Bolivia (2002) | Brazil (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija | 26 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Acre, Alagoas, Amapa, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal*, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Roraima, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.8% (male 1,626,596; female 1,565,124)
15-64 years: 57.7% (male 2,383,852; female 2,491,823) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 169,583; female 208,156) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.1% (male 24,789,495/female 23,842,715)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 62,669,392/female 63,719,631) 65 years and over: 6% (male 4,549,552/female 6,542,009) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber | coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus; beef |
Airports | 1,109 (2001) | 4,136 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 12
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 698
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 158 914 to 1,523 m: 461 under 914 m: 49 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1,069 1,096
over 3,047 m: 1 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 64 65 914 to 1,523 m: 225 236 under 914 m: 776 790 (2002) |
total: 3,438
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 78 914 to 1,523 m: 1,579 under 914 m: 1,780 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 1,098,580 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
total: 8,511,965 sq km
land: 8,456,510 sq km water: 55,455 sq km note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Montana | slightly smaller than the US |
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 anticorruption campaign. | Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal, Brazil became an independent nation in 1822. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil overcame more than half a century of military intervention in the governance of the country when in 1985 the military regime peacefully ceded power to civilian rulers. Brazil continues to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of its interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem. |
Birth rate | 26.41 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
revenues: $140.6 billion
expenditures: $172.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004) |
Capital | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) | Brasilia |
Climate | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid | mostly tropical, but temperate in south |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 7,491 km |
Constitution | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 | 5 October 1988 |
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: Federative Republic of Brazil
conventional short form: Brazil local long form: Republica Federativa do Brasil local short form: Brasil |
Currency | boliviano (BOB) | - |
Death rate | 8.05 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.15 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.8 billion (2001 est.) | $219.8 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador David N. GREENLEE
embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 2430120, 2430251 FAX: [591] (2) 2433900 |
chief of mission: Ambassador John DANILOVICH
embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, Quadra 801, Lote 3, Distrito Federal Cep 70403-900, Brasilia mailing address: Unit 3500, APO AA 34030 telephone: [55] (61) 312-7000 FAX: [55] (61) 225-9136 consulate(s) general: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo consulate(s): Recife |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime APARICIO Otero
chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Roberto ABDENUR
chancery: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-2700 FAX: [1] (202) 238-2827 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | continues to demand a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama region was lost to Chile in 1884 | unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal narcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations; uncontested dispute with Uruguay over certain islands in the Quarai/Cuareim and Invernada boundary streams and the resulting tripoint with Argentina; in 2004 Brazil submitted its claims to UNCLOS to extend its maritime continental margin |
Economic aid - recipient | $588 million (1997) (1997) | $30 billion (2002) |
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 becoming an associate member of the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur), as well as the privatization of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. Growth slowed in 1999, in part due to tight government budget policies, which limited needed appropriations for anti-poverty programs, and the fallout from the Asian financial crisis. In 2000, major civil disturbances in April, and again in September and October, held down overall growth to 2.5%. Bolivia's GDP failed to grow in 2001 due to the global slowdown and laggard domestic activity. Growth is expected to pick up in 2002, but the fiscal deficit and debt burden will remain high. | Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other South American countries and is expanding its presence in world markets. From 2001-03 real wages fell and Brazil's economy grew, on average, only 2.2% per year, as the country absorbed a series of domestic and international economic shocks. That Brazil absorbed these shocks without financial collapse is a tribute to the resiliency of the Brazilian economy and the economic program put in place by former President