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Bolivia Index
The May 1989 elections marked the sixth time that
Bolivians had
gone to the polls since 1978. This proliferation of
elections did
not make up for the twelve-year electoral hiatus imposed
on the
country by successive military dictatorships. Following
years of
authoritarian rule, the Bolivian electorate faced
elections
without undergoing a process of institution-building and
electoral practice. The result was a chaotic transition
period
that culminated in October 1982 with the election of
Hernán Siles
Zuazo (1982-85).
In 1978 the National Electoral Court annulled the first
elections because of large-scale fraud; as a result, the
military
reintervened. The 1979 elections produced a
congressionally
mandated one-year interim government debilitated by
military
coups and countercoups. In 1980 a bloody military coup
prevented
Congress from assembling to elect a new president. In 1982
the
Congress elected in 1980 was convoked to choose a
president.
Elections were held again in 1985, one year earlier than
originally mandated by Congress. In May 1989, Bolivians
cast
their ballots for the third democratic and civilian
president of
the 1980s.
All Bolivian citizens at least twenty-one years of age,
or
eighteen if married, are guaranteed the right to vote
through
secret ballot in free and open elections. All voters must
register with neighborhood electoral notaries established
prior
to an election. To register, voters must present a cédula
de
identidad (national identity card), a birth certificate,
or a
military service card. Because voting is considered a
civic duty,
failure to register or vote invokes several penalties.
Only
citizens over seventy may abstain voluntarily. Mental
patients,
traitors, convicts, and conscripted soldiers are
ineligible to
vote.
The electoral system comprises the National Electoral
Court,
electoral judges, electoral notaries, departmental
electoral
courts, and electoral juries. The most important of these
bodies,
the National Electoral Court, is an independent,
autonomous, and
impartial organization charged with conducting the
electoral
process. The court may recognize or deny inscription to
political
parties, fronts, or coalitions. Sixty days before
elections, it
approves a single multicolor ballot with symbols of
parties or
pictures of candidates running for office. The court also
counts
the ballots in public and investigates all charges of
fraud. Once
the electoral results have been certified by the National
Electoral Court, it must provide credentials accrediting
elected
deputies and senators, as well as the president and vice
president. The court must also present an annual report of
its
activities to Congress.
The National Electoral Court consists of six members
elected by
Congress, the Supreme Court of Justice, the president of
the
republic, and the political parties with the highest
number of
votes in the previous election. Members serve four years
and are
eligible for reelection.
Electoral judges are seated in the capitals of each
department
or province. They hear appeals by notaries regarding
admission or
exclusion of inscriptions in the registry, try electoral
notaries
and other persons for crimes committed during the
electoral
process, hear charges of fraud and other voting
irregularities,
and annul false electoral cards.
Electoral notaries must be present at every electoral
station in
the country. Their principal task is to organize and
provide
custody for the electoral registry. They are also
empowered to
register citizens to vote and to keep an accurate registry
of
voters.
The 1986 electoral law establishes ten departmental
electoral
courts, including one in each department capital and two
in La
Paz. Each court comprises six members, three of whom are
named by
Congress and three by the superior district courts,
president of
the republic, and political parties. The departmental
electoral
courts have the power to name all judges and notaries and
to
remove them if charges of corruption or inefficiency
brought
against them by parties are confirmed. They also are
empowered to
count ballots in public for the president, vice president,
senators, and deputies. Each electoral jury is composed of
five
citizens who monitor voting at the polling place. They are
chosen
randomly from the lot of voters at each voting table;
service is
compulsory.
The Constitution establishes that only political
parties that
are duly registered with the National Electoral Court may
present
candidates for office. Although labor unions,
entrepreneurial
associations, and regional civic committees have a very
large
voice in policy making, by law they must work through
political
parties. The Constitution and the electoral law provide
for a
proportional representation system to ensure the
representation
of minority parties.
The proliferation of tiny parties, alliances, and
electoral
fronts in the late 1970s led to the enactment of Article
206 of
the 1980 Electoral Law. This article states that parties,
alliances, or coalitions that do not achieve 50,000 votes
must
repay to the national treasury the costs of printing the
ballot.
Repayment must be made three days after the final ballot
has been
counted; a jail term awaits party chiefs who fail to pay.
In 1986 amendments to the 1980 electoral law sought to
establish
further limits on the proliferation of parties by
establishing
restrictions for party registration. The specific
objective of
these reforms was to limit the access of minuscule parties
to
Congress in order to establish a viable two- to
three-party
system.
