Angola (2008) | Bolivia (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.7% (male 2,706,276/female 2,654,338)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 3,339,114/female 3,225,121) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 149,414/female 189,333) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.1% (male 1,624,366; female 1,562,501)
15-64 years: 58.4% (male 2,452,892; female 2,561,873) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 172,292; female 212,519) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber |
Airports | 232 (2007) | 1,081 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 31
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 201
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 30 914 to 1,523 m: 95 under 914 m: 69 (2007) |
total: 1,069
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 64 914 to 1,523 m: 225 under 914 m: 776 (2002) |
Area | total: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1,098,580 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
Background | Angola is rebuilding its country after the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but UNITA renewed fighting after being beaten by the MPLA at the polls. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced - in the quarter century of fighting. SAVIMBI's death in 2002 ended UNITA's insurgency and strengthened the MPLA's hold on power. President DOS SANTOS has announced legislative elections will be held on September 5 and 6, 2008, with Presidential elections planned for sometime in 2009. | 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 counter-coups. Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in the 1980s, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and drug production. Current goals include attracting foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, resolving disputes with coca growers over Bolivia's counterdrug efforts, continuing the privatization program, and waging an anticorruption campaign. |
Birth rate | 44.51 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 25.53 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $18.58 billion
expenditures: $15.7 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
Capital | name: Luanda
geographic coordinates: 8 50 S, 13 14 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) |
Climate | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid |
Coastline | 1,600 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted by People's Assembly 25 August 1992 | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Angola
conventional short form: Angola local long form: Republica de Angola local short form: Angola former: People's Republic of Angola |
conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Republica de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia |
Currency | - | boliviano (BOB) |
Death rate | 24.81 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.91 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.835 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $5.9 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Dan MOZENA
embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne (in the Miramar area of Luanda), Luanda mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6468, Luanda; pouch: US Embassy Luanda, US Department of State, 2550 Luanda Place, Washington, DC 20521-2550 telephone: [244] (222) 64-1000 FAX: [244] (222) 64-1232 |
chief of mission: Ambassador David N. GREENLEE
embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 2430120, 2430251 FAX: [591] (2) 2433900 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKITE
chancery: 2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156 FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258 consulate(s) general: Houston, New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime APARICIO Otero
chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Washington, DC |
Disputes - international | many Cabindan separatists have returned to the province from exile since the 2006 ceasefire and peace agreement; concerns from international experts and local populations over the Okavango Delta ecology in Botswana and human displacement scuttled Namibian plans to construct a hydroelectric dam at Popavalle (Popa Falls) along the Angola-Namibia border | continues to press Chile and Peru to restore the Atacama corridor ceded to Chile in 1884; Chile demands water rights to Bolivia's Rio Lauca and Silala Spring |
Economic aid - recipient | $441.8 million (2005) | $588 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | Angola's high growth rate is driven by its oil sector, with record oil prices and rising petroleum production. Oil production and its supporting activities contribute about 85% of GDP. Increased oil production supported growth averaging more than 15% per year from 2004 to 2007. A postwar reconstruction boom and resettlement of displaced persons has led to high rates of growth in construction and agriculture as well. Much of the country's infrastructure is still damaged or undeveloped from the 27-year-long civil war. Remnants of the conflict such as widespread land mines still mar the countryside even though an apparently durable peace was established after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI in February 2002. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for most of the people, but half of the country's food must still be imported. In 2005, the government started using a $2 billion line of credit, since increased to $7 billion, from China to rebuild Angola's public infrastructure, and several large-scale projects were completed in 2006. Angola also has large credit lines from Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Spain, and the EU. The central bank in 2003 implemented an exchange rate stabilization program using foreign exchange reserves to buy kwanzas out of circulation. This policy became more sustainable in 2005 because of strong oil export earnings; it has significantly reduced inflation. Although consumer inflation declined from 325% in 2000 to under 13% in 2007, the stabilization policy has put pressure on international net liquidity. Angola became a member of OPEC in late 2006 and in late 2007 was assigned a production quota of 1.9 million barrels a day, somewhat less than the 2-2.5 million bbl Angola's government had wanted. To fully take advantage of its rich national resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to implement government reforms, increase transparency, and reduce corruption. The government has rejected a formal IMF monitored program, although it continues Article IV consultations and ad hoc cooperation. Corruption, especially in the extractive sectors, and the negative effects of "Dutch disease" produced by large inflows of foreign exchange, are major challenges facing Angola. | Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, made considerable progress in the 1990s 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 held down growth to 2.5%. Bolivia's GDP failed to grow in 2001 due to the global slowdown and laggard domestic activity. Growth picked up slightly in 2002, but the first quarter of 2003 saw extensive civil riots and looting and loss of confidence in the government. Bolivia will remain highly dependent on foreign aid unless and until it can develop its substantial natural resources. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.201 billion kWh (2005) | 3.634 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 2.585 billion kWh (2005) | 3.901 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 44.4%