CARDOSO and strengthened by President LULA DA SILVA. In 2004, Brazil enjoyed more robust growth that yielded increases in employment and real wages. The three pillars of the economic program are a floating exchange rate, an inflation-targeting regime, and tight fiscal policy, all reinforced by a series of IMF programs. The currency depreciated sharply in 2001 and 2002, which contributed to a dramatic current account adjustment: in 2003 and 2004, Brazil ran record trade surpluses and recorded its first current account surpluses since 1992. Productivity gains - particularly in agriculture - also contributed to the surge in exports, and Brazil in 2004 surpassed the previous year's record export level and again posted a current account surplus. While economic management has been good, there remain important economic vulnerabilities. The most significant are debt-related: the government's largely domestic debt increased steadily from 1994 to 2003 - straining government finances - before falling as a percentage of GDP in 2004, while Brazil's foreign debt (a mix of private and public debt) is large in relation to Brazil's small (but growing) export base. Another challenge is maintaining economic growth over a period of time to generate employment and make the government debt burden more manageable. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.605 billion kWh (2000) | 351.9 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 5 million kWh (2000) | 7 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 11 million kWh (2000) | 36.58 billion kWh; note - supplied by Paraguay (2002) |
Electricity - production | 3.87 billion kWh (2000) | 339 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 50% nuclear: 0% other: 2% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico da Neblina 3,014 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 in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area; there is a lucrative illegal wildlife trade; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities; wetland degradation; severe oil spills |
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: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% | white 53.7%, mulatto (mixed white and black) 38.5%, black 6.2%, other (includes Japanese, Arab, Amerindian) 0.9%, unspecified 0.7% (2000 census) |
Exchange rates | bolivianos per US dollar - 6.8613 (January 2002), 6.6069 (2001), 6.1835 (2000), 5.8124 (1999), 5.5101 (1998), 5.2543 (1997) | reals per US dollar - 2.9251 (2004), 3.0771 (2003), 2.9208 (2002), 2.3577 (2001), 1.8301 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante (since 4 August 2002); Vice President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 4 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante (since 4 August 2002); Vice President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 4 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 30 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007) election results: the new president was chosen by Congress, a result of no candidate winning a majority in the 30 June 2002 election; Congressional votes - Gonzalo SANCHEZ de Lozada 84, Evo MORALES 43 |
chief of state: President Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA (since 1 January 2003); Vice President Jose ALENCAR (since 1 January 2003); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA (since 1 January 2003); Vice President Jose ALENCAR (since 1 January 2003); 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 four-year terms; election last held 6 October 2002 (next to be held 1 October 2006, with a runoff on 29 October 2006 if necessary); runoff election held 27 October 2002 election results: in runoff election 27 October 2002, Luiz Inacio LULA DA SILVA (PT) elected with 61.3% of the vote; Jose SERRA (PSDB) 38.7% |
Exports | $1.2 billion (2001 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood | transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos |
Exports - partners | US 32%, Colombia 18%, UK 15%, Brazil 15%, Peru 6% (2000) | US 20.8%, Argentina 7.5%, Netherlands 6.1%, China 5.6%, Germany 4.1%, Mexico 4% (2004) |
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 | green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial globe with 27 white five-pointed stars (one for each state and the Federal District) arranged in the same pattern as the night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $21.4 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 14%
industry: 31% services: 55% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 10.1%
industry: 38.6% services: 51.3% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,100 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0% (2001 est.) | 5.1% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 S, 65 00 W | 10 00 S, 55 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru | largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador |
Heliports | - | 417 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 49,400 km
paved: 2,500 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 46,900 km (1996) |
total: 1,724,929 km
paved: 94,871 km unpaved: 1,630,058 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 46% (1997) (1997) |
