Bolivia (2001) | Tajikistan (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija | 2 provinces (viloyatho, singular - viloyat) and 1 autonomous province* (viloyati mukhtor); Viloyati Khatlon (Qurghonteppa), Viloyati Mukhtori Kuhistoni Badakhshon* [Gorno-Badakhshan] (Khorugh), Viloyati Sughd (Khujand)
note: the administrative center name follows in parentheses |
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: 35% (male 1,261,247/female 1,218,686)
15-64 years: 61.2% (male 2,145,300/female 2,184,519) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 113,186/female 153,660) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber | cotton, grain, fruits, grapes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, goats |
Airports | 1,093 (2000 est.) | 26 (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: 18
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (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: 8
under 914 m: 8 (2007) |
Area | total:
1,098,580 sq km land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
total: 143,100 sq km
land: 142,700 sq km water: 400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Montana | slightly smaller than Wisconsin |
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 Tajik people came under Russian rule in the 1860s and 1870s, but Russia's hold on Central Asia weakened following the Revolution of 1917. Bolshevik control of the area was fiercely contested and not fully reestablished until 1925. Tajikistan became independent in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union, and it is now in the process of strengthening its democracy and transitioning to a free market economy after its 1992-97 civil war. There have been no major security incidents in recent years, although the country remains the poorest in the former Soviet sphere. Attention by the international community in the wake of the war in Afghanistan has brought increased economic development assistance, which could create jobs and increase stability in the long term. Tajikistan is in the early stages of seeking World Trade Organization membership and has joined NATO's Partnership for Peace. |
Birth rate | 27.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.33 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$2.7 billion expenditures: $2.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
revenues: $519.3 million
expenditures: $612.4 million (2006 est.) |
Capital | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) | name: Dushanbe
geographic coordinates: 38 35 N, 68 48 E time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid | midlatitude continental, hot summers, mild winters; semiarid to polar in Pamir Mountains |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 | 6 November 1994 |
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: Republic of Tajikistan
conventional short form: Tajikistan local long form: Jumhurii Tojikiston local short form: Tojikiston former: Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | boliviano (BOB) | - |
Death rate | 8.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.05 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.6 billion (2000) | $876 million (2006 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 Tracey Ann JACOBSON
embassy: 109-A Ismoili Somoni Avenue, Dushanbe 734019 mailing address: 7090 Dushanbe Place, Dulles, VA 20189 telephone: [992] (37) 229-20-00 FAX: [992] (37) 229-20-50 |
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 Abdujabbor SHIRINOV
chancery: 1005 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 223-6090 FAX: [1] (202) 223-6091 |
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 | in 2006, China and Tajikistan pledged to commence demarcation of the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of 2002; talks continue with Uzbekistan to delimit border and remove minefields; disputes in Isfara Valley delay delimitation with Kyrgyzstan |
Economic aid - recipient | $588 million (1997) | $241.4 million from US (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%. | Tajikistan has one of the lowest per capita GDPs among the 15 former Soviet republics. Only 7% of the land area is arable; cotton is the most important crop. Mineral resources, varied but limited in amount, include silver, gold, uranium, and tungsten. Industry consists only of a large aluminum plant, hydropower facilities, and small obsolete factories mostly in light industry and food processing. The civil war (1992-97) severely damaged the already weak economic infrastructure and caused a sharp decline in industrial and agricultural production. While Tajikistan has experienced steady economic growth since 1997, nearly two-thirds of the population continues to live in abject poverty. Economic growth reached 10.6% in 2004 but dropped to 8% in 2005 and to 7% in 2006. Tajikistan's economic situation, however, remains fragile due to uneven implementation of structural reforms, weak governance, widespread unemployment, and the external debt burden. Continued privatization of medium and large state-owned enterprises could increase productivity. A debt restructuring agreement was reached with Russia in December 2002 including a $250 million write-off of Tajikistan's $300 million debt. Tajikistan ranks third in the world in terms of water resources per head. A proposed investment to finish the hydropower dams Rogun and Sangtuda I and II would substantially add to electricity production, which could be exported for profit. If finished, Rogun will be the world's tallest dam. In 2006, Tajikistan was the recipient of substantial infrastructure development credits from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to improve its roads and electricity transmission network. To help increase north-south trade, the US is constructing a $36 million bridge linking Tajikistan and Afghanistan. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.377 billion kWh (1999) | 14.66 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 4 million kWh (1999) | 4.257 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 10 million kWh (1999) | 4.508 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 3.625 billion kWh (1999) | 16.89 billion kWh (2005) |
