BOLIVIA                                                                         
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 1,098,580 km2; land area: 1,084,390 km2                             
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of                    
Montana                                                                         
                                                                                
Land boundaries: 6,743 km total; Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400                 
km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km                                  
                                                                                
Coastline: none--landlocked                                                     
                                                                                
Maritime claims: none--landlocked                                               
                                                                                
Disputes: has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific                  
Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with            
Chile over Rio Lauca water rights                                               
                                                                                
Climate: varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and                   
semiarid                                                                        
                                                                                
Terrain: high plateau, hills, lowland plains                                    
                                                                                
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                                               
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 7,156,591 (July 1991), growth rate 2.4% (1991)                      
                                                                                
Birth rate: 34 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)                         
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 83 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 59 years male, 64 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 4.6 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--Bolivian(s); adjective Bolivian                              
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mixed 25-30%,                        
European 5-15%                                                                  
                                                                                
Religion: Roman Catholic 95%; active Protestant minority,                       
especially Evangelical Methodist                                                
                                                                                
Language: 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                                         
                                                                                
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 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;            
Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Jorge AGREDO;                                 
Free Bolivia Movement (MBL), led by Antonio ARANIBAR;                           
United Left (IU), a coalition of leftist parties which includes                 
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;               
Civic Union Solidarity (UCS), Max FERNANDEZ                                     
                                                                                
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 1989;                                                               
                                                                                
Senate--last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 1993);                        
results--percent of vote NA;                                                    
seats (27 total) MNR 9, ADN 7, MIR 8, CONDEPA 2, PDC 1;                         
                                                                                
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 35, MIR 33, IU 10, CONDEPA 9,                     
PDC 3                                                                           
                                                                                
Member of: AG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,                  
ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM,               
ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,          
UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, 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 S. 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  591  (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 since 1987, eventually restarting economic growth.         
President Paz Zamora has retained the economic policies of the previous         
government, keeping inflation down and continuing the moderate 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--agricultural products,              
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.                                                    
                                                                                
GDP: $4.85 billion, per capita $690; real growth rate 2.7% (1990)               
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 18% (1990)                                    
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: 21.5% (1990 est.)                                            
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $2.5 billion; expenditures $2.8 billion,                       
including capital expenditures of $850 million (1990 est.)                      
                                                                                
Exports: $927 million (f.o.b., 1990);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--metals 45%, natural gas 30%, other 25%                             
(coffee, soybeans, sugar, cotton, timber);                                      
                                                                                
partners--US 15%, Argentina                                                     
                                                                                
Imports: $716 million (c.i.f., 1990);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--food, petroleum, consumer goods, capital goods;                    
                                                                                
partners--US 22%                                                                
                                                                                
External debt: $3.7 billion (December 1990)                                     
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1990); accounts for                      
almost 30% of GDP                                                               
                                                                                
Electricity: 833,000 kW capacity; 1,763 million kWh produced, 260               
kWh per capita (1990)                                                           
                                                                                
Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverage,                     
tobacco, handicrafts, clothing; illicit drug industry reportedly produces       
significant revenues                                                            
                                                                                
Agriculture: accounts for about 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 51,900 hectares under cultivation;               
government considers all but 12,000 hectares illicit; intermediate              
coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia and Brazil            
to the US and other international drug markets                                  
                                                                                
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $990                   
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments          
(1970-88), $1.7 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $340 million            
                                                                                
Currency: boliviano (plural--bolivianos); 1 boliviano ($B) = 100                
centavos                                                                        
                                                                                
Exchange rates: bolivianos ($B) per US$1--3.3732 (December 1990),               
3.1727 (1990), 2.6917 (1989), 2.3502 (1988), 2.0549 (1987), 1.9220              
(1986), 0.4400 (1985)                                                           
                                                                                
Fiscal year: calendar year                                                      
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Railroads: 3,675 km total; 3,643 km 1.000-meter gauge and 32 km                 
0.760-meter gauge, all government owned, single track                           
                                                                                
Highways: 38,836 km total; 1,300 km paved, 6,700 km gravel,                     
30,836 km improved and unimproved earth                                         
                                                                                
Inland waterways: 10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways                 
                                                                                
Pipelines: crude oil 1,800 km; refined products 580 km; natural gas             
1,495 km                                                                        
                                                                                
Ports: none; maritime outlets are Arica and Antofagasta in Chile                
and Matarani in Peru                                                            
                                                                                
Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,051              
GRT/22,155 DWT                                                                  
                                                                                
Civil air: 56 major transport aircraft                                          
                                                                                
Airports: 807 total, 659 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways;              
1 with runways over 3,659 m; 8 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 120 with             
runways 1,220-2,439 m                                                           
                                                                                
Telecommunications: radio relay system being expanded; improved                 
international services; 144,300 telephones; stations--129 AM, no FM, 43         
TV, 68 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station                       
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: Bolivian Army, Bolivian Navy (including Marines),                     
Bolivian Air Force, National Police Force                                       
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,679,352; 1,091,368 fit for                
military service; 72,979 reach military age (19) annually                       
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $162 million, 4% of GNP (1988 est.)                       
                                                                                
