Bolivia (2001) | Romania (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija | 41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti (Bucharest)*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea |
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: 15.6% (male 1,787,334/female 1,696,270)
15-64 years: 69.6% (male 7,721,160/female 7,793,063) 65 years and over: 14.7% (male 1,344,673/female 1,933,556) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber | wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep |
Airports | 1,093 (2000 est.) | 61 (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: 25
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 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: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 22 (2007) |
Area | total:
1,098,580 sq km land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
total: 237,500 sq km
land: 230,340 sq km water: 7,160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Montana | slightly smaller than Oregon |
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 principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries under the suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured their autonomy in 1856; they united in 1859 and a few years later adopted the new name of Romania. The country gained recognition of its independence in 1878. It joined the Allied Powers in World War I and acquired new territories - most notably Transylvania - following the conflict. In 1940, Romania allied with the Axis powers and participated in the 1941 German invasion of the USSR. Three years later, overrun by the Soviets, Romania signed an armistice. The post-war Soviet occupation led to the formation of a Communist "people's republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU, who took power in 1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. CEAUSESCU was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the government until 1996 when they were swept from power. Romania joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007. |
Birth rate | 27.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.67 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$2.7 billion expenditures: $2.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
revenues: $52.96 billion
expenditures: $56.85 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) | name: Bucharest
geographic coordinates: 44 26 N, 26 06 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid | temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 225 km |
Constitution | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 | 8 December 1991; revision effective 29 October 2003 |
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: none
conventional short form: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania |
Currency | boliviano (BOB) | - |
Death rate | 8.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.81 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.6 billion (2000) | $85.86 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
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 Nicholas F. TAUBMAN
embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: pouch: American Embassy Bucharest, US Department of State, 5260 Bucharest Place, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch) telephone: [40] (21) 200-3300 FAX: [40] (21) 200-3442 |
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 Adrian Cosmin VIERITA
chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851, 4852 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, 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 | the ICJ gave Ukraine until December 2006 to reply, and Romania until June 2007 to issue a rejoinder, in their dispute submitted in 2004 over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy/Serpilor (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary delimitation; Romania also opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $588 million (1997) | $914.3 million (2004) |
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%. | Romania, which joined the European Union on 1 January 2007, began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to the country's needs. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets. Domestic consumption and investment have fueled strong GDP growth in recent years, but have led to large current account imbalances. Romania's macroeconomic gains have only recently started to spur creation of a middle class and address Romania's widespread poverty. Corruption and red tape continue to handicap its business environment. Inflation rose in 2007 for the first time in eight years, driven in part by the depreciation of the currency, rising energy costs, a nation-wide drought affecting food prices, and a relaxation of fiscal discipline. Romania hopes to adopt the Euro by 2014. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.377 billion kWh (1999) | 48.17 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 4 million kWh (1999) | 5.224 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 10 million kWh (1999) | 2.321 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 3.625 billion kWh (1999) | 56.91 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
56.61% hydro: 41.6% nuclear: 0% other: 1.79% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Rio Paraguay 90 m highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 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 | soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands |
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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, white 15% | Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 6.6%, Roma 2.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, German 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, Turkish 0.2%, other 0.4% (2002 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) | lei per US dollar - 2.43 (2007), 2.809 (2006), 3 (2005), 3 (2004), 3 (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: President Traian BASESCU (since 20 December 2004); note - President Traian BASESCU was suspended by vote of parliament on 19 April 2007, but resumed his duties on 23 May 2007 after a popular referendum confirmed that his impeachment should not stand
head of government: Prime Minister Calin Popescu-TARICEANU (since 29 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 28 November 2004 with runoff between the top two candidates held 12 December 2004 (next to be held in November-December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president with the consent of the Parliament election results: percent of vote - Traian BASESCU 51.23%, Adrian NASTASE 48.77% |
Exports | $1.26 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 92,510 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood | machinery and equipment, textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels, chemicals, agricultural products |
Exports - partners | UK 16%, US 12%, Peru 11%, Argentina 10%, Colombia 7% (1998) | Italy 17.9%, Germany 15.7%, Turkey 7.7%, France 7.5%, Hungary 4.9%, UK 4.7% (2006) |
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 | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flag of Chad, also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $20.9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
16% industry: 31% services: 53% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 7.9%
industry: 35.6% services: 56.5% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 5.9% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 S, 65 00 W | 46 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru | controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine |
Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
Highways | total:
49,400 km paved: 2,500 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 46,900 km (1996) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 31.7% (1990) |
lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 24.4% (2003) |
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 | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe; although not a significant financial center, role as a narcotics conduit leaves it vulnerable to laundering, which occurs via the banking system, currency exchange houses, and casinos |