hydro: 54% nuclear: 0% other: 1.5% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
Environment - current issues | overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water | the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection |
Ethnic groups | Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22% | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% |
Exchange rates | kwanza per US dollar - 76.6 (2007), 80.4 (2006), 88.6 (2005), 83.541 (2004), 74.606 (2003) | bolivianos per US dollar - 7.17 (2002), 6.61 (2001), 6.18 (2000), 5.81 (1999), 5.51 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); Fernando de Piedade Dias DOS SANTOS was appointed prime minister on 6 December 2002 cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by universal ballot for a five-year term (eligible for a second consecutive or discontinuous term) under the 1992 constitution; President DOS SANTOS originally elected (in 1979) without opposition under a one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held in 2009) election results: Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was not held because SAVIMBI's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) repudiated the results of the first election; the civil war resumed leaving DOS SANTOS in his current position as the president |
chief of state: President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 17 October 2003); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 17 October 2003); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 30 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007) election results: as a result of no candidate winning a majority in the 30 June 2002 election, Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante was chosen president by Congress; Congressional votes - Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante 84, Evo MORALES 43; note - following the resignation of the elected president on 17 October 2003, Vice President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert assumed the presidency |
Exports | 1.021 million bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood (2000) |
Exports - partners | US 38%, China 34.2%, Taiwan 5.8%, France 4.9%, Chile 4.1% (2006) | Brazil 24.3%, Switzerland 15.7%, US 14.1%, Venezuela 12.8%, Colombia 10.2%, Peru 5.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle) | 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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $21.15 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9.6%
industry: 65.8% services: 24.6% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 20% services: 60% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 16.3% (2007 est.) | 2.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 18 30 E | 17 00 S, 65 00 W |
Geography - note | the province of Cabinda is an exclave, separated from the rest of the country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru |
Highways | - | total: 53,790 km
paved: 3,496 km (including 13 km of expressways) unpaved: 50,294 km (2000 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 32% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states, particularly South Africa | world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 24,400 hectares under cultivation in June 2002, a 23% increase from June 2001; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to the US and other international drug markets; eradication and alternative crop programs under the SANCHEZ DE LOZADA administration have been unable to keep pace with farmers' attempts to increase cultivation after significant reductions in 1998 and 1999; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade, especially along the borders with Brazil and Paraguay |
Imports | 18,290 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food |
Imports - partners | US 15.3%, Portugal 15%, South Korea 10.1%, China 8.8%, Brazil 8.2%, South Africa 6.7%, France 6.2% (2006) | Brazil 22%, Argentina 17.4%, US 15.6%, Chile 7%, Japan 5.5%, Peru 5.4%, China 4.8% (2002) |
Independence | 11 November 1975 (from Portugal) | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 24.4% (2007 est.) | 3.9% (1998) |
Industries | petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing, brewing, tobacco products, sugar; textiles; ship repair | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 184.44 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 196.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 171.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 56.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 59.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 52.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12.5% (2007 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, CPLP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OPEC, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, 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, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 9 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 800 sq km (2003) | 1,280 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court and separate provincial courts (judges are appointed by the president) | 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) |
Labor force | 6.573 million (2007 est.) | 2.5 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 85%
industry and services: 15% (2003 est.) |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 5,198 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 km |
total: 6,743 km
border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.65%
permanent crops: 0.23% other: 97.12% (2005) |
