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Guide
Introduction
| |
| 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. |
| Location: |
Central South America,
southwest of Brazil |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
17 00 S, 65 00 W |
| Map
references: |
South America |
| Area: |
total: 1,098,580
sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km
water: 14,190 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly less than three
times the size of Montana |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 6,743 km
border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile
861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km |
| Coastline: |
0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime
claims: |
none (landlocked) |
| Climate: |
varies with altitude; humid
and tropical to cold and semiarid |
| Terrain: |
rugged Andes Mountains with a
highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
| Natural
resources: |
tin, natural gas, petroleum,
zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 24%
forests and woodland: 53%
other: 21% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
1,750 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
flooding in the northeast
(March-April) |
| 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,
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 |
| Geography
- note: |
landlocked; shares control of
Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with
Peru |
| Population: |
8,300,463 (July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
38.46% (male 1,626,698; female 1,565,748)
15-64 years: 57.07% (male 2,315,098; female 2,421,987)
65 years and over: 4.47% (male 166,986; female 203,946)
(2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.76% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
27.27 births/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
8.2 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-1.45 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| 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 (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
58.98 deaths/1,000 live
births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
64.06 years
male: 61.53 years
female: 66.72 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
3.51 children born/woman
(2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.1% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
4,200 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
380 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%,
mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, white 15% |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 95%,
Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) |
| Languages: |
Spanish (official), Quechua
(official), Aymara (official) |
| Literacy: |
definition: age
15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.1%
male: 90.5%
female: 76% (1995 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional long form:
Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia
local long form: Republica de Bolivia
local short form: Bolivia |
| Government
type: |
republic |
| Capital: |
La Paz (seat of government);
Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) |
| Administrative
divisions: |
9 departments (departamentos,
singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro,
Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija |
| Independence: |
6 August 1825 (from Spain) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence Day, 6 August
(1825) |
| Constitution: |
2 February 1967; revised in
August 1994 |
| Legal
system: |
based on Spanish law and
Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age, universal
and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory
(single) |
| Executive
branch: |
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
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
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
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 May or June 2002)
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 |
| 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; note - some members are drawn from party lists, thus
not directly elected)
elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies -
last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA June 2002)
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 |
| 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) |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Christian Democratic Party or
PDC [leader NA]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ];
Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Free
Bolivia Movement or MBL [Antonio ARANIBAR]; Movement of the
Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Nationalist Democratic
Action or ADN [Hugo BANZER Suarez]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement
or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [leader
NA]; Pachacuti Indigenous Movement [Filipe QUISPE]; United Left or IU
[Marcos DOMIC]
note: the ADN, MIR, and UCS comprise the ruling coalition |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
Cocalero Groups; indigenous
organizations; labor unions |
| International
organization participation: |
CAN, CCC, 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 |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Marlene FERNANDEZ del Granado
chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410
FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San
Francisco |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador V. Manuel ROCHA
embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz
mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032
telephone: [591] (2) 432254
FAX: [591] (2) 433854 |
| 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 |
| 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 (1993-97) included
the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and joining 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. In 2000, major civil
disturbances in April, and again in September and October, held down
overall growth to 2.5%. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity -
$20.9 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
2.5% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$2,600 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 16%
industry: 31%
services: 53% (1999 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
70% (1999 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1990) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
4.4% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture NA%, industry
NA%, services NA% |
| Unemployment
rate: |
11.4% (1997)
note: widespread underemployment |
| Budget: |
revenues: $2.7
billion
expenditures: $2.7 billion, including capital expenditures
of $NA (1998) |
| Industries: |
mining, smelting, petroleum,
food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
4% (1995 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
3.625 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
56.61%
hydro: 41.6%
nuclear: 0%
other: 1.79% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
3.377 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
4 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
10 million kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
soybeans, coffee, coca,
cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber |
| Exports: |
$1.26 billion (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
soybeans, natural gas, zinc,
gold, wood |
| Exports
- partners: |
UK 16%, US 12%, Peru 11%,
Argentina 10%, Colombia 7% (1998) |
| Imports: |
$1.86 billion (f.o.b., 2000
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%, other 6% (1998) |
| Debt
- external: |
$6.6 billion (2000) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$588 million (1997) |
| Currency: |
boliviano (BOB) |
| Exchange
rates: |
bolivianos per US dollar -
6.4071 (January 2001), 6.1835 (2000), 5.8124 (1999), 5.5101 (1998),
5.2543 (1997), 5.0746 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
327,600 (1996) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
116,000 (1997) |
| Telephone
system: |
general assessment:
new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are
concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile cellular telephone use
expanding rapidly
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) |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77
(1999) |
| Radios: |
5.25 million (1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
48 (1997) |
| Televisions: |
900,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.bo |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
9 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
35,000 (2000) |
| Railways: |
total: 3,691 km
(single track)
narrow gauge: 3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge
(13 km electrified) (1995) |
| Highways: |
total: 49,400 km
paved: 2,500 km (including 30 km of expressways)
unpaved: 46,900 km (1996) |
| Waterways: |
10,000 km (commercially
navigable) |
| 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 maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and
Paraguay |
| Merchant
marine: |
total: 42 ships
(1,000 GRT or over) totaling 141,017 GRT/211,058 DWT
ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 20, chemical tanker 3,
container 1, petroleum tanker 10, roll on/roll off 3 (2000 est.) |
| Airports: |
1,093 (2000 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 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 1,080
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 65
914 to 1,523 m: 212
under 914 m: 800 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Army (Ejercito Boliviano),
Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea
Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia) |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
19 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49:
2,005,660 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49:
1,306,452 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 90,120
(2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$147 million (FY99) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
1.8% (FY99) |
| 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 Colombia and Peru, a distant second) with an
estimated 14,600 hectares under cultivation in 2000, a 33% decrease in
overall cultivation of coca from 1999 levels; intermediate coca products
and cocaine exported to or through Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and
Chile to the US and other international drug markets; eradication and
alternative crop programs have slashed illicit coca cultivation during
the BANZER administration beginning in 1997 |
|