Imports | $1.86 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 181,100 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food | machinery and equipment, fuels and minerals, chemicals, textile and products, metals, agricultural products |
Imports - partners | US 32%, Japan 24%, Brazil 12%, Argentina 12%, Chile 7%, Peru 4%, Germany 3%, other 6% (1998) | Germany 15.2%, Italy 14.5%, Russia 7.8%, France 6.5%, Turkey 4.9%, China 4.3% (2006) |
Independence | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) | 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin); 26 March 1881 (kingdom proclaimed); 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1995 est.) | 8% (2007 est.) |
Industries | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing | electric machinery and equipment, textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | 58.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 24.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.4% (2000 est.) | 4.6% (2007 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 | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU (new member), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 9 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,750 sq km (1993 est.) | 30,770 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 of Justice (comprised of 11 judges appointed for three-year terms by the president in consultation with the Superior Council of Magistrates, which is comprised of the minister of justice, the prosecutor general, two civil society representatives appointed by the Senate, and 14 judges and prosecutors elected by their peers); a separate body, the Constitutional Court, validates elections and makes decisions regarding the constitutionality of laws, treaties, ordinances, and internal rules of the Parliament; it is comprised of nine members serving nine-year terms, with three members each appointed by the president, the Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies |
Labor force | 2.5 million | 9.35 million (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 31.6%
industry: 30.7% services: 37.7% (2004) |
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: 2,508 km
border countries: Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 53% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 39.49%
permanent crops: 1.92% other: 58.59% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) | Romanian 91% (official), Hungarian 6.7%, Romany (Gypsy) 1.1%, other 1.2% |
Legal system | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; 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 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (137 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera Deputatilor (332 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 28 November 2004 (next expected to be held in November 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 28 November 2004 (next expected to be held November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 37.1%, PNL-PD 31.8%, PRM 13.6%, UDMR 6.2%, other 11.3%; seats by party - PSD 44, PNL 30, PD 20, PRM 20, PC 11, UDMR 10, independents 2; seats by party as of February 2008 - PSD 44, PDL 27, PNL 24, PRM 16, PC 10, UDMR 10, independents 6; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 36.8%, PNL-PD 31.5%, PRM 13%, UDMR 6.2%, other 12.5%; seats by party - PSD 111, PNL 66, PD 45, PRM 34, UDMR 22, PC 20, ex-PRM (Ciontu Group) 12, PIN (GUSA Group) 3, independent 1, ethnic minorities 18; seats by party as of February 2008 - PSD 104, PDL 73, PNL 56, PRM 25, UDMR 22, PC 16, independents 18, ethnic minorities 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
64.06 years male: 61.53 years female: 66.72 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.91 years
male: 68.41 years female: 75.62 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: 97.3% male: 98.4% female: 96.3% (2002 census) |
Location | Central South America, southwest of Brazil | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine |
Map references | South America | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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: 19 ships (1000 GRT or over) 146,307 GRT/165,548 DWT
by type: cargo 13, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 50 (Cambodia 1, Georgia 15, North Korea 6, Malta 10, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 8, Sierra Leone 2, St Kitts and Nevis 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1, Syria 4, Tuvalu 1, unknown 4) (2007) |
Military branches | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia) | Land Forces, Naval Forces, Romanian Air Force (Fortele Aeriene Romane, FAR), Special Operations (2008) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $147 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY99) | 1.9% (2007 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,005,660 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,306,452 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
90,120 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) | Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918) |
Nationality | noun:
Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian |
noun: Romanian(s)
adjective: Romanian |
Natural hazards | flooding in the northeast (March-April) | earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides |
Natural resources | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower | petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -1.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km | gas 3,674 km; oil 2,424 km (2007) |
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 |
Conservative Party or PC [Daniela POPA] (formerly Humanist Party or PUR); Democratic Liberal Party or PDL [Emil BOC]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Calin POPESCU-TARICEANU]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romania Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Mircea Dan GEOANA] (formerly Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions | various human rights and professional associations |
Population | 8,300,463 (July 2001 est.) | 22,276,056 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (1999 est.) | 25% (2005 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.76% (2001 est.) | -0.127% (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) | 698 (frequency type NA) (2006) |
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: 11,385 km
broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge (3,888 km electrified) narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) | Eastern Orthodox (including all sub-denominations) 86.8%, Protestant (various denominations including Reformate and Pentecostal) 7.5%, Roman Catholic 4.7%, other (mostly Muslim) and unspecified 0.9%, none 0.1% (2002 census) |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.054 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.991 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.695 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 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: rapidly improving domestic and international service, especially in wireless telephony
domestic: more than 90 percent of telephone network is automatic; liberalization in 2003 is transforming telecommunications; fixed-line teledensity is roughly 20 telephones per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity is approaching 80 telephones per 100 persons international: country code - 40; the Black Sea Fiber Optic System provides connectivity to Bulgaria and Turkey; satellite earth stations - 10; digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operate in Bucharest (2005) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 327,600 (1996) | 4.231 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 116,000 (1997) | 17.4 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 48 (1997) | 623 (plus 200 repeaters) (2006) |
Terrain | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin | central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps |
Total fertility rate | 3.51 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.38 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.4% (1997)
note: widespread underemployment |
4.5% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) | 1,731 km
note: includes 1,075 km on Danube River, 524 km on secondary branches, and 132 km on canals (2006) |