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 48% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 24,400 hectares under cultivation in June 2002, a 23% increase from June 2001; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to the US and other international drug markets; eradication and alternative crop programs under the SANCHEZ DE LOZADA administration have been unable to keep pace with farmers' attempts to increase cultivation after significant reductions in 1998 and 1999; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade, especially along the borders with Brazil and Paraguay | illicit producer of cannabis; minor coca cultivation in the Amazon region, used for domestic consumption; government has a large-scale eradication program to control cannabis; important transshipment country for Bolivian, Colombian, and Peruvian cocaine headed for Europe and the US; also used by traffickers as a way station for narcotics air transshipments between Peru and Colombia; upsurge in drug-related violence and weapons smuggling; important market for Colombian, Bolivian, and Peruvian cocaine; illicit narcotics proceeds earned in Brazil are often laundered through the financial system; significant illicit financial activity in the Tri-Border Area |
Imports | $1.5 billion (2001 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food | machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil |
Imports - partners | US 24%, Argentina 17%, Brazil 15%, Chile 9%, Peru 5% (2000) | US 18.3%, Argentina 8.9%, Germany 8.1%, China 5.9%, Nigeria 5.6%, Japan 4.6% (2004) |
Independence | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) | 7 September 1822 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.9% (1998) (1998) | 6% (2004 est.) |
Industries | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing | textiles, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, steel, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, other machinery and equipment |
Infant mortality rate | 57.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 29.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2001 est.) | 7.6% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AfDB, BIS, CSN, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 9 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,280 sq km (1998 est.) | 26,560 sq km (1998 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) | Supreme Federal Tribunal (11 ministers are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the Senate); Higher Tribunal of Justice; Regional Federal Tribunals (judges are appointed for life); note - though appointed "for life," judges, like all federal employees, have a mandatory retirement age of 70 |
Labor force | 2.5 million | 89 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 20%, industry 14%, services 66% (2003 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: 14,691 km
border countries: Argentina 1,224 km, Bolivia 3,400 km, Colombia 1,643 km, French Guiana 673 km, Guyana 1,119 km, Paraguay 1,290 km, Peru 1,560 km, Suriname 597 km, Uruguay 985 km, Venezuela 2,200 km |
Land use | arable land: 1.73%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 98.06% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 6.96%
permanent crops: 0.9% other: 92.15% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) | Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French |
Legal system | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Roman codes; 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 30 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNR 11, MAS 8, MIR 5, NFR 2, other 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNR 36, MAS 27, MIR 26, NFR 25, others 16 |
bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal (81 seats; three members from each state and federal district elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year terms; one-third elected after a four-year period, two-thirds elected after the next four-year period) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara dos Deputados (513 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: Federal Senate - last held 6 October 2002 for two-thirds of the Senate (next to be held October 2006 for one-third of the Senate); Chamber of Deputies - last held 6 October 2002 (next to be held October 2006) election results: Federal Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PMBD 19, PFL 19, PT 14, PSDB 11, PDT 5, PSB 4, PL 3, PTB 3, PPS 1, PSD 1, PP 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PT 91, PFL 84, PMDB 74, PSDB 71, PP 49, PL 26, PTB 26, PSB 22, PDT 21, PPS 15, PCdoB 12, PRONA 6, PV 5, other 11; note - many congressmen have changed party affiliation since the most recent election |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.42 years
male: 61.86 years female: 67.1 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 71.69 years
male: 67.74 years female: 75.85 years (2005 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: 86.4% male: 86.1% female: 86.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central South America, southwest of Brazil | Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean |
Map references | South America | South America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total: 36 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 196,399 GRT/320,137 DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 15, chemical tanker 2, container 1, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of Belize 2, China 2, Cuba 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Honduras 1, Latvia 2, Liberia 2, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Saudi Arabia 1, Singapore 1, South Korea 3, Switzerland 1, Ukraine 1, United Arab Emirates 5, United States 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 150 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,961,431 GRT/4,725,267 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 28, cargo 25, chemical tanker 7, combination ore/oil 2, container 7, liquefied gas 12, passenger/cargo 12, petroleum tanker 48, roll on/roll off 9 foreign-owned: 17 (Chile 2, Germany 7, Norway 1, Spain 7) registered in other countries: 8 (2005) |
