Bolivia: SOCIETY

SOCIETY

Population: In 2004 Bolivia had an estimated population of nearly 9.3 million, with an annual population growth rate of 2.4 percent. Bolivia has low population density, only 8.5 people per square kilometer. In terms of geographic settlement, 42 percent of Bolivians live in the altiplano region in the west, followed by 30 percent in the eastern plains region and 29 percent in highland valleys in the central part of the country. Urbanization is low but rising. The urban population of the country is increasing at a rate of 3.6 percent annually, mostly as a result of the migration of rural residents to cities. In 2004 about 62 percent of Bolivians lived in cities, including 40 percent in cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants. La Paz, located in the altiplano, and Santa Cruz, in central Bolivia, are the most densely populated cities. Oruro, located in the altiplano southeast of La Paz, is Bolivia’s fastest growing urban area.

Demography: Bolivia has a young and ethnically diverse population. Statistics show that 35 percent of the population is younger than 15, nearly 60 percent is 15–64, and only 4 percent is 65 and older. Experts estimate Bolivia’s birthrate at nearly 23.8 births per 1,000. The infant mortality rate stands at 53 deaths per 1,000 live births and the child mortality rate at 66 deaths per 1,000 live births, while the overall death rate is 7.6 deaths per 1,000. Life expectancy in Bolivia, 65.5 years on average, is shorter than in most other South American countries.

Ethnic Groups and Languages: Ethnically, Bolivia is not dominated by any single group of people. In a survey conducted in 2001, the National Statistics Institute found the following breakdown: mestizo (mixed race), 30 percent; Quechua, 28 percent; Aymara, 19 percent; and European, 12 percent. The remaining 11 percent come from a collection of ethnicities. Spanish is spoken by 87 percent of the population. Quechua (34 percent) and Aymara are the other prominent languages.

Religion: The Roman Catholic Church has a dominant presence in Bolivia. An estimated 95 percent of Bolivians are Roman Catholic. The remaining 5 percent are Protestant. Bolivia’s constitution mandates religious freedom, and the government has no record of suppressing any religious groups. However, some Catholic priests are supported by government pensions, in exchange for land that the church ceded to the government in the past. Only Roman Catholic religious instruction is provided in the country’s public schools, but students are not required to attend religious sessions.

Education and Literacy: In education, as in many other areas of Bolivian life, a divide exists between Bolivia’s rural and urban areas. Rural illiteracy levels remain high, even as the rest of the country becomes increasingly literate. This disparity stems partly from the fact that many children living in rural areas are forced to contribute economically to their family households and thus are much less likely to attend school. On average, children from rural areas attend school for 4.2 years, while children in urban areas receive an average of 9.4 years of education. A gender divide also exists. Females, on average, receive about 1.5 years less schooling than males. The female illiteracy rate is 19.6 percent while that for males is 7.4 percent. The country’s illiteracy level as a whole, 13–14 percent, is higher than in other South American countries.

The problems with Bolivian education are not necessarily attributable to lack of funding. Bolivia devotes 23 percent of its annual budget to educational expenditures, a higher percentage than in most other South American countries, albeit from a smaller national budget. A comprehensive, seven-year plan of education reform has made some significant changes. Initiated in 1994, the plan decentralized educational funding in order to meet diverse local needs, improved teacher training and curricula, and changed the school grade system. Resistance from teachers’ unions, however, has slowed implementation of some of the intended reforms.

Health: In terms of key health indicators, Bolivia ranks nearly last among the Western Hemisphere countries. Only Haiti scores consistently lower. Bolivia’s child mortality rate of 66 per 1,000 live births is the worst in South America. Proper nourishment is a constant struggle for many Bolivians. Experts estimate that 7 percent of Bolivian children under the age of five and 23 percent of the entire population suffer from malnutrition.

Bolivians living in rural areas lack proper sanitation and medical services, rendering many helpless against still potent diseases such as malaria (in tropical areas) and Chagas’ disease. Statistics indicate that only 20 percent of the rural population in Bolivia has access to safe water and sanitation. The prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in Bolivia appears to be low, around 0.1 percent of the population. Between 1984 and 2002, only 333 cases of AIDS were reported to United Nations officials.

Bolivia’s health care system is in the midst of reform, funded in part by international organizations such as the World Bank. The number of physicians practicing in Bolivia has doubled in recent years, to about 130 per 100,000 citizens, a comparable ratio for the region. Current priorities include providing basic health care to more women and children, expanding immunization, and tackling the problems of diarrhea and tuberculosis, which are leading causes of death among children. As a percentage of its national budget, Bolivia’s health care expenditures are 4.3 percent, also on a par with regional norms. However, its annual per capita spending of US$145 is lower than in most South American countries.

Welfare: Among developing nations, as defined by the United Nations (UN), Bolivia ranks twenty-seventh according to the Human Poverty Index. Overall, Bolivia ranked 114 out of 175 on the UN Human Development Index in 2002. Despite efforts at reform, Bolivia’s economic development has been continually hindered by political unrest, a lack of economic diversification, and the extremely profitable, but internationally condemned, illegal drug trade. By some estimates, nearly 65 percent of Bolivians live in poverty. That number rises to 80 percent when considering only Bolivia’s rural population. Annually, the World Bank designates up to US$150 million to bolster Bolivia’s economy and infrastructure.