arable land: 1.73%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 98.06% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, other 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, other 7 |
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)
elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 30 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNR 11, MAS 8, MIR 5, NFR 2, other 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNR 36, MAS 27, MIR 26, NFR 25, others 16 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 37.63 years
male: 36.73 years female: 38.57 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 64.78 years
male: 62.2 years female: 67.48 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.4% male: 82.9% female: 54.2% (2001 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.2% male: 93.1% female: 81.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo | Central South America, southwest of Brazil |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 6,865 GRT/8,825 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Spain 1) registered in other countries: 6 (Bahamas 6) (2007) |
total: 53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 347,535 GRT/591,113 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 25, chemical tanker 4, container 4, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 12, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of Belize 2, China 2, Cuba 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Honduras 1, Latvia 2, Liberia 2, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Saudi Arabia 1, Singapore 1, South Korea 3, Switzerland 1, Ukraine 1, UAE 5, US 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Angolan Armed Forces (FAA): Army, Navy (Marinha de Guerra, MdG), Angolan National Air Force (FANA) (2007) | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $147 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.7% (2006) | 1.8% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,118,908 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,380,883 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 96,003 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 11 November (1975) | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan |
noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
Natural hazards | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau | flooding in the northeast (March-April) |
Natural resources | petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 2.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -1.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 234 km; liquid petroleum gas 85 km; oil 896 km; oil/gas/water 5 km (2007) | gas 4,860 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,460 km; refined products 1,589 km; unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA]; National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [disputed between Ngola KABANGU and Lucas NGONDA]; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA (largest opposition party) [Isaias SAMAKUVA]; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA (ruling party in power since 1975) [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS]; Social Renewal Party or PRS [Eduardo KUANGANA]
note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections but only won a few seats; they and over 100 other smaller parties have little influence in the National Assembly |
Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB [Romel PANTOJA]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS]; Marshal of Ayacucho Institutional Vanguard or VIMA [Freddy ZABALA]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Evo MORALES]; Movement Without Fear or MSM [Juan DEL GRANADO]; 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]; Pachakuti Indigenous Movement or MIP [Felipe QUISPE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jeres JUSTINIANO]
note: the MNR, MIR, and UCS comprise the ruling coalition |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO, Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC's small-scale, highly factionalized armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province ended after BEMBE's faction signed a peace accord in August 2006; other factions have since demobilized under provisions of the accord, although the two main faction leaders have not acceded to the accord |
Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Felipe QUISPE] |
Population | 12,263,596 (July 2007 est.) | 8,586,443 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2003 est.) | 70% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.184% (2007 est.) | 1.63% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Puerto Aguirre (on the Paraguay/Parana waterway, at the Bolivia/Brazil border); also, Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2001) | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) |
Railways | total: 2,761 km
narrow gauge: 2,638 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2006) |
total: 3,519 km
narrow gauge: 3,519 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.) | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.035 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.789 male(s)/female total population: 1.021 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single) |
Telephone system | general assessment: system inadequate; fewer than one fixed-line per 100 persons; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density approached 20 telephones per 100 persons in 2006
domestic: state-owned telecom had monopoly for fixed-lines until 2005; demand outstripped capacity and prices were high and services poor; Telecom Namibia, through an Angolan company, became the first private licensed operator in Angola's fixed-line telephone network; Angola Telecom established mobile-cellular service in Luanda in 1993 and the network has been extended to larger towns; a privately-owned, mobile-cellular service provider began operations in 2001 international: country code - 244; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 29 (2007) |
general assessment: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile cellular telephone use expanding rapidly
domestic: primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 98,200 (2006) | 327,600 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.264 million (2006) | 116,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2000) | 48 (1997) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin |
Total fertility rate | 6.27 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.23 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.) | 7.6%
note: widespread underemployment (2000) |
Waterways | 1,300 km (2007) | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) |