Bolivia (2005) | Belize (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija | 6 districts; Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek, Toledo |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 35.7% (male 1,613,049/female 1,551,023)
15-64 years: 59.8% (male 2,591,328/female 2,701,892) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 178,486/female 222,092) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.6% (male 56,530; female 54,322)
15-64 years: 55.8% (male 77,118; female 75,309) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 4,674; female 4,992) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber | bananas, coca, citrus, sugar; fish, cultured shrimp; lumber; garments |
Airports | 1,065 (2004 est.) | 43 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 16
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1,049
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 60 914 to 1,523 m: 207 under 914 m: 778 (2004 est.) |
total: 38
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 1,098,580 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
total: 22,966 sq km
land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Montana | slightly smaller than Massachusetts |
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 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production. Current goals include attracting foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, resolving disputes with coca growers over Bolivia's counterdrug efforts, and waging an anticorruption campaign. | Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize (formerly British Honduras) until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. The country remains plagued by high unemployment, growing involvement in the South American drug trade, and increased urban crime. |
Birth rate | 23.76 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 29.89 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.264 billion
expenditures: $2.769 billion, including capital expenditures of $741 million (2004 est.) |
revenues: $222 million
expenditures: $300 million, including capital expenditures of $70 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) | Belmopan |
Climate | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid | tropical; very hot and humid; rainy season (May to November); dry season (February to May) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 386 km |
Constitution | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 | 21 September 1981 |
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: Belize former: British Honduras |
Currency | - | Belizean dollar (BZD) |
Death rate | 7.64 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 6.04 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.439 billion (June 2004 est.) | $475 million (2001 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 Russell F. FREEMAN
embassy: 29 Gabourel Lane, Belize City mailing address: P. O. Box 286, Belize City telephone: [501] 227-7161 through 7163 FAX: [501] 2-30802 |
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 Lisa M. SHOMAN
chancery: 2535 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9636 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6888 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles |
Disputes - international | Chile rebuffs Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, offering instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian natural gas and other commodities | Guatemalan squatters continue to settle along the border region; an OAS brokered Differendum in 2002 created a small adjustment to the land boundary, a large Guatemalan maritime corridor in Caribbean, a joint ecological park for disputed Sapodilla Cays, and a substantial US-UK financial package, but agreement was not brought to popular referendum leaving Guatemala to continue to claim the southern half of Belize |
Economic aid - recipient | $681 million (2002) | NA |
Economy - overview | Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, reformed its economy after suffering a disastrous economic crisis in the early 1980s. The reforms spurred real GDP growth, which averaged 4 percent in the 1990s, and poverty rates fell. Economic growth, however, lagged again beginning in 1999 because of a global slowdown and homegrown factors such as political turmoil, civil unrest, and soaring fiscal deficits, all of which hurt investor confidence. In 2003, violent protests against the pro-foreign investment economic policies of President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA led to his resignation and the cancellation of plans to export Bolivia's newly discovered natural gas reserves to large northern hemisphere markets. Foreign investment dried up as companies adopted a wait-and-see attitude regarding new President Carlos MESA's willingness to protect investor rights in the face of increased demands by radical groups that the government expropriate foreign-owned assets. Real GDP growth in 2003 and 2004 - helped by increased demand for natural gas in neighboring Brazil - was positive, but still below the levels seen during the 1990s. Bolivia remains dependent on foreign aid from multilateral lenders and foreign governments. | In this small, essentially private enterprise economy the tourism industry is the number one foreign exchange earner followed by cane sugar, citrus, marine products, bananas, and garments. The government's expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, initiated in September 1998, led to GDP growth of 6.5% in 1999, 10.8% in 2000, 4.6% in 2001, and 3.7% in 2002. Major concerns continue to be the sizable trade deficit and foreign debt. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of poverty with the help of international donors. |
Electricity - consumption | 3.848 billion kWh (2002) | 185.5 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 3 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 9 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 4.132 billion kWh (2002) | 199.5 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Victoria Peak 1,160 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; water pollution from sewage, industrial effluents, agricultural runoff; solid and sewage waste disposal |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, 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%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% | mestizo 48.7%, Creole 24.9%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 9.7% |
