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Communications

Airports [time series]

1,105 total, 943 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 7 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 146 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 and 1 container ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,951 GRT/26,320 DWT

Pipelines [time series]

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

Ports [time series]

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

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

3,684 km total, all narrow gauge; 3,652 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; broadcast stations - 129 AM, no FM, 43 TV, 68 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force, National Police Force

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $80 million, 1.6% of GDP (1990 est).

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 1,727,101; 1,122,224 fit for military service; 72,977 reach military age (18) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

revenues $900 million; expenditures $825 million, including capital expenditures of $300 million (1991 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

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

Economic aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $990 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2,025 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $340 million

Electricity [time series]

849,000 kW capacity; 1,798 million kWh produced, 251 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates [time series]

bolivianos ($B) per US$1 - 3.7534 (January 1992), 3.5806 (1991), 3.1727 (1990), 2.6917 (1989), 2.3502 (1988), 2.0549 (1987)

Exports [time series]

$970 million (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: metals 45%, natural gas 25%, other 30% (coffee, soybeans, sugar, cotton, timber) partners: US 15%, Argentina

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$3.3 billion (December 1991)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $4.6 billion, per capita $630; real growth rate 4% (1991)

Illicit drugs [time series]

world's second-largest producer of coca (after Peru) with an estimated 47,900 hectares under cultivation; voluntary and forced eradication program unable to prevent production from rising to 78,400 metric tons in 1991 from 74,700 tons in 1989; government considers all but 12,000 hectares illicit; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia and Brazil to the US and other international drug markets

Imports [time series]

$760 million (c.i.f., 1991) commodities: food, petroleum, consumer goods, capital goods partners: US 22%

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

growth rate 6% (1991); accounts for almost 30% of GDP

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

15% (1991)

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 then President Paz Estenssoro in 1985, however, succeeded in reducing inflation to between 10% and 20% annually since 1987, eventually restarting economic growth. Since August 1989, President Paz Zamora has retained the economic policies of the previous government, keeping inflation down and continuing moderate growth. Nevertheless, Bolivia continues to be one of the poorest countries in Latin America, with widespread poverty and unemployment, and it remains vulnerable to price fluctuations for its limited exports - agricultural products, 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]

7% (1991 est.)

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

Area (Land area) [time series]

1,084,390 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

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

Land use [time series]

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

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]

rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon basin

Area (Total area) [time series]

1,098,580 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, 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 Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco US: Ambassador Charles R. BOWERS; 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 AA 34032); telephone [591] (2) 350251 or 350120; FAX [591] (2) 359875

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

Chamber of Deputies: last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 1993); results - percent of vote by party NA; note - legislative and presidential candidates run on a unified slate, so vote percentages are the same as in section on presidential election results; seats - (130 total) MNR 40, ADN 35, MIR 33, IU 10, CONDEPA 9, PDC 3 Chamber of Senators: last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 1993); results - percent of vote by party NA; note - legislative and presidential candidates run on a unified slate, so vote percentages are the same as in section on presidential election results; seats - (27 total) MNR 9, ADN 7, MIR 8, CONDEPA 2, PDC 1 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 1989

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 Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores) 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]

AG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, 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; Civic Solidarity Union (UCS), Max FERNANDEZ Rojas; Conscience of the Fatherland (CONDEPA), Carlos PALENQUE Aviles; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Jorge AGREDO; Free Bolivia Movement (MBL), led by Antonio ARANIBAR; United Left (IU), a coalition of leftist parties that includes Patriotic National Convergency Axis (EJE-P) led by Walter DELGADILLO, and Bolivian Communist Party (PCB) led by Humberto RAMIREZ; Revolutionary Vanguard - 9th of April (VR-9), Carlos SERRATE Reich

Suffrage [time series]

universal and compulsory at age 18 (married) or 21 (single)

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

33 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

9 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

82 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

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

Languages [time series]

Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara (all official)

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

59 years male, 64 years female (1992)

Literacy [time series]

78% (male 85%, female 71%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun - Bolivian(s); adjective - Bolivian

Net migration rate [time series]

--1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)

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]

7,323,048 (July 1992), growth rate 2.3% (1992)

Religions [time series]

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

Total fertility rate [time series]

4.5 children born/woman (1992)