The most significant amendment to the electoral law
governed
registration requirements. Beginning in 1986, citizens had
to
present either a national identity card or a military
service
card to register to vote. Critics noted that this reform
would
legally exclude 60 percent of the peasantry that lacked
either
document. Indeed, fraud generally occurred in the
countryside
where the population lacked these documents. The law was
amended
in December 1988, however, to allow birth certificates as
valid
documents for registration. Universal suffrage was one of
the
principal gains of the 1952 Revolution; thus, attempts to
restrict voting eligibility have been closely scrutinized.
Since elections returned to Bolivia in 1978, only two
have been
relatively honest. In 1978 the elections were annulled
following
massive fraud on the part of the military-sponsored
candidate.
The 1979 elections were much cleaner, but charges of fraud
still
surfaced. Most observers agreed that the 1980 elections
were
clean, but because of a military coup, the outcome was
postponed
until 1982. Owing to electoral reforms, the 1985 general
elections were by far the fairest ever held in Bolivia.
Nonetheless, because elections are inherently political,
accusations of fraud are a permanent feature of the
electoral
system. Early in the campaign for the 1989 elections,
charges of
fraud were already being leveled against the ruling MNR.
Data as of December 1989
- Bolivia-The United States FOREIGN MILITARY ASSISTANCE IN THE 1980s
- Bolivia-Mission and Organization THE ARMED FORCES
- Bolivia-Natural Regions
- Bolivia-Mountains and Altiplano
- Bolivia-Attitudes Toward Antinarcotics Forces
- Bolivia-Altiplano, Yungas, and Valley Indians
- Bolivia-Rural Society SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
- Bolivia-RELIGION
- Bolivia-The Private Sector
- Bolivia-Revolutionary Nationalism: Ovando and Torres
- Bolivia-Informal Sector
- Bolivia-Radical Military Government PRELUDE TO REVOLUTION, 1935-52
- Bolivia-Lowlands
- Bolivia-Struggle for Independence INDEPENDENCE FROM SPAIN AND THE EARLY NATIONAL PERIOD, 1809-39
- Bolivia-The Rise of New Political Groups
- Bolivia-The Media
- Bolivia-Migration MIGRATION AND URBANIZATION
- Bolivia-Petroleum and Natural Gas
- Bolivia-General Procedures
- Bolivia-The Middle Class
- Bolivia-GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
- Bolivia-Regional Civic Committees
- Bolivia-Whites
- Bolivia-MINING
- Bolivia-Transition to Democracy
- Bolivia -COUNTRY PROFILE
- Bolivia-Electricity
- Bolivia-The "Sexenio," 1946-52
- Bolivia-Civic Action
- Bolivia-Formal Sector LABOR
- Bolivia-The Economy of Upper Peru
- Bolivia-Radical Reforms THE BOLIVIAN NATIONAL REVOLUTION, 1952-64
- Bolivia-The Banzer Regime
- Bolivia-State, Church, and Society
- Bolivia-HEALTH AND SOCIAL SECURITY
- Bolivia-War of the Pacific FROM THE WAR OF THE PACIFIC TO THE CHACO WAR, 1879- 1935
- Bolivia-Chapter 1 - Historical Setting
- Bolivia-Mestizos and Cholos
- Bolivia-Reorganization of the Armed Forces, 1952-66
- Bolivia-Livestock
- Bolivia-The United States
- Bolivia-Other Foreign Military Ties
- Bolivia-Chapter 5 - National Security
- Bolivia-TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
- Bolivia-Fiscal Policy ECONOMIC POLICY
- Bolivia-The Military
- Bolivia-Coca
- Bolivia-Foreword
- Bolivia-Narcoterrorism
- Bolivia-Political Forces and Interest Groups
- Bolivia-Regional Police Structure
- Bolivia-Land Use
- Bolivia-Chapter 3 - The Economy
- Bolivia-Construction of Bolivia: Bolívar, Sucre, and Santa Cruz
- Bolivia-BOLIVIA
- Bolivia-The Peasantry
- Bolivia-SOCIETY
- Bolivia-Cash Crops
- Bolivia-Democracy and Economic Stabilization
