Bolivia (2001) | Reunion (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
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:
32.07% (male 120,259; female 114,669) 15-64 years: 62.25% (male 224,347; female 231,698) 65 years and over: 5.68% (male 16,892; female 24,705) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 1,093 (2000 est.) | 2 (2000 est.) |
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:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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.) |
- |
Area | total:
1,098,580 sq km land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
total:
2,512 sq km land: 2,502 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Montana | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 27.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 21.26 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$2.7 billion expenditures: $2.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
revenues:
NA expenditures: NA |
Capital | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) | Saint-Denis |
Climate | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 207 km |
Constitution | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 | 28 September 1958 (French 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 form:
Department of Reunion conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | boliviano (BOB) | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 8.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.52 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.6 billion (2000) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $588 million (1997) | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France |
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%. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to more than 40% of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.377 billion kWh (1999) | 1.023 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 4 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 10 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 3.625 billion kWh (1999) | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
56.61% hydro: 41.6% nuclear: 0% other: 1.79% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
54.55% hydro: 45.45% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Rio Paraguay 90 m highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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 | NA |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, white 15% | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
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) | euros per US dollar - 1.06594 (January 2001), 1.08540 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996) |
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:
President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Robert POMMIES (since NA 1996) head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $1.26 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $214 million (f.o.b., 1997) |
Exports - commodities | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | UK 16%, US 12%, Peru 11%, Argentina 10%, Colombia 7% (1998) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (1994) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $20.9 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.4 billion (1998 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
16% industry: 31% services: 53% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 3.8% (1998 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 S, 65 00 W | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru | - |
Highways | total:
49,400 km paved: 2,500 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 46,900 km (1996) |
total:
2,724 km paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km note: 370 km of road are maintained by national authorities, 754 km by departmental authorities and 1600 km by local authorities (1994) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 31.7% (1990) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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 | - |
Imports | $1.86 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $2.5 billion (c.i.f., 1997) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 32%, Japan 24%, Brazil 12%, Argentina 12%, Chile 7%, Peru 4%, Germany 3%, other 6% (1998) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (1994) |
Independence | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1995 est.) | NA% |
Industries | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | 58.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 8.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.4% (2000 est.) | NA% |
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 | FZ, InOC, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 9 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,750 sq km (1993 est.) | 60 sq km (1993 est.) |
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) | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 2.5 million | 261,000 (1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 8%, industry 19%, services 73% (1990) |
Land boundaries | total:
6,743 km border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 53% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
17% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 35% other: 41% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | French law |
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 |
unicameral General Council (47 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 1994 (next to be held NA 2000); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 12, PS 12, UDF 11, RPR 5, others 7; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 7, UDF 8, PS 6, RPR 4, various right-wing candidates 15, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held 14 April 1996 (next to be held NA 2001); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR 1, PCR 2; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May and 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 3, PS 1, and RPR-UDF 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
64.06 years male: 61.53 years female: 66.72 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
72.93 years male: 69.53 years female: 76.49 years (2001 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: 79% male: 76% female: 80% (1982 est.) |
Location | Central South America, southwest of Brazil | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | South America | World |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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.) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT ships by type: chemical tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia) | French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $147 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,005,660 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
190,846 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,306,452 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
97,497 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
90,120 (2001 est.) |
males:
6,243 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun:
Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian |
noun:
Reunionese (singular and plural) adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | flooding in the northeast (March-April) | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -1.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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 Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions | NA |
Population | 8,300,463 (July 2001 est.) | 732,570 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.76% (2001 est.) | 1.57% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; however, Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay | Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 5.25 million (1997) | 173,000 (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) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 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:
adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis domestic: modern open wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 327,600 (1996) | 236,500 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 116,000 (1997) | 85,000 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 48 (1997) | 22 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 3.51 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.58 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.4% (1997)
note: widespread underemployment |
42.8% (1998) |
Waterways | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) | none |