Nation at a Glance - Bolivia

History

Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and countercoups. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production. In December 2005, Bolivians elected Movement Toward Socialism leader Evo MORALES president - by the widest margin of any leader since the restoration of civilian rule in 1982 - after he ran on a promise to change the country's traditional political class and empower the nation's poor, indigenous majority. In December 2009 and October 2014, President MORALES easily won reelection. His party maintained control of the legislative branch of the government, which has allowed him to continue his process of change. In October 2011, the country held its first judicial elections to select judges for the four highest courts. MORALES has publicly described the elected judiciary as a failed experiment that has not resolved judicial backlogs or extended pre-trial detention. He has called for a public referendum on the judicial system.

Location: Central South America, southwest of Brazil

Border Countries: Argentina 942 km, Brazil 3,403 km, Chile 942 km, Paraguay 753 km, Peru 1,212 km

Total Area: 1,098,581 sq km Land: 1,083,301 sq km Water: 15,280 sq km

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

Natural resources: Tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower

Land use: Agricultural land: 34.3% arable land 3.6%; permanent crops 0.2%; permanent pasture 30.5% Forest: 52.5% Other: 13.2% (2011 est.)

Ethnic groups: Mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 68%, Indigenous 20%, White 5%, Cholo/chola 2%, Black 1%, Other 1%, Unspecified 3% ; 44% of respondents indicated feeling part of some indigenous group, predominantly Quechua or Aymara

Languages: Spanish (official) 60.7%, Quechua (official) 21.2%, Aymara (official) 14.6%, Foreign languages 2.4%, Guarani (official) 0.6%, Other native languages 0.4%, None 0.1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 76.8%, Evangelical and Pentecostal 8.1%, Protestant 7.9%, Other 1.7%, None 5.5% (2012 est.)

Population: 10,969,649 (July 2016 est.)

Literacy: 95.7%; Male: 97.8%; Female: 93.6% (2015 est.)

Administrative divisions: 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija

Economy: 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 a disastrous economic crisis during the early 1980s, reforms spurred private investment, stimulated economic growth, and cut poverty rates in the 1990s. The period 2003-05 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 2005-06, the government passed controversial hydrocarbons 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. High commodity prices between 2010 and 2014 sustained rapid growth and large trade surpluses with GDP growing 6.8% in 2013 and 5.4% in 2014. The global decline in oil prices that began in late 2014 exerted downward pressure on the price Bolivia receives for exported gas and resulted in lower GDP growth rates - 4.9% in 2015 and 4.3% in 2016 - and losses in government revenue as well as fiscal and trade deficits. 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. In 2015, President Evo MORALES expanded efforts to court international investment and boost Bolivia’s energy production capacity. MORALES passed an investment law and promised not to nationalize additional industries in an effort to improve the investment climate. In early 2016, the Government of Bolivia approved the 2016-2020 National Economic and Social Development Plan aimed at maintaining growth of 5% and reducing poverty.

Agriculture - products: Soybeans, quinoa, Brazil nuts, sugarcane, coffee, corn, rice, potatoes, chia, coca

Industries: Mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing, jewelry