born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Bolivian(s); adjective Bolivian
Ethnic divisions: 30% Quechua, 25% Aymara, 25–30% mixed, 5–15% European
Religion: 95% Roman Catholic; active Protestant minority, especially
Evangelical Methodist
Language: Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara (all official)
Literacy: 63%
Labor force: 1,700,000; 50% agriculture, 26% services and utilities, 10% manufacturing, 4% mining, 10% other (1983)
Organized labor: 150,000–200,000, concentrated in mining, industry, construction, and transportation; mostly organized under Bolivian Workers' Central (COB) labor federation
- Government
Long-form name: Republic of Bolivia
Type: republic
Capital: La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary)
Administrative divisions: 9 departments (departamentos, singular—departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, El Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)
Constitution: 2 February 1967
Legal system: based on Spanish law and Code Napoleon; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 August (1825)
Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government—President Jaime PAZ Zamora (since 6 August 1989); Vice President Luis OSSIO Sanjines (since 6 August 1989)
Political parties and leaders: Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), Jaime Paz Zamora; Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN), Hugo Banzer Suarez; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR), Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada; United Left (IU), coalition of leftist parties which includes Free Bolivia Movement (MBL), led by Antonio Aranibar, Patriotic National Convergency Axis (EJE-P) led by Walter Delgadillo, and Bolivian Communist Party (PCB) led by Humberto Ramirez; Conscience of the Fatherland (CONDEPA), Carlos Palenque Aviles; Revolutionary Vanguard-9th of April (VR-9), Carlos Serrate Reich
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18 (married) or 21 (single)
Elections: President—last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 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;
Senate—last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 1993); results—percent of vote NA; seats (27 total) MNR 9, ADN 8, MIR 8, CONDEPA 2;
Chamber of Deputies—last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 1993); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats (130 total) MNR 40, ADN 38, MIR 30, IU 10, CONDEPA 9, VR-9 3
Member of: FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IATP, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA,
IDB—Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL,
ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, LAIA, NAM, OAS, PAHO,
SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jorge CRESPO; Chancery at 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483–4410 through 4412; there are Bolivian Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco; US—Ambassador Robert GELBARD; Embassy at Banco Popular del Peru Building, corner of Calles Mercado y Colon, La Paz (mailing address is P. O. Box 425, La Paz, or APO Miami 34032); telephone p591o (2) 350251 or 350120
Flag: 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
- Economy Overview: The Bolivian economy steadily deteriorated between 1980 and 1985 as La Paz financed growing budget deficits by expanding the money supply and inflation spiraled—peaking at 11,700%. An austere orthodox economic program adopted by newly elected President Paz Estenssoro in 1985, however, succeeded in reducing inflation to between 10% and 20% annually during 1987 and 1989, eventually restarting economic growth. President Paz Zamora has pledged to retain the economic policies of the previous government in order to keep inflation down and continue the growth begun under his predecessor. Nevertheless, Bolivia continues to be one of the poorest countries in Latin America, and it remains vulnerable to price fluctuations for its limited exports—mainly minerals and natural gas. Moreover, for many farmers, who constitute half of the country's work force, the main cash crop is coca, which is sold for cocaine processing.
GNP: $4.6 billion, per capita $660; real growth rate 2.8% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15.5% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 20.7% (1988)
Budget: revenues $2,867 million; expenditures $2,867 million, including capital expenditures of $663 million (1987)
Exports: $634 million (f.o.b., 1989); commodities—metals 45%, natural gas 32%, coffee, soybeans, sugar, cotton, timber, and illicit drugs; partners—US 23%, Argentina
Imports: $786 million (c.i.f., 1989); commodities—food, petroleum, consumer goods, capital goods; partners—US 15%
External debt: $5.7 billion (December 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 8.1% (1987)
Electricity: 817,000 kW capacity; 1,728 million kWh produced, 260 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverage, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing; illicit drug industry reportedly produces the largest revenues
Agriculture: accounts for 20% of GDP (including forestry and fisheries); principal commodities—coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes, timber; self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs: world's second-largest producer of coca (after Peru) with an estimated 54,000 hectares under cultivation; government considers all but 12,000 hectares illicit and subject to eradication; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia and Brazil to the US and other international drug markets
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70–88), $909 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970–87), $1.4 billion; Communist countries (1970–88), $340 million
Currency: boliviano (plural—bolivianos); 1 boliviano ($B) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: bolivianos ($B)