Exchange rates | bolivianos per US dollar - 7.9363 (2004), 7.6592 (2003), 7.17 (2002), 6.6069 (2001), 6.1835 (2000) | Belizean dollars per US dollar - 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2 (2000), 2 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Eduardo RODRIGUEZ Veltze (since 9 June 2005); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Eduardo RODRIGUEZ Veltze (since 9 June 2005); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both 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 June 2007) election results: as a result of no candidate winning a majority in the 30 June 2002 election, Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante was chosen president by Congress; congressional votes - Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante 84, Evo MORALES 43; note - following the resignation of the elected president on 17 October 2003 and Vice President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert on 9 June 2005, Eduardo RODRIGUEZ Veltze, President of the Supreme Court and constitutional successor, became president. |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Colville YOUNG, Sr. (since 17 November 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Said Wilbert MUSA (since 28 August 1998); Deputy Prime Minister John BRICENO (since 1 September 1998) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
Exports | NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore, tin | sugar, bananas, citrus, clothing, fish products, molasses, wood |
Exports - partners | Brazil 40%, US 13.9%, Colombia 8.7%, Peru 6.3%, Japan 4.5% (2004) | US 39.1%, UK 25%, France 4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | blue with a narrow red stripe along the top and the bottom edges; centered is a large white disk bearing the coat of arms; the coat of arms features a shield flanked by two workers in front of a mahogany tree with the related motto SUB UMBRA FLOREO (I Flourish in the Shade) on a scroll at the bottom, all encircled by a green garland |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.28 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 13%
industry: 28% services: 59% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 22.7%
industry: 24.5% services: 52.8% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% (2004 est.) | 3.7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 S, 65 00 W | 17 15 N, 88 45 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru | only country in Central America without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total: 60,282 km
paved: 3,979 km unpaved: 56,303 km (2002) |
total: 2,872 km
paved: 488 km unpaved: 2,384 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 32% (1999) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 28,450 hectares under cultivation in June 2003, a 23% increase from June 2002; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported mostly to or through Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to European and US drug markets; eradication and alternative crop programs under the MESA administration have been unable to keep pace with farmers' attempts to increase cultivation; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade, especially along the borders with Brazil and Paraguay | major transshipment point for cocaine; small-scale illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector |
Imports | NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, plastics, paper, aircraft and aircraft parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans | machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods; fuels, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; food, beverages, tobacco |
Imports - partners | Brazil 29.7%, Argentina 17.6%, US 10.8%, Chile 7.7%, Peru 7.3% (2004) | US 41.9%, Mexico 12.4%, UK 5.9%, Cuba 5.5% (2003) |
Independence | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) | 21 September 1981 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.7% (2004 est.) | 4.6% (1999) |
Industries | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing | garment production, food processing, tourism, construction |
Infant mortality rate | total: 53.11 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 56.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 49.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 26.37 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.9% (2004 est.) | 2.6% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, ONUB, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 1,280 sq km (1998 est.) | 30 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 (the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) |
Labor force | 3.8 million (2004 est.) | 90,000
note: shortage of skilled labor and all types of technical personnel (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 27%, industry 18%, services 55% (2001 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: 516 km
border countries: Guatemala 266 km, Mexico 250 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.67%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 97.14% (2001) |
arable land: 2.85%
permanent crops: 1.71% other: 95.44% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) | English (official), Spanish, Mayan, Garifuna (Carib), Creole |
Legal system | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | English law |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; 68 are directly elected from their districts and 62 are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 30 June 2002 (next to be held 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 Assembly consists of the Senate (12 members appointed by the governor general - six on the advice of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and one each on the advice of the Belize Council of Churches and Evangelical Association of Churches, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Belize Better Business Bureau, and the National Trade Union Congress and the Civil Society Steering Committee; members are appointed for five-year terms) and the House of Representatives (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 5 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PUP 21, UDP 8 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 65.5 years
male: 62.89 years female: 68.25 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 67.43 years
male: 65.11 years female: 69.86 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.2% male: 93.1% female: 81.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.1% male: 94.1% female: 94.1% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central South America, southwest of Brazil | Central America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Guatemala and Mexico |
Map references | South America | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm in the north, 3 nm in the south; note - from the mouth of the Sarstoon River to Ranguana Cay, Belize's territorial sea is 3 nm; according to Belize's Maritime Areas Act, 1992, the purpose of this limitation is to provide a framework for the negotiation of a definitive agreement on territorial differences with Guatemala
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 413,407 GRT/699,901 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 16, chemical tanker 1, container 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 11 (Argentina 1, Egypt 2, Eritrea 1, Germany 1, Iran 1, Singapore 2, United Kingdom 1, United States 2) (2005) |
total: 336 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,015,270 GRT/1,336,890 DWT
by type: bulk 13, cargo 240, chemical tanker 11, combination bulk 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 10, multi-functional large load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 27, refrigerated cargo 18, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea/passenger 1, specialized tanker 2 foreign-owned: Bahamas 2, Belgium 1, British Virgin Islands 11, Cambodia 6, China 67, Cuba 2, Cyprus 1, Ecuador 1, Estonia 8, Germany 5, Greece 2, Grenada 1, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 27, Indonesia 4, Italy 2, Japan 5, Jordan 1, South Korea 13, Latvia 5, Liberia 2, Malaysia 4, Malta 1, Isle of Man 1, Marshall Islands 16, Mexico 1, Netherlands 1, Nigeria 2, Panama 15, Philippines 4, Portugal 1, Russia 9, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3, Singapore 9, Spain 6, Switzerland 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 3, Tunisia 1, Turkey 2, Ukraine 3, United Kingdom 1, United States 3, Yemen 1 registered in other countries: 25 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval; includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana) (2004) | Belize Defense Force (includes Army, Maritime Wing, Air Wing, and Volunteer Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $132.2 million (2004) | $18 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (2004) | 2% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 68,518 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 40,619 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 3,122 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) | Independence Day, 21 September (1981) |
Nationality | noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
noun: Belizean(s)
adjective: Belizean |
Natural hazards | flooding in the northeast (March-April) | frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south) |
Natural resources | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower | arable land potential, timber, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 4,860 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,457 km; refined products 1,589 km; unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB [Romel PANTOJA]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS]; Marshal of Ayacucho Institutional Vanguard or VIMA [Freddy ZABALA]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Evo MORALES]; Movement Without Fear or MSM [Juan DEL GRANADO]; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [leader NA]; New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES-VILLA]; Pachakuti Indigenous Movement or MIP [Felipe QUISPE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jeres JUSTINIANO] | People's United Party or PUP [Said MUSA]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Dean BARROW, party leader; Douglas SINGH, party chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Roman LOAYZA] | Society for the Promotion of Education and Research or SPEAR [Adele CATZIM] |
Population | 8,857,870 (July 2005 est.) | 272,945 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 64% (2004 est.) | 33% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.49% (2005 est.) | 2.39% (2004 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 | Belize City, Big Creek, Corozol, Punta Gorda |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) | AM 1, FM 12, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 3,519 km
narrow gauge: 3,519 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5% | Roman Catholic 49.6%, Protestant 27% (Anglican 5.3%, Methodist 3.5%, Mennonite 4.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 5.2%, Pentecostal 7.4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.5%), none 9.4%, other 14% (2000) |
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: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 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: country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: above-average system
domestic: trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay international: country code - 501; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 600,100 (2003) | 33,300 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,401,500 (2003) | 60,400 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 48 (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin | flat, swampy coastal plain; low mountains in south |
Total fertility rate | 2.94 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.77 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.2% in urban areas
note: widespread underemployment (2003 est.) |
9.1% (2002) |
Waterways | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2004) | 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2004) |