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: Syr Darya (Sirdaryo) 300 m
highest point: Qullai Ismoili Somoni 7,495 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 | inadequate sanitation facilities; increasing levels of soil salinity; industrial pollution; excessive pesticides |
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, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, 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% | Tajik 79.9%, Uzbek 15.3%, Russian 1.1%, Kyrgyz 1.1%, other 2.6% (2000 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) | Tajikistani somoni per US dollar - 3.3 (2006), 3.1166 (2005), 2.9705 (2004), 3.0614 (2003), 2.7641 (2002) |
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 Emomali RAHMON (since 6 November 1994; head of state and Supreme Assembly chairman since 19 November 1992)
head of government: Prime Minister Oqil OQILOV (since 20 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president, approved by the Supreme Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 6 November 2006 (next to be held in November 2013); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Emomali RAHMONOV reelected president; percent of vote - Emomali RAHMONOV 79.3%, Olimzon BOBOYEV 6.2%, other 14.5% |
Exports | $1.26 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood | aluminum, electricity, cotton, fruits, vegetable oil, textiles |
Exports - partners | UK 16%, US 12%, Peru 11%, Argentina 10%, Colombia 7% (1998) | Netherlands 40.7%, Turkey 31.7%, Iran 5.4%, Uzbekistan 4.8%, Russia 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 horizontal stripes of red (top), a wider stripe of white, and green; a gold crown surmounted by seven gold, five-pointed stars is located in the center of the white stripe |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $20.9 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
16% industry: 31% services: 53% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 23%
industry: 28% services: 49% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 7% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 S, 65 00 W | 39 00 N, 71 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru | landlocked; mountainous region dominated by the Trans-Alay Range in the north and the Pamirs in the southeast; highest point, Qullai Ismoili Somoni (formerly Communism Peak), was the tallest mountain in the former USSR |
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%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 25.6% (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 transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and, to a lesser extent, Western European markets; limited illicit cultivation of opium poppy for domestic consumption; Tajikistan seizes roughly 80% of all drugs captured in Central Asia and stands third worldwide in seizures of opiates (heroin and raw opium); significant consumer of opiates |
Imports | $1.86 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food | electricity, petroleum products, aluminum oxide, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 32%, Japan 24%, Brazil 12%, Argentina 12%, Chile 7%, Peru 4%, Germany 3%, other 6% (1998) | Russia 24.6%, Kazakhstan 10.8%, Uzbekistan 10.2%, China 8.6%, Azerbaijan 8% (2006) |
Independence | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) | 9 September 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4% (1995 est.) | 8.2% (2002 est.) |
Industries | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing | aluminum, zinc, lead; chemicals and fertilizers, cement, vegetable oil, metal-cutting machine tools, refrigerators and freezers |
Infant mortality rate | 58.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 43.64 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 48.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 38.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.4% (2000 est.) | 11.9% (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 | AsDB, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 9 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,750 sq km (1993 est.) | 7,220 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 (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 2.5 million | 3.7 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture: 67.2%
industry: 7.5% services: 25.3% (2000 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: 3,651 km
border countries: Afghanistan 1,206 km, China 414 km, Kyrgyzstan 870 km, Uzbekistan 1,161 km |
Land use | arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 53% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 6.52%
