1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 1,098,580 km2 land area: 1,084,390 km2 comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Climate
varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Environment
cold, thin air of high plateau is obstacle to efficient fuel combustion; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
International disputes
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
Irrigated land
1,650 km2 (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
total 6,743 km, Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km
Land use
arable land: 3% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 25% forest and woodland: 52% other: 20%
Location
Central South America, between Brazil and Chile
Map references
South America, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
none; landlocked
Natural resources
tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron ore, lead, gold, timber
Note
landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Peru
Terrain
rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon basin
People and Society
Birth rate
32.83 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
8.63 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mixed 25-30%, European 5-15%
Infant mortality rate
76.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
1.7 million by occupation: agriculture 50%, services and utilities 26%, manufacturing 10%, mining 4%, other 10% (1983)
Languages
Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 62.77 years male: 60.34 years female: 65.33 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 78% male: 85% female: 71%
Nationality
noun: Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian
Net migration rate
-1.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
7,544,099 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
2.31% (1993 est.)
Religions
Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)
Total fertility rate
4.31 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
Capital
La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary)
Chamber of Deputies
last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held 6 June 1993); results - percent of vote by party NA; note - legislative and presidential candidates run on a unified slate, so vote percentages are the same as in section on presidential election results; seats - (130 total) MNR 40, ADN 35, MIR 33, IU 10, CONDEPA 9, PDC 3
Chamber of Senators
last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held 6 June 1993); results - percent of vote by party NA; note - legislative and presidential candidates run on a unified slate, so vote percentages are the same as in section on presidential election results; seats - (27 total) MNR 9, ADN 7, MIR 8, CONDEPA 2, PDC 1
Chief of State and Head of Government
President Jaime PAZ Zamora (since 6 August 1989); Vice President Luis OSSIO Sanjines (since 6 August 1989)
Constitution
2 February 1967
Digraph
BL
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Jorge CRESPO chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 483-4410 through 4412 consulates general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco
Executive branch
president, vice president, Cabinet
FAX
[591] (2) 359875
Flag
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
Independence
6 August 1825 (from Spain)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Legal system
based on Spanish law and Code Napoleon; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
Member of
AG, ECLAC, FAO, GATT, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Republica de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia
National holiday
Independence Day, 6 August (1825)
Political parties and leaders
Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), Jaime PAZ Zamora; Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN), Hugo BANZER Suarez; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR), Gonzalo SANCHEZ de Lozada; Civic Solidarity Union (UCS), Max FERNANDEZ Rojas; Conscience of the Fatherland (CONDEPA), Carlos PALENQUE Aviles; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Jorge AGREDO; Free Bolivia Movement (MBL), Antonio ARANIBAR; United Left (IU), a coalition of leftist parties that includes Patriotic National Convergency Axis (EJE-P), Walter DELGADILLO and Bolivian Communist Party (PCB), Humberto RAMIREZ; Revolutionary Vanguard - 9th of April (VR-9), Carlos SERRATE Reich
President
last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held 6 June 1993); results - Gonzalo SANCHEZ de Lozada (MNR) 23%, Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN) 22%, Jaime PAZ Zamora (MIR) 19%; no candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Jaime PAZ Zamora (MIR) formed a coalition with Hugo BANZER (ADN); with ADN support, PAZ Zamora won the congressional runoff election on 4 August and was inaugurated on 6 August 1989
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal and compulsory (married) 21 years of age; universal and compulsory (single)
Type
republic
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles R. BOWERS embassy: Banco Popular del Peru Building, corner of Calles Mercado y Colon, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz, or APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 350251 or 350120
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for about 21% of GDP (including forestry and fisheries); principal commodities - coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, timber; self-sufficient in food
Budget
revenues $1.5 billion; expenditures $1.57 billion, including capital expenditures of $627 million (1993 est.)
Currency
1 boliviano ($B) = 100 centavos
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $990 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2,025 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $340 million
Electricity
865,000 kW capacity; 1,834 million kWh produced, 250 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
bolivianos ($B) per US$1 - 3.9437 (August 1992), 3.85 (1992), 3.5806 (1991), 3.1727 (1990), 2.6917 (1989), 2.3502 (1988), 2.0549 (1987)
Exports
$609 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: metals 46%, hydrocarbons 21%, other 33% (coffee, soybeans, sugar, cotton, timber) partners: US 15%, Argentina
External debt
$3.7 billion (December 1992)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Illicit drugs
world's second-largest producer of coca (after Peru) with an estimated 47,900 hectares under cultivation; voluntary and forced eradication program unable to prevent production from rising to 82,000 metric tons in 1992 from 74,700 tons in 1989; government considers all but 12,000 hectares illicit; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia and Brazil to the US and other international drug markets
Imports
1.185 billion (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: food, petroleum, consumer goods, capital goods partners: US 22%
Industrial production
growth rate 7% (1992); accounts for almost 32% of GDP
Industries
mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverage, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing; illicit drug industry reportedly produces 15% of its revenues
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
10.5% (December 1992)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $4.9 billion (1992)
National product per capita
$670 (1992)
National product real growth rate
3.8% (1992)
Overview
With its long history of semifeudalistic social controls, dependence on volatile prices for its mineral exports, and bouts of hyperinflation, Bolivia has remained one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries. Since August 1989, President PAZ Zamora, despite his Marxist origins, has maintained a moderate policy of repressing domestic terrorism, containing inflation, and achieving annual GDP growth of 3 to 4%. For many farmers, who constitute half of the country's work force, the main cash crop is coca, which is sold for cocaine processing.
Unemployment rate
5% (1992)
Communications
Airports
total: 1,225 usable: 1,043 with permanent-surface runways: 9 with runways over 3,659 m: 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 161
Highways
38,836 km total; 1,300 km paved, 6,700 km gravel, 30,836 km improved and unimproved earth
Inland waterways
10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways
Merchant marine
2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,051 GRT/22,155 DWT
Pipelines
crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km
Ports
none; maritime outlets are Arica and Antofagasta in Chile, Matarani and Ilo in Peru
Railroads
3,684 km total, all narrow gauge; 3,652 km 1.000-meter gauge and 32 km 0.760-meter gauge, all government owned, single track
Telecommunications
microwave radio relay system being expanded; improved international services; 144,300 telephones; broadcast stations - 129 AM, no FM, 43 TV, 68 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Military and Security
Branches
Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy includes Marines (Fuerza Navala), Air Force (Fuerza Aereo de Bolivia), National Police Force (Boliviano Policia Nacional)
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $80 million, 1.6% of GDP (1990 est.)
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 1,786,137; fit for military service 1,162,160; reach military age (19) annually 78,125 (1993 est.)