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Bolivia |
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| 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, resolving disputes with coca growers over Bolivia's
counterdrug efforts, continuing the privatization program, and waging
an anticorruption 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
water: 14,190 sq km
land: 1,084,390 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: 1.73%
permanent crops: 0.21%
other: 98.06% (1998 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
1,280 sq km (1998 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: |
8,586,443 (July 2003 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 37.1% (male 1,624,366; female 1,562,501)
15-64 years: 58.4% (male 2,452,892; female 2,561,873)
65
years and over: 4.5% (male 172,292; female 212,519) (2003 est.)
|
| Median
age: |
total: 20.8 years
male: 20.1 years
female:
21.5 years (2002) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.63% (2003 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
25.53 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
7.91 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-1.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population:
0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
total: 56.05 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
52.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 59.75 deaths/1,000
live births |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population: 64.78 years
male: 62.2 years
female: 67.48 years (2003 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
3.23 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.1% - note: no country specific models provided (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
4,600 (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
290 (2001 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) |
| Languages: |
Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) |
| Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total
population: 87.2%
male: 93.1%
female: 81.6%
(2003 est.)
|
| Economy
- overview: |
Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American
countries, made considerable progress in the 1990s 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 becoming an associate member of the Southern Cone Common Market
(Mercosur), as well as the privatization of the state airline, telephone
company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. 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 held down
growth to 2.5%. Bolivia's GDP failed to grow in 2001 due to the global
slowdown and laggard domestic activity. Growth picked up slightly in
2002, but the first quarter of 2003 saw extensive civil riots and looting
and loss of confidence in the government. Bolivia will remain highly
dependent on foreign aid unless and until it can develop its substantial
natural resources. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $21 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
1.9% (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 20%
services:
60% (2002 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
70% (1999 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 32% (1999) |
| Distribution
of family income - Gini index: |
58.9 (1997) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
2% (2001 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
2.5 million |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
| Unemployment
rate: |
7.6%
note: widespread underemployment (2000) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
| Industries: |
mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts,
clothing |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
3.9% (1998) |
| Electricity
- production: |
3.901 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel: 44.4%
hydro: 54%
other:
1.6% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
3.634 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
3 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
9 million kWh (2001) |
| Oil
- production: |
44,340 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil
- consumption: |
49,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil
- exports: |
NA (2001) |
| Oil
- imports: |
NA (2001) |
| Oil
- proved reserves: |
458.8 million bbl (January 2002 est.) |
| Natural
gas - proved reserves: |
727.2 billion cu m (January 2002 est.) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber
|
| Exports: |
$1.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood (2000) |
| Exports
- partners: |
Brazil 19.7%, Colombia 19.2%, US 14.8%, Argentina 9.1%, Peru (2001)
|
| Imports: |
$1.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum,
food |
| Imports
- partners: |
Brazil 24.4%, Argentina 17.9%, US 13.9%, Chile 9.3%, Peru (2001) |
| Debt
- external: |
$5.9 billion (2002 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$588 million (1997) |
| Currency: |
boliviano (BOB) |
| Currency
code: |
BOB |
| Exchange
rates: |
bolivianos per US dollar - 7.17 (2002), 6.6069 (2001), 6.1835 (2000),
5.8124 (1999), 5.5101 (1998) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year
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