2010 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. In December 2009, President MORALES easily won reelection, and his party took control of the legislative branch of the government, which will allow him to continue his process of change.

Area

land

1,083,301 sq km

total

1,098,581 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

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, 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)

per capita

157 cu m/yr (2000)

total

1.44 cu km/yr (13%/7%/81%)

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

border countries

Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,423 km, Chile 860 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 1,075 km

total

6,940 km

Land use

arable land

2.78%

other

97.03% (2005)

permanent crops

0.19%

Location

Central South America, southwest of Brazil

Map references

South America

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Natural hazards

flooding in the northeast (March-April)

volcanism

Bolivia experiences volcanic activity in Andes Mountains on the border with Chile; historically active volcanoes in this region are Irruputuncu (elev. 5,163 m, 16,939 ft), which last erupted in 1995 and Olca-Paruma

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) (2010 est.)

Birth rate

25.16 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

Death rate

6.95 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

Education expenditures

6.3% of GDP (2006)

Ethnic groups

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

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.2% (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

fewer than 500 (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

8,100 (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate

female

39.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)

male

47.26 deaths/1,000 live births

total

43.41 deaths/1,000 live births

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

female

70.07 years (2010 est.)

male

64.52 years

total population

67.23 years

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

female

80.7% (2001 census)

male

93.1%

total population

86.7%

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

female

22.9 years (2010 est.)

male

21.5 years

total

22.2 years

Nationality

adjective

Bolivian

noun

Bolivian(s)

Net migration rate

-1.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

Population

9,947,418 (July 2010 est.)

Population growth rate

1.72% (2010 est.)

Religions

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

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

female

14 years (2007)

male

14 years

total

14 years

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 (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.07 children born/woman (2010 est.)

Urbanization

rate of urbanization

2.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

urban population

66% of total population (2008)

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

geographic coordinates

16 30 S, 68 09 W

name

La Paz (administrative capital)

time difference

UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Sucre (constitutional capital)

Constitution

7 February 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 John CREAMER

embassy

Avenida Arce 2780, Casilla 425, La Paz

FAX

[591] (2) 216-8111 note: in September 2008, the Bolivian Government expelled the US Ambassador to Bolivia, and the countries have yet to reinstate ambassadors

mailing address

P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032

telephone

[591] (2) 216-8000

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Erika Angela DUENAS Loayza

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

FAX

[1] (202) 328-3712

telephone

[1] (202) 483-4410

Executive branch

cabinet

Cabinet appointed by the president (For more information visit the World Leaders website )

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

election results

Juan Evo MORALES Ayma reelected president; percent of vote - Juan Evo MORALES Ayma 64%; Manfred REYES VILLA 26%; Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana 6%; Rene JOAQUINO 2%; other 2%

elections

president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term and are eligible for a single re-election; election last held on 6 December 2009 (next to be held in 2014)

head of government

President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006)

Flag description

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; red stands for bravery and the blood of national heroes, yellow for the nation's mineral resources, and green for the fertility of the land 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, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms); District Courts (one in each department); Plurinational Constitutional Court (five primary or titulares and five alternate or suplente magistrates elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms; to rule on constitutional issues); Plurinational Electoral Organ (seven members elected by the Assembly and the president; one member must be of indigenous origin to six-year terms); Agro-Environmental Court (judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms; to run on agro-environmental issues); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases)

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 Plurinational Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (36 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 total; 70 uninominal deputies directly elected from a single district, 7 "special" indigenous deputies directly elected from non-contiguous indigenous districts, and 53 plurinominal deputies elected by proportional representation from party lists; all deputies serve five-year terms)

election results

Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 26, PPB-CN 10; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 89, PPB-CN 36, UN 3, AS 2

elections

Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held on 6 December 2009 (next to be held in 2014)

National anthem

lyrics/music

Jose Ignacio de SANJINES/Leopoldo Benedetto VINCENTI note: adopted 1852

name

"Cancion Patriotica" (Patriotic Song)

National holiday

Independence Day, 6 August (1825)

Political parties and leaders

Bolivia-National Convergence or PPB-CN [Manfred REYES VILLA]; Fearless Movement or MSM [Juan DE GRANADO Cosio]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Juan Evo MORALES Ayma]; National Unity or UN [Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana]; People or Gente [Roman LOAYZA]; Social Alliance or AS [Rene JOAQUINO]

Political pressure groups and leaders

Bolivian Workers Central or COR; Federation of Neighborhood Councils of El Alto or FEJUVE; Landless Movement or MST; National Coordinator for Change or CONALCAM; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB

other

Cocalero groups; indigenous organizations (including Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Eastern Bolivia or CIDOB and National Council of Ayullus and Markas of Quollasuyu or CONAMAQ); labor unions (including the Central Bolivian Workers' Union or COB and Cooperative Miners Federation or FENCOMIN)

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

Central bank discount rate

3% (31 October 2010) 13% (31 December 2008)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

10% (31 December 2010 est.) 12.36% (31 December 2009 est.)

