim, a fluvial island on the Río Mamoré, under Bolivian administration in 1958, but sovereignty remains in dispute
Illicit drugs
- world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 29,500 hectares under cultivation in 2007, a slight increase over 2006;
- third largest producer of cocaine, estimated at 120 metric tons of potential pure cocaine in 2007;
- transit country for Peruvian and Colombian cocaine destined for Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Europe;
- cultivation generally increasing since 2000, despite eradication and alternative crop programs;
- weak border controls;
- some money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade, especially along the borders with Brazil and Paraguay;
- major cocaine consumption (2007)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Bolivia.” The World Factbook 2008. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/bolivia/2008.