2009 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 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, indigenous 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.

Area

total: 1,098,581 sq km country comparison to the world: 28 land: 1,083,301 sq km water: 15,280 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

lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 1.44 cu km/yr (13%/7%/81%) per capita: 157 cu m/yr (2000)

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

1,320 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

total: 6,940 km border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,423 km, Chile 860 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 1,075 km

Land use

arable land: 2.78% permanent crops: 0.19% other: 97.03% (2005)

Location

Central South America, southwest of Brazil

Map references

South America

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural hazards

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

Total renewable water resources

622.5 cu km (2000)

Age structure

0-14 years: 35.5% (male 1,767,310/female 1,701,744) 15-64 years: 60% (male 2,877,605/female 2,992,043) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 193,196/female 243,348) (2009 est.)

Birth rate

25.82 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 66

Death rate

7.05 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 130

Education expenditures

6.4% of GDP (2003) country comparison to the world: 32

Ethnic groups

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.2% (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 108

HIV/AIDS - deaths

fewer than 500 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 99

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

8,100 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 112

Infant mortality rate

total: 44.66 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 58 male: 48.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Languages

Spanish 60.7% (official), Quechua 21.2% (official), Aymara 14.6% (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% (2001 census)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 66.89 years country comparison to the world: 156 male: 64.2 years female: 69.72 years (2009 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.7% male: 93.1% female: 80.7% (2001 census)

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 (2009)

Median age

total: 21.9 years male: 21.3 years female: 22.6 years (2009 est.)

Nationality

noun: Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian

Net migration rate

-1.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 123

Population

9,775,246 (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 84

Population growth rate

1.772% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 74

Religions

Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5%

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: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.17 children born/woman (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 66

Urbanization

urban population: 66% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 2.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Administrative divisions

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

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)

Constitution

2 February 1967; revised in August 1994; voters approved a new constitution on 25 January 2009

Country name

conventional long form: Plurinational State of Bolivia conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia

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

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Erika Angela DUENAS Loayza chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410

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 December 2009) 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%

FAX

[1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco note: as of September 2008, the US has expelled the Bolivian ambassador to the US

[591] (2) 216-8111 note: as of September 2008, the Bolivian Government has expelled the US Ambassador to Bolivia

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; in 2009, a presidential decree made it mandatory for a so-called wiphala - a square, multi-colored flag representing the country's indigenous peoples - to be used alongside the traditional flag

Government type

republic; note - the new constitution defines Bolivia as a "Social Unitarian State"

Independence

6 August 1825 (from Spain)

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

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 four-year terms); note - under the 2009 Constitution, all Constitutional and Supreme Court judges will be elected by popular vote

Legal system

based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; the 2009 Constitution incorporates indigenous community justice into Bolivia's judicial system

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); note - under representational rules established by the 2009 Constitution, the National Congress will become the Plurinational Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional; the number of Deputies will remain at 130, but the number of Senators will rise to 36 elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 18 December 2005 (next to be held in December 2009) 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

National holiday

Independence Day, 6 August (1825)

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

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

revenues: $8.039 billion expenditures: $7.5 billion (2008 est.)

Central bank discount rate

13% (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 59 6.5% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

13.87% (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 62 12.86% (31 December 2007)

Current account balance

$2.015 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 42 $1.984 billion (2007 est.)

Debt - external

$5.931 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 102 $5.385 billion (31 December 2007)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

59.2 (2006) country comparison to the world: 7 44.7 (1999)

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. In early 2008, higher earnings for mining and hydrocarbons exports pushed the current account surplus to 9.4% of GDP and the government's higher tax take produced a fiscal surplus after years of large deficits. Private investment as a share of GDP, however, remains among the lowest in Latin America, and inflation remained at double-digit levels in 2008. The decline in commodity prices in late 2008, the lack of foreign investment in the mining and hydrocarbon sectors, and the suspension of trade benefits with the United States will pose challenges for the Bolivian economy in 2009.

