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Communications

Airports [time series]

636 total, 551 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 8 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 110 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

56 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

38,836 km total; 1,300 km paved, 6,700 km gravel, 30,836 km improved and unimproved earth

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways

Merchant marine [time series]

2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,051 GRT/22,155 DWT; note--1 is owned by the Bolivian Navy

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil 1,800 km; refined products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km

Ports [time series]

none; maritime outlets are Arica and Antofagasta in Chile and Matarani in Peru

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

3,675 km total; 3,643 km 1.000-meter gauge and 32 km 0.760-meter gauge, all government owned, single track

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

radio relay system being expanded; improved international services; 144,300 telephones; stations--129 AM, no FM, 43 TV, 68 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Bolivian Army, Bolivian Navy, Bolivian Air Force (literally, the Army of the Nation, the Navy of the Nation, the Air Force of the Nation)

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

3% of GNP (1987)

Military manpower [time series]

males 15-49, 1,629,154; 1,060,187 fit for military service; 70,528 reach military age (19) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for 20% of GDP (including forestry and fisheries); principal commodities--coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, timber; self-sufficient in food

Aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $909 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.4 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $340 million

Budget [time series]

revenues $2,867 million; expenditures $2,867 million, including capital expenditures of $663 million (1987)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

boliviano (plural--bolivianos); 1 boliviano ($B) = 100 centavos

Electricity [time series]

817,000 kW capacity; 1,728 million kWh produced, 260 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

bolivianos ($B) per US$1--2.6917 (1989), 2.3502 (1988), 2.0549 (1987), 1.9220 (1986), 0.4400 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$634 million (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--metals 45%, natural gas 32%, coffee, soybeans, sugar, cotton, timber, and illicit drugs; partners--US 23%, Argentina

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$5.7 billion (December 1989)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

GNP [time series]

$4.6 billion, per capita $660; real growth rate 2.8% (1988)

Illicit drugs [time series]

world's second-largest producer of coca (after Peru) with an estimated 54,000 hectares under cultivation; government considers all but 12,000 hectares illicit and subject to eradication; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia and Brazil to the US and other international drug markets

Imports [time series]

$786 million (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--food, petroleum, consumer goods, capital goods; partners--US 15%

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 8.1% (1987)

Industries [time series]

mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverage, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing; illicit drug industry reportedly produces the largest revenues

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

15.5% (1989)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

The Bolivian economy steadily deteriorated between 1980 and 1985 as La Paz financed growing budget deficits by expanding the money supply and inflation spiraled--peaking at 11,700%. An austere orthodox economic program adopted by newly elected President Paz Estenssoro in 1985, however, succeeded in reducing inflation to between 10% and 20% annually during 1987 and 1989, eventually restarting economic growth. President Paz Zamora has pledged to retain the economic policies of the previous government in order to keep inflation down and continue the growth begun under his predecessor. Nevertheless, Bolivia continues to be one of the poorest countries in Latin America, and it remains vulnerable to price fluctuations for its limited exports--mainly minerals and natural gas. Moreover, for many farmers, who constitute half of the country's work force, the main cash crop is coca, which is sold for cocaine processing.

Unemployment rate [time series]

20.7% (1988)

Geography

Climate [time series]

varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid

Coastline [time series]

none--landlocked

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly less than three times the size of Montana

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

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

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

cold, thin air of high plateau is obstacle to efficient fuel combustion; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Land boundaries [time series]

6,743 km total; Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km

Land use [time series]

3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 25% meadows and pastures; 52% forest and woodland; 20% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Maritime claims [time series]

none--landlocked

Natural resources [time series]

tin, natural gas, crude oil, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron ore, lead, gold, timber

Note [time series]

landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Peru

Terrain [time series]

high plateau, hills, lowland plains

Area (Total area) [time series]

1,098,580 km2; land area: 1,084,390 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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

Capital [time series]

La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary)

Constitution [time series]

2 February 1967

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Jorge CRESPO; Chancery at 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-4410 through 4412; there are Bolivian Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco; US--Ambassador Robert GELBARD; Embassy at Banco Popular del Peru Building, corner of Calles Mercado y Colon, La Paz (mailing address is P. O. Box 425, La Paz, or APO Miami 34032); telephone [591] (2) 350251 or 350120

Executive branch [time series]

president, vice president, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

6 August 1825 (from Spain)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State and Head of Government--President Jaime PAZ Zamora (since 6 August 1989); Vice President Luis OSSIO Sanjines (since 6 August 1989)

Legal system [time series]

based on Spanish law and Code Napoleon; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Bolivia

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IATP, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, LAIA, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 6 August (1825)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), Jaime Paz Zamora; Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN), Hugo Banzer Suarez; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR), Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada; United Left (IU), coalition of leftist parties which includes Free Bolivia Movement (MBL), led by Antonio Aranibar, Patriotic National Convergency Axis (EJE-P) led by Walter Delgadillo, and Bolivian Communist Party (PCB) led by Humberto Ramirez; Conscience of the Fatherland (CONDEPA), Carlos Palenque Aviles; Revolutionary Vanguard-9th of April (VR-9), Carlos Serrate Reich

Suffrage [time series]

universal and compulsory at age 18 (married) or 21 (single) President--last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 1993); results--Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (MNR) 23%, Hugo Banzer Suarez (ADN) 22%, Jaime Paz Zamora (MIR) 19%; no candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Jaime Paz Zamora (MIR) formed a coalition with Hugo Banzer (ADN); with ADN support Paz Zamora won the congressional runoff election on 4 August and was inaugurated on 6 August; Senate--last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 1993); results--percent of vote NA; seats (27 total) MNR 9, ADN 8, MIR 8, CONDEPA 2; Chamber of Deputies--last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 1993); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats (130 total) MNR 40, ADN 38, MIR 30, IU 10, CONDEPA 9, VR-9 3

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

35 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate [time series]

13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

30% Quechua, 25% Aymara, 25-30% mixed, 5-15% European

Infant mortality rate [time series]

125 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force [time series]

1,700,000; 50% agriculture, 26% services and utilities, 10% manufacturing, 4% mining, 10% other (1983)

Languages (Language) [time series]

Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara (all official)

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

52 years male, 56 years female (1990)

Literacy [time series]

63%

Nationality [time series]

noun--Bolivian(s); adjective Bolivian

Net migration rate [time series]

- 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor [time series]

150,000-200,000, concentrated in mining, industry, construction, and transportation; mostly organized under Bolivian Workers' Central (COB) labor federation

Population [time series]

6,706,854 (July 1990), growth rate 2.1% (1990)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

95% Roman Catholic; active Protestant minority, especially Evangelical Methodist

Total fertility rate [time series]

4.7 children born/woman (1990)