Bolivia (2001) | Nepal (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija | 14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
38.46% (male 1,626,698; female 1,565,748) 15-64 years: 57.07% (male 2,315,098; female 2,421,987) 65 years and over: 4.47% (male 166,986; female 203,946) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 38.3% (male 5,721,720/female 5,360,391)
15-64 years: 57.9% (male 8,597,037/female 8,134,115) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 528,113/female 560,414) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber | rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, jute, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat |
Airports | 1,093 (2000 est.) | 47 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
13 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 10
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1,080 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 65 914 to 1,523 m: 212 under 914 m: 800 (2000 est.) |
total: 37
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 30 (2007) |
Area | total:
1,098,580 sq km land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
total: 147,181 sq km
land: 143,181 sq km water: 4,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Montana | slightly larger than Arkansas |
Background | 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, continuing the privatization program, and waging an anti-corruption campaign. | In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A Maoist insurgency, launched in 1996, gained traction and threatened to bring down the regime, especially after a negotiated cease-fire between the Maoists and government forces broke down in August 2003. In 2001, the crown prince massacred ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, and then took his own life. In October 2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for "incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing insurgency. While stopping short of reestablishing parliament, the king in June 2004 reinstated the most recently elected prime minister who formed a four-party coalition government. Citing dissatisfaction with the government's lack of progress in addressing the Maoist insurgency and corruption, the king in February 2005 dissolved the government, declared a state of emergency, imprisoned party leaders, and assumed power. The king's government subsequently released party leaders and officially ended the state of emergency in May 2005, but the monarch retained absolute power until April 2006. After nearly three weeks of mass protests organized by the seven-party opposition and the Maoists, the king allowed parliament to reconvene in April 2006. Following a November 2006 peace accord between the government and the Maoists, an interim constitution was promulgated and the Maoists were allowed to enter parliament in January 2007. The peace accord calls for the creation of a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. The Constituent Assembly elections, already twice delayed, are set for April 2008. |
Birth rate | 27.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.46 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$2.7 billion expenditures: $2.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
revenues: $1.153 billion
expenditures: $1.927 billion (FY06/07) |
Capital | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) | name: Kathmandu
geographic coordinates: 27 43 N, 85 19 E time difference: UTC+5.75 (10.75 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid | varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 | 9 November 1990; note - a new interim constitution was promulgated in January 2007; the November 2006 peace agreement calls for the election of a constituent assembly to draft a new permanent constitution |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Bolivia conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Republica de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia |
conventional long and short form: Nepal
local long and short form: Nepal |
Currency | boliviano (BOB) | - |
Death rate | 8.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.14 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.6 billion (2000) | $3.07 billion (March 2006) |
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] (2) 432254 FAX: [591] (2) 433854 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Nancy J. POWELL
embassy: Maharajgunj, Kathmandu mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [977] (1) 400-7200 FAX: [977] (1) 400-7272 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Marlene FERNANDEZ del Granado chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Suresh Chandra CHALISE
chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5534 consulate(s) general: New York: |
Disputes - international | 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 | joint border commission continues to work on contested sections of boundary with India, including the 400 square kilometer dispute over the source of the Kalapani River; India has instituted a stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents and illegal cross-border activities; approximately 106,000 Bhutanese Lhotshampas (Hindus) have been confined in refugee camps in southeastern Nepal since 1990 |
Economic aid - recipient | $588 million (1997) | $427.9 million (2005) |
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 joining the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur), as well as the privatization of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. His successor, Hugo BANZER Suarez has tried to further improve the country's investment climate with an anticorruption campaign. 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%. | Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with almost one-third of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for three-fourths of the population and accounting for 38% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Security concerns relating to the Maoist conflict have led to a decrease in tourism, a key source of foreign exchange. Nepal has considerable scope for exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, its civil strife, and its susceptibility to natural disaster. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.377 billion kWh (1999) | 1.96 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - exports | 4 million kWh (1999) | 101 million kWh (2006) |
Electricity - imports | 10 million kWh (1999) | 266 million kWh (2006) |
Electricity - production | 3.625 billion kWh (1999) | 2.511 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
56.61% hydro: 41.6% nuclear: 0% other: 1.79% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Rio Paraguay 90 m highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
lowest point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions |
Environment - international 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, white 15% | Chhettri 15.5%, Brahman-Hill 12.5%, Magar 7%, Tharu 6.6%, Tamang 5.5%, Newar 5.4%, Muslim 4.2%, Kami 3.9%, Yadav 3.9%, other 32.7%, unspecified 2.8% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | bolivianos per US dollar - 6.4071 (January 2001), 6.1835 (2000), 5.8124 (1999), 5.5101 (1998), 5.2543 (1997), 5.0746 (1996) | Nepalese rupees per US dollar - NA (2007), 72.446 (2006), 72.16 (2005), 73.674 (2004), 76.141 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997); Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 6 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997); Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 6 August 1997); 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 1 June 1997 (next to be held May or June 2002) election results: Hugo BANZER Suarez elected president; percent of vote - Hugo BANZER Suarez (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 PDC |
chief of state: Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 30 April 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Girija Prasad KOIRALA (since 30 April 2006) cabinet: Cabinet historically appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; note - the prime minister selected the Cabinet in May 2006 in consultation with the political parties elections: following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition historically has been appointed prime minister by the monarch |
Exports | $1.26 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood | carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain |
Exports - partners | UK 16%, US 12%, Peru 11%, Argentina 10%, Colombia 7% (1998) | India 67.9%, US 11.7%, Germany 4.7% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 16 July - 15 July |
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 | red with a blue border around the unique shape of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white 12-pointed sun |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $20.9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
16% industry: 31% services: 53% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 38%