- Bolivia-Military Justice
- Bolivia-Chapter 4 - Government and Politics
- Bolivia-Narcotics Corruption
- Bolivia-Early History EVOLUTION OF THE MILITARY ROLE IN SOCIETY AND GOVERNMENT
- Bolivia-MANUFACTURING AND CONSTRUCTION
- Bolivia-Foreign Trade FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS
- Bolivia-The Presidency of Barrientos MILITARY RULE, 1964-82
- Bolivia-Revenues
- Bolivia-The Republican Party and the Great Depression
- Bolivia-POLITICAL INSTABILITY AND ECONOMIC DECLINE, 1839-79
- Bolivia-The 1989 Elections
- Bolivia-AGRICULTURE
- Bolivia-Crops
- Bolivia-Family and Kin
- Bolivia-The Counterinsurgency Decade
- Bolivia-NATIONAL SECURITY:
- Bolivia-The Unfinished Revolution
- Bolivia-Subversive Groups
- Bolivia-Land Reform and Land Policy
- Bolivia-Urbanization
- Bolivia-ETHNIC GROUPS
- Bolivia-Reconstruction and the Rule of the Conservatives
- Bolivia-POPULATION AND REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION
- Bolivia-Communications
- Bolivia-The Criminal Justice System CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- Bolivia-PRE-COLUMBIAN CIVILIZATIONS
- Bolivia-Conscription MANPOWER AND TRAINING
- Bolivia-CONSTITUTIONAL BACKGROUND
- Bolivia-ECONOMY
- Bolivia-Special Police Forces
- Bolivia-EDUCATION
- Bolivia-Departmental and Local Government
- Bolivia-Farming Technology
- Bolivia-The Penal System
- Bolivia-Recruitment and Training
- Bolivia-The Third World
- Bolivia-Forestry and Fishing
- Bolivia-GEOGRAPHY
- Bolivia-Expenditures
- Bolivia-Acknowledgments
- Bolivia-Military Schools
- Bolivia-Organized Labor
- Bolivia-Air Force
- Bolivia-Foreign Assistance
- Bolivia-Preface
- Bolivia-Monetary and Exchange Rate Policies
- Bolivia-ENERGY
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-Civil Aeronautics
- Bolivia-Land Tenure
- Bolivia-Defense Budget
- Bolivia-Narcotics Trafficking THREATS TO INTERNAL SECURITY
- Bolivia-The Electoral System
- Bolivia-The Legislature
- Bolivia-Conquest and Settlement CONQUEST AND COLONIAL RULE, 1532-1809
- Bolivia-Incidence of Crime
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-The Legacy of the 1952 Revolution POLITICAL DYNAMICS
- Bolivia-Extradition
- Bolivia-The Judiciary
- Bolivia-Tin and Related Metals
- Bolivia-Transportation
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-Army
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-Structure of the Mining Industry
- Bolivia-Other Metals and Minerals
- Bolivia-Balance of Payments
- Bolivia-Banking and Financial Services SERVICES
- Bolivia-The Executive GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-The Soviet Union
- Bolivia-Military Intervention in Politics, 1970-85
- Bolivia-Bilateral and Legislative Antinarcotics Measures
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-Yungas and Other Valleys
- Bolivia-GROWTH AND STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY
- Bolivia-Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment
- Bolivia-The Legacy of the Chaco War
- Bolivia-Neighboring Countries
- Bolivia-The Chaco War
- Bolivia-GEOGRAPHY
- Bolivia-Lowland Indians
- Bolivia-Urban Society
- Bolivia-Navy
- Bolivia-INTRODUCTION
- Bolivia-The Liberal Party and the Rise of Tin
- Bolivia-FOREIGN RELATIONS
- Bolivia
- Bolivia-Debt
- Bolivia-The Upper Class
- Bolivia-Climate
- Bolivia-Impact of Narcotics Trafficking
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, indigenous 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. In December 2009, President MORALES easily won reelection, and his party took control of the legislative branch of the government, which will allow him to continue his process of change.
