Following the onset of democracy, Bolivia pursued a
nonaligned
foreign policy. In 1989 Bolivia held relations with every
communist nation, including Albania. Relations with China
were
established in 1985, and diplomatic relations with Taiwan
suspended. In 1983 Bolivia had established relations with
Cuba.
Relations with Cuba improved steadily in the mid-to-late
1980s.
Cuba donated medical equipment to hospitals and supported
Bolivia's quest for nonaligned status. Bolivian leaders,
including the foreign minister, met with Fidel Castro Ruz
and
praised the achievements of the Cuban Revolution.
Bolivia's foreign policy strategy in the early part of
the 1980s
was labeled "independent neutrality," which was an
external
manifestation of domestic populism rooted in the 1952
Revolution.
In fact, neutrality in foreign affairs was historically
associated with populist regimes, such as those of the MNR
(especially 1952-56) and Ovando and Torres (1969-71).
The guiding principle of independent neutrality was
that
diplomatic relations should be maintained with all nations
of the
world, regardless of political ideology. Respect for the
principles of nonintervention and self-determination was a
second
underlying theme. Independent neutrality reflected a
nonaligned
thrust with deep roots in Bolivian history. The first Paz
Estenssoro government (1952-56), for example, was the
first to
adopt a policy of neutrality that reflected the
revolutionary
reality of the country in the 1950s. Subsequently, General
Ovando's government established relations with the Soviet
Union,
and in 1970 General Torres became the first Bolivian
leader to
attend a conference of the Nonaligned Movement.
The Siles Zuazo regime criticized several United States
efforts
in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1981 the Nicaraguan
delegation to the UN allowed Siles Zuazo's "government in
exile"
to denounce human rights violations in Bolivia by the
García
Meza-led junta that was in power in La Paz. After assuming
the
presidency, Siles Zuazo criticized the Nicaraguan
opposition
force, the contras, and spoke in favor of the Contadora
process,
the diplomatic effort initiated by Mexico, Venezuela,
Colombia,
and Panama in 1983 to achieve peace in Central America. In
1983
Bolivia voted with the majority in the UN to censure the
joint
United States-Caribbean intervention in Grenada. Siles
Zuazo's
government also joined a region-wide movement to reform
the OAS.
Critics of the 1985-89 Paz Estenssoro administration
contended
that his more conservative domestic political agenda was
reflected in Bolivia's foreign policy. In their view,
foreign
policy had become increasingly tied to the interests of
the
United States, affecting Bolivia's relations with other
Latin
American democracies. Critics pointed out that Bolivia had
refused to participate in regional forums on the foreign
debt
issue since 1985, pursuing instead direct negotiations
with
international banks. Additionally, they charged that
Bolivia's
lack of interest had excluded it from regional integration
projects such as the Andean Common Market (ANCOM, also
known as
the Andean Pact). Others pointed out that Bolivia limited
its
participation in regional organizations to persuading its
Andean
neighbors to eliminate the controversial Decision 24 from
the
ANCOM charter that restricted foreign investment in the
region.
The loss of autonomy in foreign policy, however, was
not as
obvious as critics claimed. The Bolivian government, in
fact, had
actively pursued regional ties; for example, it
participated in
ANCOM's Cartagena Agreement and the Río de la Plata Basin
commercial and development agreement, and it sponsored a
meeting
of the Amazonian Pact. In terms of economic integration,
the
Bolivian government stressed its participation in the
Latin
American Economic System (Sistema Económico
Latinoamericano--
SELA) and the Latin American Integration Association
(Asociación
Latinoamericana de Integración--ALADI).
A discernible change had occurred, however, with
respect to
Bolivia's policy toward the Central American conflict. In
contrast to Siles Zuazo, Paz Estenssoro maintained a
distance
from the conflict, limiting himself to endorsing Costa
Rican
president Oscar Arias Sánchez's initiatives. Paz
Estenssoro did
not challenge the United States on this issue, which
remained
outside regional peace efforts, such as the Contadora
support
group. Most significantly, Bolivia was conspicuously
absent from
the Group of Eight Latin American democracies that
demanded
hemispheric autonomy, sought support for Cuba's return to
the
OAS, and put forth an agenda for reforming the OAS.
Bolivia continued to maintain good relations with the
Nonaligned
Movement in the late 1980s, although they were not as
close as
during the Siles Zuazo administration. According to
Guillermo
Gutiérrez Bedregal, Paz Estenssoro's foreign affairs and
worship
minister, relations were established with seventeen
Nonaligned
Movement nations, including Ethiopia, Mozambique, and
Vietnam. In
addition, the Paz Estenssoro regime pointed out that
Bolivia
occupied the vice presidency of the movement's Ministerial
Conference in 1986 and had been actively involved in the
organization of the Ministerial Conference for 1988.
|
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
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Area(sq km) | | total: 1,098,581 sq km
land: 1,083,301 sq km
water: 15,280 sq km
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Geographic coordinates | | 17 00 S, 65 00 W
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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
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Coastline(km) | | 0 km (landlocked)
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Climate | | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
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Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m
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Natural resources | | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower
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Land use(%) | | arable land: 2.78%
permanent crops: 0.19%
other: 97.03% (2005)
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Irrigated land(sq km) | | 1,320 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 622.5 cu km (2000)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 1.44 cu km/yr (13%/7%/81%)
per capita: 157 cu m/yr (2000)
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Natural hazards | | flooding in the northeast (March-April)
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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
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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
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Geography - note | | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru
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Population | | 9,775,246 (July 2009 est.)
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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.)
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Median age(years) | | total: 21.9 years
male: 21.3 years
female: 22.6 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate(%) | | 1.772% (2009 est.)
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Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 25.82 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 7.05 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | -1.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 66% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 2.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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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.)
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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.)
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Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 66.89 years
male: 64.2 years
female: 69.72 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 3.17 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian
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Ethnic groups(%) | | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15%
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Religions(%) | | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5%
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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
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Government type | | republic; note - the new constitution defines Bolivia as a "Social Unitarian State"
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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)
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Administrative divisions | | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
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Constitution | | 7-Feb-09
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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
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Suffrage | | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single)
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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)
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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.)
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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.)
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Exports | | $6.448 billion (2008 est.)
$4.49 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore, tin
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Exports - partners(%) | | Brazil 60.1%, US 8.3%, Japan 4.1% (2008)
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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
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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.)
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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)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $NA
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Exchange rates | | bolivianos (BOB) per US dollar - 7.253 (2008 est.), 7.8616 (2007), 8.0159 (2006), 8.0661 (2005), 7.9363 (2004)
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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
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Internet users | | 1 million (2008)
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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.)
|
|
Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 51,360 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 60,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 10,950 bbl/day (2007 est.)
|
|
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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