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| 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 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 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. |
| Geography | |||||
| Location: | Central South America, southwest of Brazil |
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| 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: 6,940 km border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,423 km, Chile 860 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 1,075 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: 2.78% permanent crops: 0.19% other: 97.03% (2005) | ||||
| Irrigated land: | 1,320 sq km (2003) | ||||
| 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, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, 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 | ||||
| People | |
| Population: | 9,119,152 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 34.3% (male 1,593,509/female 1,532,155)
15-64 years: 61.1% (male 2,730,359/female 2,841,872) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 187,123/female 234,134) (2007 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 22.2 years male: 21.5 years female: 22.9 years (2007 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 1.42% (2007 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 22.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death rate: | 7.44 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | -1.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.961 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.799 male(s)/female total population: 0.979 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 50.43 deaths/1,000 live births male: 53.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 46.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 66.19 years male: 63.53 years female: 68.97 years (2007 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 2.76 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.1% (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 4,900 (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | less than 500 (2003 est.) |
| Nationality: | noun: Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian |
| Ethnic groups: | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% |
| Religions: | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5% |
| Languages: | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.7% male: 93.1% female: 80.7% (2001 census) |
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