Electricity - consumption

4.665 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 111

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - production

5.495 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 111

Exchange rates

bolivianos (BOB) per US dollar - 7.253 (2008 est.), 7.8616 (2007), 8.0159 (2006), 8.0661 (2005), 7.9363 (2004)

Exports

$6.448 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 101 $4.49 billion (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore, tin

Exports - partners

Brazil 60.1%, US 8.3%, Japan 4.1% (2008)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 11.3% industry: 36.9% services: 51.8% (2008 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$4,500 (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 147 $4,300 (2007 est.) $4,200 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP - real growth rate

6.1% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 57 4.6% (2007 est.) 4.8% (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$16.6 billion (2008 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$43.38 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 92 $40.88 billion (2007 est.) $39.08 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 44.1% (2005)

Imports

$4.641 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 120 $3.24 billion (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

petroleum products, plastics, paper, aircraft and aircraft parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans

Imports - partners

Brazil 26.7%, Argentina 16.3%, US 10.5%, Chile 9.5%, Peru 7.1%, China 4.8% (2008)

Industrial production growth rate

10.6% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 10

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

14% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 184 8.7% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

18% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 130

Labor force

4.454 million (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 80

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 40% industry: 17% services: 43% (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$NA (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 97 $2.263 billion (31 December 2007) $2.223 billion (31 December 2006)

Natural gas - consumption

2.41 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 78

Natural gas - exports

11.79 billion cu m (2008) country comparison to the world: 17

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 76

Natural gas - production

14.2 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 35

Natural gas - proved reserves

750.4 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 30

Oil - consumption

60,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 92

Oil - exports

10,950 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 94

Oil - imports

6,172 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 151

Oil - production

51,360 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 62

Oil - proved reserves

465 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 47

Population below poverty line

60% (2006 est.)

Public debt

45.2% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 43 46.3% of GDP (2007 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$7.722 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 74 $5.318 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$NA

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$5.998 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 87

Stock of domestic credit

$5.433 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 81 $4.759 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of money

$3.998 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 59 $3.032 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money

$6.339 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 59 $4.729 billion (31 December 2007)

Unemployment rate

7.5% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 98 7.5% (2007 est.) note: data are for urban areas; widespread underemployment

Internet country code

.bo

Internet hosts

105,031 (2009) country comparison to the world: 71

Internet users

1 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 87

Radio broadcast stations

AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999)

Telephone 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 slighly exceeds 50 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) (2008)

Telephones - main lines in use

690,000 (2008) country comparison to the world: 90

Telephones - mobile cellular

4.83 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 89

Television broadcast stations

48 (1997)

Airports

952 (2009) country comparison to the world: 8

Airports - with paved runways

total: 16 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 5 (2009)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 936 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 58 914 to 1,523 m: 186 under 914 m: 687 (2009)

Merchant marine

total: 23 country comparison to the world: 93 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)

Pipelines

gas 4,883 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,475 km; refined products 1,589 km (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

Railways

total: 3,504 km country comparison to the world: 50 narrow gauge: 3,504 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)

Roadways

total: 62,479 km country comparison to the world: 71 paved: 3,749 km unpaved: 58,730 km (2004)

Waterways

10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2007) country comparison to the world: 13

Bolivian Armed Forces

Bolivian Army (Ejercito Boliviano, EB), Bolivian Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, FNB; includes marines), Bolivian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana, FAB) (2009)

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 2,295,746 females age 16-49: 2,366,828 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 1,666,697 females age 16-49: 1,906,396 (2009 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

male: 108,304 female: 104,882 (2009 est.)

Military expenditures

1.9% of GDP (2006) country comparison to the world: 88

Military service age and obligation

18-49 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 (2009)

Disputes - 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 Suarez/Ilha de Guajara-Mirim, a fluvial island on the Rio Mamore, 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, increased slightly when compared to 2006; third largest producer of cocaine, estimated at 120 metric tons 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; major cocaine consumption (2008) page last updated on November 11, 2009