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Location | | Central South America, southwest of Brazil
|
Area(sq km) | | total: 1,098,581 sq km land: 1,083,301 sq km water: 15,280 sq km
|
Geographic coordinates | | 17 00 S, 65 00 W
|
Land boundaries(km) | | total: 6,940 km border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,423 km, Chile 860 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 1,075 km
|
Coastline(km) | | 0 km (landlocked)
|
Climate | | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
|
Elevation extremes(m) | | 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(sq km) | | 1,320 sq km (2003)
|
Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 622.5 cu km (2000)
|
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 1.44 cu km/yr (13%/7%/81%) per capita: 157 cu m/yr (2000)
|
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
|
Geography - note | | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru
|
Population | | 9,775,246 (July 2009 est.)
|
Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 35.5% (male 1,767,310/female 1,701,744) 15-64 years: 60% (male 2,877,605/female 2,992,043) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 193,196/female 243,348) (2009 est.)
|
Median age(years) | | total: 21.9 years male: 21.3 years female: 22.6 years (2009 est.)
|
Population growth rate(%) | | 1.772% (2009 est.)
|
Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 25.82 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 7.05 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
|
Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -1.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 66% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 2.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
|
Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | 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: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
|
Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 44.66 deaths/1,000 live births male: 48.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 40.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
|
Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 66.89 years male: 64.2 years female: 69.72 years (2009 est.)
|
Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 3.17 children born/woman (2009 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 60.7% (official), Quechua 21.2% (official), Aymara 14.6% (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% (2001 census)
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Country name | | conventional long form: Plurinational State of Bolivia conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia
|
Government type | | republic; note - the new constitution defines Bolivia as a "Social Unitarian State"
|
Capital | | name: La Paz (administrative capital) geographic coordinates: 16 30 S, 68 09 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Sucre (constitutional capital)
|
Administrative divisions | | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
|
Constitution | | 7-Feb-09
|
Legal system | | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; the 2009 Constitution incorporates indigenous community justice into Bolivia's judicial system
|
Suffrage | | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single)
|
Executive branch | | chief of state: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 6 December 2009 (next to be held in 2014); note - per the new constitution, presidents can serve for a total of two consecutive terms election results: Juan Evo MORALES Ayma elected president; percent of vote - Juan Evo MORALES Ayma 64%; Manfred REYES VILLA 26%; Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana 6%; Rene JOAQUINO 2%; other 2%
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Legislative branch | | bicameral Plurinational Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (36 seats; members are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; 76 members are directly elected from their districts [7 or 8 of these are chosen from indigenous districts] and 54 are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms). elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 December 2009 (next to be held in 2015) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 26, PPB-CN 10; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 89, PPB-CN 36, UN 3, AS 2
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Judicial branch | | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms); District Courts (one in each department); Plurinational Constitutional Court (five primary or titulares and five alternate or suplente magistrates elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms; to rule on constitutional issues); Plurinational Electoral Organ (seven members elected by the Assembly and the president; one member must be of indigenous origin to six-year terms); Agro-Environmental Court (judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Assembly for six-year terms; to run on agro-environmental issues); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases)
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | Bolivian Workers Central or COR; Federation of Neighborhood Councils of El Alto or FEJUVE; Landless Movement or MST; National Coordinator for Change or CONALCAM; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB other: Cocalero groups; indigenous organizations (including Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Eastern Bolivia or CIDOB and National Council of Ayullus and Markas of Quollasuyu or CONAMAQ); labor unions (including the Central Bolivian Workers' Union or COB and Cooperative Miners Federation or FENCOMIN)
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International organization participation | | CAN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Flag description | | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band note: similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; in 2009, a presidential decree made it mandatory for a so-called wiphala - a square, multi-colored flag representing the country's indigenous peoples - to be used alongside the traditional flag
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Economy - overview | | Bolivia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in Latin America. Following a disastrous economic crisis during the early 1980s, reforms spurred private investment, stimulated economic growth, and cut poverty rates in the 1990s. The period 2003-05 was characterized by political instability, racial tensions, and violent protests against plans - subsequently abandoned - to export Bolivia's newly discovered natural gas reserves to large northern hemisphere markets. In 2005, the government passed a controversial hydrocarbons law that imposed significantly higher royalties and required foreign firms then operating under risk-sharing contracts to surrender all production to the state energy company. In early 2008, higher earnings for mining and hydrocarbons exports pushed the current account surplus to 9.4% of GDP and the government's higher tax take produced a fiscal surplus after years of large deficits. Private investment as a share of GDP, however, remains among the lowest in Latin America, and inflation remained at double-digit levels in 2008. The decline in commodity prices in late 2008, the lack of foreign investment in the mining and hydrocarbon sectors, and the suspension of trade benefits with the United States will pose challenges for the Bolivian economy in 2009.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $43.38 billion (2008 est.) $40.88 billion (2007 est.) $39.08 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate) | | $16.6 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 6.1% (2008 est.) 4.6% (2007 est.) 4.8% (2006 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $4,500 (2008 est.) $4,300 (2007 est.) $4,200 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 11.3% industry: 36.9% services: 51.8% (2008 est.)
