Spanish The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information. Bolivia ranks at or near the bottom among Latin American countries in several areas of health and development, including poverty, education, fertility, malnutrition, mortality, and life expectancy. On the positive side, more children are being vaccinated and more pregnant women are getting prenatal care and having skilled health practitioners attend their births.
Public education is of poor quality, and educational opportunities are among the most unevenly distributed in Latin America, with girls and indigenous and rural children less likely to be literate or to complete primary school.
Emigrants primarily seek jobs and better wages in Argentina the principal destination , the US, and Spain. In recent years, more restrictive immigration policies in Europe and the US have increased the flow of Bolivian emigrants to neighboring countries.
Fewer Bolivians migrated to Brazil in and because of its recession; increasing numbers have been going to Chile, mainly to work as miners. Bolivia is a resource rich country with strong growth attributed to captive markets for natural gas exports — to Brazil and Argentina. However, the country remains one of the least developed countries in Latin America because of state-oriented policies that deter investment. Following an economic crisis during the early s, reforms in the s spurred private investment, stimulated economic growth, and cut poverty rates.
The period 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 , the government passed hydrocarbon laws 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 exchange for a predetermined service fee; the laws engendered much public debate.
High commodity prices between and sustained rapid growth and large trade surpluses with GDP growing 6. The global decline in oil prices that began in late exerted downward pressure on the price Bolivia receives for exported gas and resulted in lower GDP growth rates - 4. A lack of foreign investment in the key sectors of mining and hydrocarbons, along with conflict among social groups, pose challenges for the Bolivian economy.
MORALES passed an investment law and promised not to nationalize additional industries in an effort to improve the investment climate. Chile and Peru rebuff Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in , but Chile offers instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian products; contraband smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal narcotic trafficking are problems in the porous areas of its border regions with all of its neighbors Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru.
Skip to main content Go to CIA. Explore All Countries Bolivia. South America. Page last updated: January 12, Country Flag View Details. Country Map View Larger. Travel Facts. Locator Map View Larger. Introduction Background Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in ; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of coups and countercoups, with the last coup occurring in Visit the Definitions and Notes page to view a description of each topic.
Definitions and Notes. Geographic coordinates 17 00 S, 65 00 W. Map references South America. Area total: 1,, sq km land: 1,, sq km water: 15, sq km country comparison to the world: Area - comparative slightly less than three times the size of Montana. Area comparison map. Land boundaries total: 7, km border countries 5 : Argentina km, Brazil km, Chile km, Paraguay km, Peru km.
Coastline 0 km landlocked. Maritime claims none landlocked. Climate varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid. Terrain rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau Altiplano , hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin. Elevation highest point: Nevado Sajama 6, m lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m mean elevation: 1, m.
Natural resources tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower. Land use agricultural land: Irrigated land 3, sq km Major aquifers Amazon Basin. Population distribution a high altitude plain in the west between two cordillera of the Andes, known as the Altiplano, is the focal area for most of the population; a dense settlement pattern is also found in and around the city of Santa Cruz, located on the eastern side of the Andes.
Natural hazards flooding in the northeast March to April volcanism: volcanic activity in Andes Mountains on the border with Chile; historically active volcanoes in this region are Irruputuncu 5, m , which last erupted in , and the Olca-Paruma volcanic complex 5, m to 5, m. Geography - note note 1: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake elevation 3, m , with Peru note 2: the southern regions of Peru and the extreme northwestern part of Bolivia are considered to be the place of origin for the common potato, while southeast Bolivia and northwest Argentina seem to be the original development site for peanuts.
People and Society Population 11,, July est. Nationality noun: Bolivian s adjective: Bolivian. Languages Spanish official Spanish audio sample:. Demographic profile Bolivia ranks at or near the bottom among Latin American countries in several areas of health and development, including poverty, education, fertility, malnutrition, mortality, and life expectancy. Age structure years: Dependency ratios total dependency ratio: Median age total: Population growth rate 1.
Birth rate Death rate 6. Net migration rate Urbanization urban population: Major urban areas - population , Sucre constitutional capital ; 1. Sex ratio at birth: 1. Mother's mean age at first birth Infant mortality rate total: Life expectancy at birth total population: Total fertility rate 2. Contraceptive prevalence rate Current Health Expenditure 6. Physicians density 1. Hospital bed density 1. Sanitation facility access improved: urban: Major infectious diseases degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria.
Obesity - adult prevalence rate Children under the age of 5 years underweight 3. Education expenditures 7. Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: Current time in Bolivia: Population Population: 11,, Population pyramid.
The climate in Bolivia In Bolivia, as in all equatorial countries, there is a tropical climate. Unlike in Europe or the USA, there is almost no difference between the seasons. The daylight hours vary little, and the temperature differences between summer and winter are also lesser.
Depending on the season, the average daytime temperatures range between 25 and 29 degrees. Average daytime and nighttime temperatures. List of the 36 Heavily Indebted Poor Countreis Information on the 36 heavily indebted states that could not survive without subsidies.
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