permanent crops: 0.89% other: 92.59% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) | Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and business |
Legal system | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts; 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 Supreme Assembly or Majlisi Oli consists of the National Assembly (upper chamber) or Majlisi Milliy (34 seats; 25 members selected by local deputies, 8 appointed by the president; 1 seat reserved for the former president; to serve five-year terms) and the Assembly of Representatives (lower chamber) or Majlisi Namoyandagon (63 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 25 March 2005 for the National Assembly (next to be held in February 2010) and 27 February and 13 March 2005 for the Assembly of Representatives (next to be held in February 2010) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDPT 29, CPT 2, independents 3; Assembly of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDPT 74.9%, CPT 13.6%, Islamic Revival Party 8.9%, other 2.5%; seats by party - PDPT 51, CPT 5, Islamic Revival Party 2, independents 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
64.06 years male: 61.53 years female: 66.72 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 64.61 years
male: 61.6 years female: 67.78 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: 99.5% male: 99.7% female: 99.2% (2000 census) |
Location | Central South America, southwest of Brazil | Central Asia, west of China |
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) | Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Mobile Force (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $147 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY99) | 3.9% (2005 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.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) | Independence Day (or National Day), 9 September (1991) |
Nationality | noun:
Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian |
noun: Tajikistani(s)
adjective: Tajikistani |
Natural hazards | flooding in the northeast (March-April) | earthquakes and floods |
Natural resources | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower | hydropower, some petroleum, uranium, mercury, brown coal, lead, zinc, antimony, tungsten, silver, gold |
Net migration rate | -1.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km | gas 549 km; oil 38 km (2006) |
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 |
Agrarian Party of Tajikistan or APT [Amir KARAKULOV]; Democratic Party or DPT [Mahmadruzi ISKANDAROV (imprisoned October 2005); Rahmatullo VALIYEV, deputy]; Islamic Revival Party [Muhiddin KABIRI]; Party of Economic Reform or PER [Olimzon BOBOYEV]; People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan or PDPT [Emomali RAHMONOV]; Social Democratic Party or SDPT [Rahmatullo ZOYIROV]; Socialist Party or SPT [Abdualim GHAFFOROV]; Tajik Communist Party or CPT [Shodi SHABDOLOV] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions | unregistered political parties: Agrarian Party [Hikmatullo NASREDDINOV]; Party of Justice [Abdurahim KARIMOV]; People's Unity Party [Abdumalik ABDULLOJONOV]; Progressive Party [Sulton QUVVATOV]; Socialist Party or SPT [Mirhuseyn NAZRIYEV]; note - this is a SPT that was disbanded, another pro-government SPT (listed above under political parties) replaced it; Unity Party [Hikmatullo SAIDOV] |
Population | 8,300,463 (July 2001 est.) | 7,076,598 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (1999 est.) | 64% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.76% (2001 est.) | 1.895% (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 8, FM 10, shortwave 2 (2002) |
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: 482 km
broad gauge: 482 km 1.520-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) | Sunni Muslim 85%, Shi'a Muslim 5%, other 10% (2003 est.) |
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: 1.035 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.982 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.737 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 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: poorly developed and not well maintained; many towns are not linked to the national network
domestic: the domestic telecommunications network has historically been under funded and poorly maintained; main line availability has not changed significantly since 1998; cellular telephony is rare and coverage remains limited international: country code - 992; linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; Dushanbe linked by Intelsat to international gateway switch in Ankara (Turkey); satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 2 Intelsat (2006) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 327,600 (1996) | 280,200 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 116,000 (1997) | 265,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 48 (1997) | 6 (2006) |
Terrain | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin | Pamir and Alay Mountains dominate landscape; western Fergana Valley in north, Kofarnihon and Vakhsh Valleys in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 3.51 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.09 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.4% (1997)
note: widespread underemployment |
12% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) | 200 km (along Vakhsh River) (2006) |