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Communications

Airports [time series]

total: 1,225 usable: 1,043 with permanent-surface runways: 9 with runways over 3,659 m: 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 161

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

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]

microwave 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 (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy includes Marines (Fuerza Navala), Air Force (Fuerza Aereo de Bolivia), National Police Force (Boliviano Policia Nacional)

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

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

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 1,786,137; fit for military service 1,162,160; reach military age (19) annually 78,125 (1993 est.)

Note [time series]

Bosnia and Herzegovina is suffering from interethnic civil strife which began in March 1992 after the Bosnian Government held a referendum on independence. Bosnia's Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb held areas to a "greater Serbia". Since the onset of the conflict, which has driven approximately half of the pre-war population of 4.4 million from their homes, both the Bosnian Serbs and the Bosnian Croats have asserted control of more than three-quarters of the territory formerly under the control of the Bosnian Government. The UN and the EC are continuing to try to mediate a plan for peace.

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for about 21% of GDP (including forestry and fisheries); principal commodities - coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, timber; self-sufficient in food

Budget [time series]

revenues $1.5 billion; expenditures $1.57 billion, including capital expenditures of $627 million (1993 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

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]

865,000 kW capacity; 1,834 million kWh produced, 250 kWh per capita (1992)

Exchange rates [time series]

bolivianos ($B) per US$1 - 3.9437 (August 1992), 3.85 (1992), 3.5806 (1991), 3.1727 (1990), 2.6917 (1989), 2.3502 (1988), 2.0549 (1987)

Exports [time series]

$609 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: metals 46%, hydrocarbons 21%, other 33% (coffee, soybeans, sugar, cotton, timber) partners: US 15%, Argentina

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$3.7 billion (December 1992)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

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 82,000 metric tons in 1992 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]

1.185 billion (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: food, petroleum, consumer goods, capital goods partners: US 22%

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

growth rate 7% (1992); accounts for almost 32% of GDP

Industries [time series]

mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverage, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing; illicit drug industry reportedly produces 15% of its revenues

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

10.5% (December 1992)

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

GDP - exchange rate conversion - $4.9 billion (1992)

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$670 (1992)

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

3.8% (1992)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

With its long history of semifeudalistic social controls, dependence on volatile prices for its mineral exports, and bouts of hyperinflation, Bolivia has remained one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries. Since August 1989, President PAZ Zamora, despite his Marxist origins, has maintained a moderate policy of repressing domestic terrorism, containing inflation, and achieving annual GDP growth of 3 to 4%. 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]

5% (1992)

Geography

Area [time series]

total area: 1,098,580 km2 land area: 1,084,390 km2 comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Montana

Climate [time series]

varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid

Coastline [time series]

0 km (landlocked)

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Disputes - international (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

Irrigated land [time series]

1,650 km2 (1989 est.)

Land boundaries [time series]

total 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: 0% meadows and pastures: 25% forest and woodland: 52% other: 20%

Location [time series]

Central South America, between Brazil and Chile

Map references [time series]

South America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims [time series]

none; landlocked

Natural resources [time series]

tin, natural gas, petroleum, 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

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

Digraph [time series]

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

chief of mission: Ambassador Jorge CRESPO chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 483-4410 through 4412 consulates general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

Chamber of Deputies: last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held 6 June 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 6 June 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 6 June 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)

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

AG, ECLAC, FAO, GATT, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, 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

Country name (Names) [time series]

conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Republica de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia

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), Antonio ARANIBAR; United Left (IU), a coalition of leftist parties that includes Patriotic National Convergency Axis (EJE-P), Walter DELGADILLO and Bolivian Communist Party (PCB), Humberto RAMIREZ; Revolutionary Vanguard - 9th of April (VR-9), Carlos SERRATE Reich

Suffrage [time series]

18 years of age; universal and compulsory (married) 21 years of age; universal and compulsory (single)

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

chief of mission: Ambassador Charles R. BOWERS embassy: Banco Popular del Peru Building, corner of Calles Mercado y Colon, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz, or APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 350251 or 350120 FAX: [591] (2) 359875

People

Birth rate [time series]

32.83 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate [time series]

8.63 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

76.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force [time series]

1.7 million by occupation: agriculture 50%, services and utilities 26%, manufacturing 10%, mining 4%, other 10% (1983)

Languages [time series]

Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 62.77 years male: 60.34 years female: 65.33 years (1993 est.)

Literacy [time series]

age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 78% male: 85% female: 71%

Nationality [time series]

noun: Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian

Net migration rate [time series]

-1.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population [time series]

7,544,099 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

2.31% (1993 est.)

Religions [time series]

Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)

Total fertility rate [time series]

4.31 children born/woman (1993 est.)