humid and tropical to cold and semiaridTerrain:
rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland
plains of the Amazon basin
Natural resources:
tin, natural gas, crude oil, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron ore,
lead, gold, timber
Land use:
arable land 3%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 25%; forest and
woodland 52%; other 20%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Environment:
cold, thin air of high plateau is obstacle to efficient fuel combustion;
overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
Note:
landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake,
with Peru
:Bolivia People
Population:
7,323,048 (July 1992), growth rate 2.3% (1992)
Birth rate:
33 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
9 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
—1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
82 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
59 years male, 64 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
4.5 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Bolivian(s); adjective - Bolivian
Ethnic divisions:
Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mixed 25-30%, European 5-15%
Religions:
Roman Catholic 95%; active Protestant minority, especially Evangelical
Methodist
Languages:
Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara (all official)
Literacy:
78% (male 85%, female 71%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
1,700,000; agriculture 50%, services and utilities 26%, manufacturing 10%,
mining 4%, other 10% (1983)
Organized labor:
150,000-200,000, concentrated in mining, industry, construction, and
transportation; mostly organized under Bolivian Workers' Central (COB) labor
federation
:Bolivia 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, 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 Chamber of Senators (Camara de Senadores) 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; Civic Solidarity Union (UCS), Max
FERNANDEZ Rojas; Conscience of the Fatherland (CONDEPA), Carlos PALENQUE
Aviles; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Jorge AGREDO; Free Bolivia
Movement (MBL), led by Antonio ARANIBAR; United Left (IU), a coalition of
leftist parties that includes Patriotic National Convergency Axis (EJE-P)
led by Walter DELGADILLO, and Bolivian Communist Party (PCB) led by Humberto
RAMIREZ; Revolutionary Vanguard - 9th of April (VR-9), Carlos SERRATE Reich
Suffrage:
universal and compulsory at age 18 (married) or 21 (single)
Elections:
Chamber of Deputies:
last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 1993); results - percent of vote
by party NA; note - legislative and presidential candidates run on a unified
