2000 Edition

Background

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 counter-coups. Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in the 1980s, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and drug production. Current goals include attracting foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, continuing the privatization program, and waging an anti-corruption campaign.

Area

land

1,084,390 sq km

total

1,098,580 sq km

water

14,190 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than three times the size of Montana

Climate

varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Elevation extremes

highest point

Nevado Sajama 6,542 m

lowest point

Rio Paraguay 90 m

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, 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

Geographic coordinates

17 00 S, 65 00 W

Geography - note

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

Irrigated land

1,750 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

border countries

Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km

total

6,743 km

Land use

arable land

2%

forests and woodland

53%

other

21% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

0%

permanent pastures

24%

Location

Central South America, southwest of Brazil

Map references

South America

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural hazards

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; flooding in the northeast (March-April)

Natural resources

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

Terrain

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

Age structure

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.)

Birth rate

28.15 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

8.36 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, white 15%

Infant mortality rate

60.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

female

66.34 years (2000 est.)

male

61.19 years

total population

63.7 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over can read and write

female

76% (1995 est.)

male

90.5%

total population

83.1%

Nationality

adjective

Bolivian

noun

Bolivian(s)

Net migration rate

-1.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

8,152,620 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

1.83% (2000 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)

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: 0.82 male(s)/female

total population

0.98 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.66 children born/woman (2000 est.)

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)

Constitution

2 February 1967; revised in August 1994

Country name

conventional long form

Republic of Bolivia

conventional short form

Bolivia

local long form

Republica de Bolivia

local short form

Bolivia

Data code

BL

Diplomatic representation from the US

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

(2) 430251

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission

Ambassador Marlene FERNANDEZ del Granado

telephone

(202) 483-4410

Executive branch

cabinet

Cabinet appointed by the president

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

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

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)

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

FAX

(202) 328-3712

(2) 433900

consulate(s) general

Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco

Flag description

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

Government type

republic

Independence

6 August 1825 (from Spain)

International organization participation

CAN, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges appointed for 10-year terms by National Congress

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

election results

Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ADN 11, MIR 7, MNR 4, CONDEPA 3, UCS 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ADN 32, MNR 26, MIR 23, UCS 21, CONDEPA 19, MBL 5, IU 4

elections

Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held June 2002)

National holiday

Independence Day, 6 August (1825)

Political parties and leaders

Alternative of Democratic Socialism or ASD ; April 9 Revolutionary Vanguard or VR-9 ; Bolivian Communist Party or PCB ; Bolivian Renovating Alliance or ARBOL [Marcelo FERNANDEZ, Hugo VILLEGAS]; Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB ; Christian Democrat or PDC ; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS ; Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL ; Front of Katarista Unity or FULKA ; Front of National Salvation or FSN ; Katarismo National Unity or KND ; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR ; Movement Towards Socialism-Popular Instrument for Solidarity with the People or MAS-IPSP ; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN ; Nationalist Katarista Movement or MKN ; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR ; New Republican Force or NFR ; New Youth Force ; Patriotic Axis of Convergence or EJE-P ; Popular Patriotic Movement or MPP ; Revolutionary Front of the Left or FRI ; Socialist Party One or PS-1 ; Solidarity and Democracy or SYD ; Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement or MRTK-L [Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde]; United Left or IU ; Unity and Progress Movement or MUP

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

Political pressure groups and leaders

Cocalero Group

Suffrage

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

Agriculture - products

soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber

Budget

expenditures

$2.7 billion including capital expenditures of $NA (1998)

revenues

$2.7 billion

Currency

1 boliviano ($B) = 100 centavos

Debt - external

$5.7 billion (1999)

Economic aid - recipient

$588 million (1997)

Economy - overview

Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, has made considerable progress toward the development of a market-oriented economy. Successes under President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993-1997) included the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur) as well as the privatization of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. His successor, Hugo BANZER Suarez has tried to further improve the country's investment climate with an anticorruption campaign. Growth slowed in 1999, in part due to tight government budget policies, which limited needed appropriations for anti-poverty programs, and the fallout from the Asian financial crisis. Growth should rebound to perhaps 4% in 2000 given reasonably favorable world commodity prices.

Electricity - consumption

2.412 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

4 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

20 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

2.576 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

42.43%

hydro

55.75%

nuclear

0%

other

1.82% (1998)

Exchange rates

bolivianos ($B) per US$1 - 6.0065 (January 2000), 5.8124 (1999), 5.5101 (1998), 5.2543 (1997), 5.0746 (1996), 4.8003 (1995)

Exports

$1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities

soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood

Exports - partners

UK 16%, US 12%, Peru 11%, Argentina 10%, Colombia 7% (1998)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $24.2 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

16.6%

industry

35.5%

services

47.9% (1998 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $3,000 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

2% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 31.7% (1990)

Imports

$1.6 billion (c.i.f., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities

capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food

Imports - partners

US 32%, Japan 24%, Brazil 12%, Argentina 12%, Chile 7%, Peru 4%, Germany 3% (1998)

Industrial production growth rate

4% (1995 est.)

Industries

mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.1% (1999 est.)

Labor force

2.5 million

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Population below poverty line

70% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate

11.4% (1997) with widespread underemployment

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

5 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999)

Radios

5.25 million (1997)

Telephone system

new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities

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)

Telephones - main lines in use

368,874 (1996)

Telephones - mobile cellular

7,229 (1995)

Television broadcast stations

48 (1997)

Televisions

900,000 (1997)

Airports

1,109 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

13 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

1,096 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 67 914 to 1,523 m: 219 under 914 m: 807 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

2,872 km (including 27 km of expressways)

total

52,216 km

unpaved

49,344 km (1995 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

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

total

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

Pipelines

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

Ports and harbors

none; however, Bolivia has free port privileges in the maritime ports of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay

Railways

narrow gauge

3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge (13 km electrified) (1995)

total

3,691 km (single track)

Waterways

10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways

Military branches

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

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$147 million (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

1.8% (FY99)

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 1,949,267 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 1,269,228 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - military age

19 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males

86,863 (2000 est.)

Disputes - international

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

Illicit drugs

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

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA