Bolivia (2002) | Nepal (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija | 14 zones (anchal, singular and plural); Bagmati, Bheri, Dhawalagiri, Gandaki, Janakpur, Karnali, Kosi, Lumbini, Mahakali, Mechi, Narayani, Rapti, Sagarmatha, Seti |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 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: 39.7% (male 5,424,396; female 5,080,171)
15-64 years: 56.7% (male 7,692,134; female 7,320,059) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 468,697; female 484,112) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber | rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, root crops; milk, water buffalo meat |
Airports | 1,109 (2001) | 45 (2002) |
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: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2002) |
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: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 28 (2002) |
Area | total: 1,098,580 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
total: 140,800 sq km
land: 136,800 sq km water: 4,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Montana | slightly larger than Arkansas |
Background | Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and counter-coups. Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in the 1980s, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and drug production. Current goals include attracting foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, continuing the privatization program, and waging an anticorruption campaign. | In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. Reforms in 1990 established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. A Maoist insurgency, launched in 1996, has gained traction and is threatening to bring down the regime. In 2001, the Crown Prince massacred ten members of the royal family, including the king and queen, and then took his own life. In October 2002, the new king dismissed the prime minister and his cabinet for "incompetence" after they dissolved the parliament and were subsequently unable to hold elections because of the ongoing insurgency. The country is now governed by the king and his appointed cabinet, which has negotiated a cease-fire with the Maoist insurgents, until elections can be held at some unspecified future date. |
Birth rate | 26.41 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 32.46 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
revenues: $665 million
expenditures: $1.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 99/00 est.) |
Capital | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) | Kathmandu |
Climate | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid | varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 | 9 November 1990 |
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: Kingdom of Nepal
conventional short form: Nepal |
Currency | boliviano (BOB) | Nepalese rupee (NPR) |
Death rate | 8.05 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.84 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.8 billion (2001 est.) | $2.55 billion (FY 00/01) |
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 Michael E. MALINOWSKI
embassy: Panipokhari, Kathmandu mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [977] (1) 411179 FAX: [977] (1) 419963 |
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-designate Jai Pratap RANA
chancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550 FAX: [1] (202) 667-5534 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | continues to demand a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama region was lost to Chile in 1884 | joint border commission continues to work on small disputed sections of boundary with India; India has instituted a stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents |
Economic aid - recipient | $588 million (1997) (1997) | $424 million (FY 00/01) |
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. | Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with 42% of its population living below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting for 40% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain. Textile and carpet production, accounting for about 80% of foreign exchange earnings in recent years, contracted in 2001-02 due to the overall slowdown in the world economy and pressures by Maoist insurgents on factory owners and workers. Security concerns in the wake of the Maoist conflict and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US have led to a decrease in tourism, another key source of foreign exchange. Since 1991, the government has been moving forward with economic reforms, e.g., by reducing business licenses and registration requirements to simplify investment procedures, reducing subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off civil servants. Nepal has considerable scope for exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, and its susceptibility to natural disaster. The international community's role of funding more than 60% of Nepal's development budget and more than 28% of total budgetary expenditures will likely continue as a major ingredient of growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.605 billion kWh (2000) | 1.764 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 5 million kWh (2000) | 95 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 11 million kWh (2000) | 227 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 3.87 billion kWh (2000) | 1.755 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 50% nuclear: 0% other: 2% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 8.5%
hydro: 91.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
lowest point: Kanchan Kalan 70 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999) |
Environment - current issues | the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation | deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% | Brahman, Chetri, Newar, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Sherpa, Tharu, and others (1995) |
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) | Nepalese rupees per US dollar - 77.88 (2002), 74.95 (2001), 71.09 (2000), 68.24 (1999), 65.98 (1998) |
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: King GYANENDRA Bir Bikram Shah (succeeded to the throne 4 June 2001 following the death of his nephew, King DIPENDRA Bir Bikram Shah)
head of government: Prime Minister Surya Bahadur THAPA (since 4 June 2003); note - Prime Minister CHAND resigned 30 May 2003 cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the monarch note: King BIRENDRA Bir Bikram Shah Dev died in a bloody shooting at the royal palace on 1 June 2001 that also claimed the lives of most of the royal family; King BIRENDRA's son, Crown Price DIPENDRA, is believed to have been responsible for the shootings before fatally wounding himself; immediately following the shootings and while still clinging to life, DIPENDRA was crowned king; he died three days later and was succeeded by his uncle |
Exports | $1.2 billion (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood | carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain |
Exports - partners | US 32%, Colombia 18%, UK 15%, Brazil 15%, Peru 6% (2000) | India 47.5%, US 27.6%, Germany 7.5% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 16 July - 15 July |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band | red with a blue border around the unique shape of two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white 12-pointed sun |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $21.4 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $37.32 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 14%
industry: 31% services: 55% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 40%
industry: 20% services: 40% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0% (2001 est.) | -0.6% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 S, 65 00 W | 28 00 N, 84 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru | landlocked; strategic location between China and India; contains eight of world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest - the world's tallest - on the border with China |
Highways | total: 49,400 km
paved: 2,500 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 46,900 km (1996) |
total: 13,223 km
paved: 4,073 km unpaved: 9,150 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 46% (1997) (1997) |
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 29.8% (1995-96) |
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 for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West |
Imports | $1.5 billion (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food | gold, machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer |
Imports - partners | US 24%, Argentina 17%, Brazil 15%, Chile 9%, Peru 5% (2000) | India 21.2%, China 13%, UAE 11.1%, Singapore 8.5%, Hong Kong 5.9%, Saudi Arabia 4.9%, Kuwait 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) | 1768 (unified by Prithvi Narayan Shah) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.9% (1998) (1998) | 8.7% (FY 99/00) |
Industries | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing | tourism, carpet, textile; small rice, jute, sugar, and oilseed mills; cigarette; cement and brick production |
Infant mortality rate | 57.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 70.57 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 68.95 deaths/1,000 live births female: 72.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2001 est.) | 2.8% (2001 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 | AsDB, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 9 (2000) | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,280 sq km (1998 est.) | 11,350 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 Court or Sarbochha Adalat (chief justice is appointed by the monarch on recommendation of the Constitutional Council; the other judges are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the Judicial Council) |
Labor force | 2.5 million | 10 million
note: severe lack of skilled labor (1996 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 81%, services 16%, industry 3% |
Land boundaries | total: 6,743 km
border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km |
total: 2,926 km
border countries: China 1,236 km, India 1,690 km |
Land use | arable land: 1.73%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 98.06% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 20.27%
permanent crops: 0.49% other: 79.24% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) | Nepali (official; spoken by 90% of the population), about a dozen other languages and about 30 major dialects; note - many in government and business also speak English (1995) |
Legal system | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Hindu legal concepts and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - some members are drawn from party lists, thus not directly elected)
elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 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 Parliament consists of the National Council (60 seats; 35 appointed by the House of Representatives, 10 by the king, and 15 elected by an electoral college; one-third of the members elected every two years to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (205 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 3 and 17 May 1999 (next election NA) note: Nepal's Parliament was dissolved on 22 May 2002 election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NC 37.3%, CPN/UML 31.6%, NDP 10.4%, NSP 3.2%, Rastriya Jana Morcha 1.4%, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 0.8%, NWPP 0.5%, others 14.8%; seats by party - NC 113, CPN/UML 69, NDP 11, NSP 5, Rastriya Jana Morcha 5, Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal 1, NWPP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.42 years
male: 61.86 years female: 67.1 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 59 years
male: 59.36 years female: 58.63 years (2003 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: 45.2% male: 62.7% female: 27.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central South America, southwest of Brazil | Southern Asia, between China and India |
Map references | South America | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 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.) |
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Military branches | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia) | Royal Nepalese Army (includes Royal Nepalese Army Air Service), Nepalese Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $147 million (FY99) | $57.22 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (FY99) | 1.1% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,062,321 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 6,674,014 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,343,755 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 3,467,511 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2002 est.) | 17 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 90,120 (2002 est.) | males: 303,222 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) | Birthday of King GYANENDRA, 7 July (1946) |
Nationality | noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
noun: Nepalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Nepalese |
Natural hazards | flooding in the northeast (March-April) | severe thunderstorms, flooding, landslides, drought, and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons |
Natural resources | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower | quartz, water, timber, hydropower, scenic beauty, small deposits of lignite, copper, cobalt, iron ore |
Net migration rate | -1.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km | - |
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 |
Communist Party of Nepal/United Marxist-Leninist or CPN/UML [Madhav Kumar NEPAL, general secretary]; National Democratic Party or NDP (also called Rastriya Prajantra Party or RPP) [Surya Bahadur THAPA, chairman]; National People's Front (Rastriya Jana Morcha) [Chitra Bahadur, chairman]; Nepal Sadbhavana (Goodwill) Party or NSP [Bhadri Prasad MANDAL, acting party president]; Nepal Workers and Peasants Party or NWPP [Narayan Man BIJUKCHHE, party chairman]; Nepali Congress or NC [Girija Prasad KOIRALA, party president; Sushil KOIRALA, general secretary]; Samyukta Janmorcha Nepal [Lila Mani POKHAREL, general secretary] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Felipe QUISPE] | Maoist guerrilla-based insurgency [Pushpa Kamal DAHAL also known as Prahanda, chairman; and chief negotiator, Dr. Baburam BHATTARAI, from Communist Party of Nepal/Maoist]; numerous small, left-leaning student groups in the capital; several small, radical Nepalese antimonarchist groups |
Population | 8,445,134 (July 2002 est.) | 26,469,569 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (1999 est.) | 42% (1995-96) |
Population growth rate | 1.69% (2002 est.) | 2.26% (2003 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 | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) | AM 6, FM 5, shortwave 1 (January 2000) |
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: 59 km
narrow gauge: 59 km 0.762-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) | Hinduism 86.2%, Buddhism 7.8%, Islam 3.8%, other 2.2%
note: only official Hindu state in the world (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 (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single) | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile cellular telephone use expanding rapidly
domestic: primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: poor telephone and telegraph service; fair radiotelephone communication service and mobile cellular telephone network
domestic: NA international: radiotelephone communications; microwave landline to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 327,600 (1996) | 236,816 (January 2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 116,000 (1997) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 48 (1997) | 1 (plus 9 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin | Terai or flat river plain of the Ganges in south, central hill region, rugged Himalayas in north |
Total fertility rate | 3.37 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 4.39 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.6% (2000)
note: widespread underemployment (2000) |
47% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) | none |