Military branches | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia) | Brazilian Army, Brazilian Navy (includes Naval Air and Marines), Brazilian Air Force (FAB) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $147 million (FY99) | $11 billion (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY99) | 1.8% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,062,321 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,343,755 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 90,120 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) | Independence Day, 7 September (1822) |
Nationality | noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
noun: Brazilian(s)
adjective: Brazilian |
Natural hazards | flooding in the northeast (March-April) | recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south |
Natural resources | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower | bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber |
Net migration rate | -1.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -0.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km | condensate/gas 244 km; gas 10,739 km; liquid petroleum gas 341 km; oil 5,212 km; refined products 4,755 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB [Otto RICHTER]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Movement to Socialism or MAS [leader NA]; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES-VILLA]; United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC]
note: the ADN, MIR, and UCS comprise the ruling coalition |
Brazilian Democratic Movement Party or PMDB [Federal Deputy Michel TEMER]; Brazilian Labor Party or PTB [Federal Deputy Roberto JEFFERSON]; Brazilian Social Democracy Party or PSDB [Senator Eduardo AZAREDO]; Brazilian Socialist Party or PSB [Federal Deputy Miguel ARRAES]; Communist Party of Brazil or PCdoB [Renato RABELO]; Democratic Labor Party or PDT [Carlos LUPI]; Democratic Socialist Party or PSD [Pedro Miguel SANTANA LOPES]; Green Party or PV [Jose Luiz de Franca PENNA]; Liberal Front Party or PFL [Senator Jorge BORNHAUSEN]; Liberal Party or PL [Federal Deputy Valdemar COSTA Neto]; National Order Reconstruction Party or PRONA [Federal Deputy Dr. Eneas CARNEIRO]; Popular Socialist Party or PPS [Federal Deputy Roberto FREIRE]; Progressive Party or PP [Federal Deputy Pedro CORREA]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Vitor Jorge ABDALA NOSSEIS]; Worker's Party or PT [Jose GENOINO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Felipe QUISPE] | Landless Worker's Movement; labor unions and federations; large farmers' associations; religious groups including evangelical christian churches and the Catholic Church |
Population | 8,445,134 (July 2002 est.) | 186,112,794
note: Brazil took a count in August 2000, which reported a population of 169,799,170; that figure was about 3.3% lower than projections by the US Census Bureau, and is close to the implied underenumeration of 4.6% for the 1991 census; estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (1999 est.) | 22% (1998 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.69% (2002 est.) | 1.06% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Puerto Aguirre (on the Paraguay/Parana waterway, at the Bolivia/Brazil border); also, Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay | Gebig, Itaqui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, San Sebasttiao, Santos, Sepetiba Terminal, Tubarao, Vitoria |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) | AM 1,365, FM 296, shortwave 161 (of which 91 are collocated with AM stations) (1999) |
Radios | 5.25 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 3,691 km
narrow gauge: 3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge (13 km electrified) (1995 est.) |
total: 29,412 km (1,567 km electrified)
broad gauge: 4,907 km 1.600-m gauge (908 km electrified) standard gauge: 194 km 1.440-m gauge narrow gauge: 23,915 km 1.000-m gauge (581 km electrified) dual gauge: 396 km 1.000-m and 1.600-m gauges (three rails) (78 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) | Roman Catholic (nominal) 73.6%, Protestant 15.4%, Spriritualist 1.3%, Bantu/voodoo 0.3%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.2%, none 7.4% (2000 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 (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single) | voluntary between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over 18 and under 70 years of age; note - military conscripts do not vote |
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: good working system
domestic: extensive microwave radio relay system and a domestic satellite system with 64 earth stations international: country code - 55; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region east), connected by microwave relay system to Mercosur Brazilsat B3 satellite earth station |
Telephones - main lines in use | 327,600 (1996) | 38.81 million (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 116,000 (1997) | 46,373,300 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 48 (1997) | 138 (1997) |
Terrain | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin | mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt |
Total fertility rate | 3.37 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.93 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.6% (2000)
note: widespread underemployment (2000) |
11.5% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) | 50,000 km (most in areas remote from industry and population) (2004) |