1994 Edition

Administrative divisions

9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija

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

Airports

total: 1,395 usable: 1,188 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: 165

Area

total area: 1,098,580 sq km land area: 1,084,390 sq km comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Montana

Birth rate

32.22 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

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

Budget

revenues: $3.19 billion expenditures: $3.19 billion, including capital expenditures of $552.4 million (1994 est.)

Capital

La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary)

Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)

elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held May 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (130 total) MNR 52, UCS 20, ADN 17, MIR 17, CONDEPA 13, MBL 7, ARBOL 1, ASD 1, EJE 1, PDC 1

Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores)

elections last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held May 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (27 total) MNR 17, ADN 4, MIR 4, CONDEPA 1, UCS 1

Climate

varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Constitution

2 February 1967

Currency

1 boliviano ($B) = 100 centavos

Death rate

8.37 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $130.48 million; NA% of GDP (1994 est.)

Digraph

BL

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Andres PETRICEVIC chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 483-4410 through 4412

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $990 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.025 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $340 million

Electricity

capacity: 865,000 kW production: 1.834 billion kWh consumption per capita: 250 kWh (1992)

Environment

current issues: deforestation contributing to loss of biodiversity; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation natural hazards: flooding in the northeast (March to April) international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Tropical Timber

Ethnic divisions

Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed European and Indian ancestry) 25%-30%, European 5%-15%

Exchange rates

bolivianos ($B) per US$1 - 4.5 (March 1994), 4.4604 (November 1993), 3.9005 (1992), 3.5806 (1991), 3.1727 (1990), 2.6917 (1989), 2.3502 (1988)

Executive branch

chief of state and head of government: President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamente (since 6 August 1993); Vice President Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde (since 6 August 1993); election last held 6 June 1993 (next to be held May 1997); results - Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (MNR) 34%, Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN/MIR alliance) 20%, Carlos PALENQUE Aviles (CONDEPA) 14%, Max FERNANDEZ Rojas (UCS) 13%, Antonio ARANIBAR Quiroga (MBL) 5%; no candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA won a congressional runoff election on 4 August 1993 after forming a coalition with Max FERNANDEZ and Antonio ARANIBAR cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the president from panel proposed by the Senate

Exports

$752 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: metals 35%, natural gas 26%, other 39% (coffee, soybeans, sugar, cotton, timber) partners: US 16% , Argentina (1992 est.)

External debt

$3.8 billion (January 1994)

FAX

(202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco

[591] (2) 359875

Fiscal year

calendar year

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

Highways

total: 42,815 km paved: 1,865 km unpaved: gravel 12,000 km; improved/unimproved earth 28,950 km

Illicit drugs

world's second-largest producer of coca (after Peru) with an estimated 45,500 hectares under cultivation in 1992; voluntary and forced eradication program unable to prevent production from rising to 80,300 metric tons in 1992 from 78,200 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

$1.17 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: food, petroleum, consumer goods, capital goods partners: US 23.3% (1992)

Independence

6 August 1825 (from Spain)

Industrial production

growth rate 7% (1992); accounts for almost 30% of GDP

Industries

mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverage, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing; illicit drug industry reportedly produces 15% of its revenues

Infant mortality rate

73.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

9.3% (1993)

Inland waterways

10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways

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 sq km (1989 est.)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Labor force

3.54 million by occupation: agriculture NA, services and utilities 20%, manufacturing, mining and construction 7% (1993)

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%

Languages

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

Legal system

based on Spanish law and Code Napoleon; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 63.31 years male: 60.86 years female: 65.88 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 78% male: 85% female: 71%

Location

Central South America, between Brazil and Chile

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,835,661; fit for military service 1,194,077; reach military age (19) annually 79,580 (1994 est.)

Map references

South America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

none; landlocked

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, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Merchant marine

1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,214 GRT/6,390 DWT

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)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $15.8 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$2,100 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

2.2% (1993)

Nationality

noun: Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian

Natural resources

tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron ore, lead, gold, timber

Net migration rate

-1.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru; 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

Overview

With its long history of semifeudal 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. 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. By maintaining fiscal discipline, PAZ Zamora helped reduce inflation to 9.3% in 1993, while GDP grew by an annual average of 3.25% during his tenure. Inaugurated in August 1993, President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA has vowed to advance government market-oriented economic reforms he helped launch as PAZ Estenssoro's Planning Minister. A major privatization bill was passed by the Bolivian legislature in late March 1994.

Pipelines

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

Political parties and leaders

Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), Jaime PAZ Zamora; Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN), Jorge LANDIVAR; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR), Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA; Civic Solidarity Union (UCS), Max FERNANDEZ Rojas; Conscience of the Fatherland (CONDEPA), Carlos PALENQUE Aviles; Free Bolivia Movement (MBL), Antonio ARANIBAR; Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement (MRTK-L), Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde; Christian Democrat Party (PDC), Jorge AGREDA

Population

7,719,445 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

2.28% (1994 est.)

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

Religions

Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)

Suffrage

18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single)

Telecommunications

very poor telephone service for the general population; 144,300 telephones - 18.7 telephones per 1,000 persons; microwave radio relay system being expanded; improved international services; broadcast stations - 129 AM, no FM, 43 TV, 68 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Terrain

rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin

Total fertility rate

4.21 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

republic

Unemployment rate

5.8% (1993)

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Charles R. BOWERS embassy: Banco Popular del Peru Building, corner of Calle Mercado and Calle Colon, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz, or APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 350251 or 350120