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Labor force | | 4.454 million (2008 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 40% industry: 17% services: 43% (2006 est.)
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Unemployment rate(%) | | 7.5% (2008 est.) 7.5% (2007 est.) note: data are for urban areas; widespread underemployment
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Population below poverty line(%) | | 60% (2006 est.)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 44.1% (2005)
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 59.2 (2006) 44.7 (1999)
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 18% of GDP (2008 est.)
|
Budget | | revenues: $8.039 billion expenditures: $7.5 billion (2008 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 14% (2008 est.) 8.7% (2007 est.)
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Stock of money | | $3.998 billion (31 December 2008) $3.032 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of quasi money | | $6.339 billion (31 December 2008) $4.729 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $5.433 billion (31 December 2008) $4.759 billion (31 December 2007)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA (31 December 2008) $2.263 billion (31 December 2007) $2.223 billion (31 December 2006)
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Economic aid - recipient | | $582.9 million (2005 est.)
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Public debt(% of GDP) | | 45.2% of GDP (2008 est.) 46.3% of GDP (2007 est.)
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Agriculture - products | | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber
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Industries | | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 10.6% (2008 est.)
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Current account balance | | $2.015 billion (2008 est.) $1.984 billion (2007 est.)
|
Exports | | $6.448 billion (2008 est.) $4.49 billion (2007 est.)
|
Exports - commodities(%) | | natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore, tin
|
Exports - partners(%) | | Brazil 60.1%, US 8.3%, Japan 4.1% (2008)
|
Imports | | $4.641 billion (2008 est.) $3.24 billion (2007 est.)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | petroleum products, plastics, paper, aircraft and aircraft parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans
|
Imports - partners(%) | | Brazil 26.7%, Argentina 16.3%, US 10.5%, Chile 9.5%, Peru 7.1%, China 4.8% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $7.722 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $5.318 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
Debt - external | | $5.931 billion (31 December 2008) $5.385 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $5.998 billion (31 December 2008)
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $NA
|
Exchange rates | | bolivianos (BOB) per US dollar - 7.253 (2008 est.), 7.8616 (2007), 8.0159 (2006), 8.0661 (2005), 7.9363 (2004)
|
Currency (code) | | boliviano (BOB)
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 690,000 (2008)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 4.83 million (2008)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: privatization begun in 1995; reliability has steadily improved; new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile-cellular telephone use expanding rapidly; fixed-line teledensity of 7 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density slighly exceeds 50 per 100 persons domestic: primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded international: country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2008)
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Internet country code | | .bo
|
Internet users | | 1 million (2008)
|
Airports | | 952 (2009)
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Pipelines(km) | | gas 4,883 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,475 km; refined products 1,589 km (2008)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 62,479 km paved: 3,749 km unpaved: 58,730 km (2004)
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Ports and terminals | | Puerto Aguirre (inland port on the Paraguay/Parana waterway at the Bolivia/Brazil border); Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay
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Military branches | | Bolivian Armed Forces: Bolivian Army (Ejercito Boliviano, EB), Bolivian Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, FNB; includes marines), Bolivian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana, FAB) (2009)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 18-49 years of age for 12-month compulsory military service; when annual number of volunteers falls short of goal, compulsory recruitment is effected, including conscription of boys as young as 14; 15-19 years of age for voluntary premilitary service, provides exemption from further military service (2009)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 2,295,746 females age 16-49: 2,366,828 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,666,697 females age 16-49: 1,906,396 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 108,304 female: 104,882 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 1.9% of GDP (2006)
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Disputes - international | | Chile and Peru rebuff Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, but Chile offers instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian natural gas and other commodities; an accord placed the long-disputed Isla Suarez/Ilha de Guajara-Mirim, a fluvial island on the Rio Mamore, under Bolivian administration in 1958, but sovereignty remains in dispute
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 5.495 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 44.4% hydro: 54% nuclear: 0% other: 1.5% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 4.665 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 51,360 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 60,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 10,950 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 6,172 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 465 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 14.2 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 2.41 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 11.79 billion cu m (2008)
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 750.4 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 0.2% (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 8,100 (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | fewer than 500 (2007 est.)
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Major infectious diseases | | degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and yellow fever water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)
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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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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 6.4% of GDP (2003)
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