industry: 20% services: 42% (FY05/06 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 S, 65 00 W | 28 00 N, 84 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru | landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga - the world's tallest and third tallest - on the borders with China and India respectively |
Highways | total:
49,400 km paved: 2,500 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 46,900 km (1996) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 31.7% (1990) |
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 40.6% (2004) |
Illicit drugs | world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru, a distant second) with an estimated 14,600 hectares under cultivation in 2000, a 33% decrease in overall cultivation of coca from 1999 levels; 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 have slashed illicit coca cultivation during the BANZER administration beginning in 1997 | illicit producer of cannabis and hashish for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West |
Imports | $1.86 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 11,530 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food | gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer |
Imports - partners | US 32%, Japan 24%, Brazil 12%, Argentina 12%, Chile 7%, Peru 4%, Germany 3%, other 6% (1998) | India 61.8%, China 3.8%, Indonesia 3.3% (2006) |
Independence | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) | 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan SHAH) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1995 est.) | 2.2% (FY05/06) |
Industries | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing | tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarettes, cement and brick production |
Infant mortality rate | 58.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 63.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 61.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 65.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.4% (2000 est.) | 8.6% (November 2006 est.) |
International organization participation | CAN, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ADB, BIMSTEC, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 9 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,750 sq km (1993 est.) | 11,700 sq km (2003) |
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) | Supreme Court or Sarbochha Adalat (chief justice is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional Council; the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Judicial Council) |
Labor force | 2.5 million | 11.11 million
note: severe lack of skilled labor (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 76%
industry: 6% services: 18% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
6,743 km border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km |
total: 2,926 km
border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 53% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 16.07%
permanent crops: 0.85% other: 83.08% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) | Nepali 47.8%, Maithali 12.1%, Bhojpuri 7.4%, Tharu (Dagaura/Rana) 5.8%, Tamang 5.1%, Newar 3.6%, Magar 3.3%, Awadhi 2.4%, other 10%, unspecified 2.5% (2001 census)
note: many in government and business also speak English (2001 est.) |
Legal system | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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)
elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA June 2002) 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 - ADN 32, MNR 26, MIR 23, UCS 21, CONDEPA 19, MBL 5, IU 4 |
a 330 seat Interim Parliament was formed on 15 January 2007 following the promulgation of an interim constitution
elections: Constituent Assembly elections orginally scheduled for June 2007 are expected to be held on 10 April 2008 election results: Interim Parliament seats by party - NC 85, CPN/M 83, CPN/UML 83, NC/D 48, RPP 9, NSP/AD 5, NWPP 4, People's Front Nepal (Amik Sherchan Group) 4, People's Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur K.C. Group) 3, UFL 3, People's Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur Ale Group) 2, NSP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
64.06 years male: 61.53 years female: 66.72 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 60.56 years
male: 60.78 years female: 60.33 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.1% male: 90.5% female: 76% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 48.6% male: 62.7% female: 34.9% (2001 census) |
Location | Central South America, southwest of Brazil | Southern Asia, between China and India |
Map references | South America | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
42 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 141,017 GRT/211,058 DWT ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 20, chemical tanker 3, container 1, petroleum tanker 10, roll on/roll off 3 (2000 est.) |
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Military branches | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia) | Nepalese Army, Armed Police Force (2008) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $147 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY99) | 1.6% (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,005,660 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,306,452 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
90,120 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) | in 2006, Parliament abolished the birthday of King GYANENDRA (7 July) and Constitution Day (9 November) as national holidays |
Nationality | noun:
Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian |
noun: Nepalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Nepalese |
Natural hazards | flooding in the northeast (March-April) | severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons |
Natural resources | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower | quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore |
Net migration rate | -1.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [leader NA]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Antonio ARANIBAR]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Hugo BANZER Suarez]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [leader NA]; Pachacuti Indigenous Movement [Filipe QUISPE]; United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC]
note: the ADN, MIR, and UCS comprise the ruling coalition |
Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist-Leninist or CPN/UML [Madhav Kumar NEPAL]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Pashupati Shumsher RANA] (also called Rastriya Prajantra Party or RPP); Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party or NSP - Mandal [Bhadri Prasad MANDAL]; Nepal Sadbhavana Party - Ananda Devi [Ananda DEVI]; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE]; People's Front Nepal (Amik Sherchan Group); People's Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur Ale Group); People's Front Nepal (Chitra Bahadur K.C. Group); Rastriya Janashakti Party or RJP [Surya Bahadur THAPA] (split from RPP in March 2005); Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal (merged with People's Front Nepal or PFN in 2002); United Leftist Front or UFL [C.P. MAINALI] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions | Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency [Pushpa Kamal DAHAL, also known as PRACHANDA, chairman; Dr. Baburam BHATTARAI]; numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups |
Population | 8,300,463 (July 2001 est.) | 28,901,790 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (1999 est.) | 30.9% (2004) |
Population growth rate | 1.76% (2001 est.) | 2.132% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; however, Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (2000) |
Radios | 5.25 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
3,691 km (single track) narrow gauge: 3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge (13 km electrified) (1995) |
total: 59 km
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) | Hindu 80.6%, Buddhist 10.7%, Muslim 4.2%, Kirant 3.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census)
note: only official Hindu state in the world |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.067 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.057 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.942 male(s)/female total population: 1.056 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single) | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network
domestic: NA international: country code - 977; radiotelephone communications; microwave landline to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 327,600 (1996) | 595,800 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 116,000 (1997) | 1.042 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 48 (1997) | 1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin | Tarai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north |
Total fertility rate | 3.51 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.4% (1997)
note: widespread underemployment |
42% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) | - |