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)
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 August (1825)
Constitution: 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994
Legal system: based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single)
Executive branch: chief of state: President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 7 August 2001); Vice President NA; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government note: Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez assumed the presidency upon the resignation in August 2001 of former President Hugo BANZER Suarez for health reasons head of government: President NA; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government note: Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez assumed the presidency upon the resignation in August 2001 of former President Hugo BANZER Suarez for health reasons elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held 30 June 2002) election results: (ADN) 22%; Jaime PAZ Zamora (MIR) 17%, Juan Carlos DURAN (MNR) 18%, Ivo KULJIS (UCS) 16%, Remedios LOZA (CONDEPA) 17%; no candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Hugo BANZER Suarez won a congressional runoff election on 5 August 1997 after forming a "megacoalition" with MIR, UCS, CONDEPA, NFR, and former Christian Democratic Party (PDC); resigned 7 August 2001 and was succeeded by Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez who is serving out BANZER's term; QUIROGA will step down in August 2002 when the new president is chosen by Congress, a result of no candidate winning a majority in the 30 June 2002 election cabinet: Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - some members are drawn from party lists, thus not directly elected) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ADN 11, MIR 7, MNR 4, CONDEPA 3, UCS 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNR 26, MIR 24, ADN 20, UCS 20, CONDEPA 19, NFR 11, MBL 5, IU 4, FSB 1 elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA June 2002)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges appointed for 10-year terms by National Congress); District Courts (one in each department); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases)
Political parties and leaders: Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB
[Otto RICHTER]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ];
Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Free
Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS]; Movement of the Revolutionary
Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN
[Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or
MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred
REYES-VILLA]; United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC] note: the ADN, MIR,
and UCS comprise the ruling coalition
Political pressure groups and leaders: Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Felipe QUISPE]
International organization participation: CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate),
MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Marlene FERNANDEZ del Granado FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York, and San Francisco telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
V. Manuel ROCHA embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing
address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] 243-3812
FAX: [591] (2) 433854
Flag description: 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 Bolivia
Economy - overview: Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, has made considerable progress toward the development of a market-oriented economy. Successes under President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993-97) included the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and becoming an associate member of the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur), as well as the privatization of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. Growth slowed in 1999, in part due to tight government budget policies, which limited needed appropriations for anti-poverty programs, and the fallout from the Asian financial crisis. In 2000, major civil disturbances in April, and again in September and October, held down overall growth to 2.5%. Bolivia's GDP failed to grow in 2001 due to the global slowdown and laggard domestic activity. Growth is expected to pick up in 2002, but the fiscal deficit and debt burden will remain high.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $21.4 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 0% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 14% industry: 31% services: 55% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 70% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.5% highest 10%: 45.7% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 58.9 (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 2.5 million
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate: 7.6% (2000) note: widespread underemployment
Budget: revenues: $4 billion expenditures: $4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing
Industrial production growth rate: 3.9% (1998)
Electricity