Current account balance

$878 million (2010 est.) $800.7 million (2009 est.)

Debt - external

$6.13 billion (31 December 2010 est.) $5.653 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

58.2 (2009) 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 exchange for a predetermined service fee. After higher prices for mining and hydrocarbons exports produced a fiscal surplus in 2008, the global recession in 2009 slowed growth. A decline in commodity prices that began in late 2008, a lack of foreign investment in the mining and hydrocarbon sectors, a poor infrastructure, and the suspension of trade benefits with the United States will pose challenges for the Bolivian economy.

Electricity - consumption

4.665 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - production

5.495 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Exchange rates

bolivianos (BOB) per US dollar - 7.0699 (2010), 7.07 (2009), 7.253 (2008), 7.8616 (2007), 8.0159 (2006)

Exports

$6.058 billion (2010 est.) $4.848 billion (2009 est.)

Exports - commodities

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

Exports - partners

Brazil 41.38%, US 13.87%, Japan 5.62%, Colombia 5.32%, South Korea 4.7%, Peru 4.16% (2009)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

11%

industry

38%

services

51% (2010 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$4,800 (2010 est.) $4,700 (2009 est.) $4,700 (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars

GDP - real growth rate

3.8% (2010 est.) 3.4% (2009 est.) 6.1% (2008 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$19.18 billion (2010 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$47.98 billion (2010 est.) $46.22 billion (2009 est.) $44.7 billion (2008 est.) note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Household income or consumption by percentage share

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

Imports

$5.006 billion (2010 est.) $4.095 billion (2009 est.)

Imports - commodities

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

Imports - partners

Brazil 27.12%, Argentina 15.69%, US 12.77%, Chile 9.11%, Peru 6.85% (2009)

Industrial production growth rate

4% (2010 est.)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.1% (2010 est.) 3.3% (2009 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

17.5% of GDP (2010 est.)

Labor force

4.614 million (2010 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture

40%

industry

17%

services

43% (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$2.792 billion (31 December 2009) $2.672 billion (31 December 2008) $2.263 billion (31 December 2007)

Natural gas - consumption

2.41 billion cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - exports

11.79 billion cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - production

14.2 billion cu m (2008 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

750.4 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

Oil - consumption

59,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

Oil - exports

10,950 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - imports

6,172 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - production

47,050 bbl/day (2009 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

465 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

Population below poverty line

30.3% of population living on less than $2/day (2009 est.)

Public debt

40.3% of GDP (2010 est.) 40.3% of GDP (2009 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$8.739 billion (31 December 2010 est.) $8.581 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

Stock of broad money

$12.16 billion (31 December 2009) $11.04 billion (31 December 2008)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$NA (31 December 2010) $63.8 million (31 December 2008)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$NA (31 December 2009) $5.998 billion (31 December 2008)

Stock of domestic credit

$8.314 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $7.233 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of narrow money

$4.374 billion (31 December 2010 est) $3.524 billion (31 December 2009 est)

Unemployment rate

8.3% (2010 est.) 7.7% (2009 est.) note: data are for urban areas; widespread underemployment

Broadcast media

large number of radio and television broadcasting stations with private media outlets dominating; state-owned and private radio and television stations generally operating freely, although both pro-government and anti-government groups have attacked media outlets in response to their reporting (2007)

Internet country code

.bo

Internet hosts

125,462 (2010)

Internet users

1.103 million (2009)

Telephone system

domestic

most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile-cellular telephone use expanding rapidly and, in 2009, teledensity reached 75 per 100 persons; fixed-line teledensity is low at less than 10 per 100 persons

general assessment

privatization begun in 1995; primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; overall reliability has steadily improved

international

country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2009)

Telephones - main lines in use

810,200 (2009)

Telephones - mobile cellular

7.148 million (2009)

Airports

881 (2010)

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 (2010)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

865 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 58 914 to 1,523 m: 187 under 914 m: 615 (2010)

Merchant marine

by type

bulk carrier 3, cargo 11, carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 3, specialized tanker 1

foreign-owned

7 (Bahamas 1, Ecuador 1, Iran 1, Syria 4) (2010)

total

22

Pipelines

gas 5,192 km; liquid petroleum gas 51 km; oil 2,488 km; refined products 1,590 km (2009)

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

narrow gauge

3,504 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)

total

3,504 km

Roadways

paved

3,749 km

total

62,479 km

unpaved

58,730 km (2004)

Waterways

10,000 km (commercially navigable almost exclusively in the northern and eastern parts of the country) (2010)

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 2,415,712 females age 16-49: 2,482,359 (2010 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 1,714,438 females age 16-49: 1,959,763 (2010 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

female

104,934 (2010 est.)

male

108,336

Military branches

Bolivian Armed Forces

Bolivian Army (Ejercito Boliviano, EB), Bolivian Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, FNB; includes marines), Bolivian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana, FAB) (2010)

Military expenditures

1.3% of GDP (2009)

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 January 20, 2011 ======================================================================