Bolivia (2007) | Burkina Faso (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija | 45 provinces; Bale, Bam, Banwa, Bazega, Bougouriba, Boulgou, Boulkiemde, Comoe, Ganzourgou, Gnagna, Gourma, Houet, Ioba, Kadiogo, Kenedougou, Komondjari, Kompienga, Kossi, Koulpelogo, Kouritenga, Kourweogo, Leraba, Loroum, Mouhoun, Namentenga, Nahouri, Nayala, Noumbiel, Oubritenga, Oudalan, Passore, Poni, Sanguie, Sanmatenga, Seno, Sissili, Soum, Sourou, Tapoa, Tuy, Yagha, Yatenga, Ziro, Zondoma, Zoundweogo |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 34.3% (male 1,593,509/female 1,532,155)
15-64 years: 61.1% (male 2,730,359/female 2,841,872) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 187,123/female 234,134) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 46% (male 3,135,098; female 3,114,354)
15-64 years: 51.1% (male 3,391,848; female 3,545,115) 65 years and over: 2.9% (male 163,137; female 225,268) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber | cotton, peanuts, shea nuts, sesame, sorghum, millet, corn, rice; livestock |
Airports | 1,061 (2007) | 33 (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 (2007) |
total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1,045
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 57 914 to 1,523 m: 183 under 914 m: 800 (2007) |
total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 17 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 1,098,580 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
total: 274,200 sq km
land: 273,800 sq km water: 400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Montana | slightly larger than Colorado |
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 countercoups. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production. In December 2005, Bolivians elected Movement Toward Socialism leader Evo MORALES president - by the widest margin of any leader since the restoration of civilian rule in 1982 - after he ran on a promise to change the country's traditional political class and empower the nation's poor majority. However, since taking office, his controversial strategies have exacerbated racial and economic tensions between the Amerindian populations of the Andean west and the non-indigenous communities of the eastern lowlands. | Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) achieved independence from France in 1960. Repeated military coups during the 1970s and 1980s were followed by multiparty elections in the early 1990s. Burkina Faso's high population density and limited natural resources result in poor economic prospects for the majority of its citizens. Recent unrest in Cote d'Ivoire and northern Ghana has hindered the ability of several hundred thousand seasonal Burkinabe farm workers to find employment in neighboring countries. |
Birth rate | 22.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 44.46 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.48 billion
expenditures: $3.95 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $599.8 million
expenditures: $748.8 million NA, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
Capital | name: La Paz (administrative capital)
geographic coordinates: 16 30 S, 68 09 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Sucre (constitutional capital) |
Ouagadougou |
Climate | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid | tropical; warm, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994; referendum on new constitution to be held 6 August 2007 | 2 June 1991 approved by referendum; 11 June 1991 formally adopted; ammended April 2000 |
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: Burkina Faso former: Upper Volta, Republic of Upper Volta |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 7.44 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 18.79 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.455 billion (2006 est.) | $1.3 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Philip S. GOLDBERG
embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 216-8000 FAX: [591] (2) 216-8111 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Anthony HOLMES
embassy: 602 Avenue Raoul Follereau, Koulouba, Secteur 4 mailing address: 01 B. P. 35, Ouagadougou 01; pouch mail - U. S. Department of State, 2440 Ouagadougou Place, Washington, DC 20521-2440 telephone: [226] 306723 FAX: [226] 303890 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Gustavo GUZMAN Saldana
chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Houston, Miami, New York, Oklahoma City, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC |
chief of mission: Ambassador Tertius ZONGO
chancery: 2340 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-5577 FAX: [1] (202) 667-1882 |
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 | two villages are in dispute along the border with Benin; Benin accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; Burkina Faso border regions have become a staging area for Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire rebels and an asylum for refugees caught in regional fighting; the Ivoirian Government accuses Burkina Faso of supporting Ivoirian rebels |
Economic aid - recipient | $582.9 million (2005 est.) | $484.1 million (1995) |
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% 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 ex-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. In 2005, the government passed a controversial natural gas law that imposed significantly higher taxes on the oil and gas firms and required production firms to sign new operating contracts, which were completed in October 2006. Bolivian officials are in the process of revamping the defunct state-owned oil company and acquiring majority ownership of five gas production, transportation, refining, and storage companies. The MORALES administration plans to increase state control over other sectors as well, including mining, electricity, telecommunications, transportation, and forestry. Real GDP growth in 2003-06 - helped by increased demand for natural gas in neighboring Brazil - was positive, but still below the levels seen during the 1990s. Bolivia's fiscal position has improved in recent years, and the country had a record 6% fiscal surplus for 2006. In 2005, the G8 announced a $2 billion debt-forgiveness plan over the next few decades. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank forgave a total of approximately $1.8 billion of Bolivian debt in 2006 that has helped reduce fiscal pressures on the government. | One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked Burkina Faso has few natural resources, a fragile soil, and a highly unequal distribution of income. About 90% of the population is engaged in (mainly subsistence) agriculture, which is vulnerable to variations in rainfall. Cotton is the key crop. Industry remains dominated by unprofitable government-controlled corporations. Following the African franc currency devaluation in January 1994 the government updated its development program in conjunction with international agencies, and exports and economic growth have increased. Maintenance of macroeconomic progress depends on continued low inflation, reduction in the trade deficit, and reforms designed to encourage private investment. The internal crisis in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire continues to hurt trade and industrial prospects and deepens the need for international assistance. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.207 billion kWh (2005) | 259.6 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 5.041 billion kWh (2005) | 279.2 million kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
lowest point: Mouhoun (Black Volta) River 200 m
highest point: Tena Kourou 749 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 | recent droughts and desertification severely affecting agricultural activities, population distribution, and the economy; overgrazing; soil degradation; deforestation |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% | Mossi over 40%, Gurunsi, Senufo, Lobi, Bobo, Mande, Fulani |
Exchange rates | bolivianos per US dollar - 8.0159 (2006), 8.0661 (2005), 7.9363 (2004), 7.6592 (2003), 7.17 (2002) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 581.2 (2003), 696.988 (2002), 733.039 (2001), 711.976 (2000), 615.699 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 18 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: Juan Evo MORALES Ayma elected president; percent of vote - Juan Evo MORALES Ayma 53.7%; Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez 28.6%; Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana 7.8%; Michiaki NAGATANI Morishit 6.5%; Felipe QUISPE Huanca 2.2%; Guildo ANGULA Cabrera 0.7% |
chief of state: President Blaise COMPAORE (since 15 October 1987)
head of government: Prime Minister Ernest Paramanga YONLI (since 6 November 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 15 November 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); in April 2000, the constitution was amended reducing the presidential term from seven to five years, enforceable as of 2005, and allowing the president to be reelected only once; it is unclear whether this amendment will be applied retroactively or not; prime minister appointed by the president with the consent of the legislature election results: Blaise COMPAORE reelected president with 87.5% percent of the vote |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore, tin | cotton, livestock, gold |
Exports - partners | Brazil 45.6%, US 10.8%, Argentina 9.2%, Colombia 6.8%, Japan 5.5%, South Korea 4.3% (2006) | Singapore 12.8%, China 11.6%, Thailand 8%, Italy 6.4%, India 6%, Colombia 5.2%, Ghana 5.2%, France 4.8%, Niger 4% (2003) |
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 | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a yellow five-pointed star in the center; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $14.55 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.6%
industry: 35.6% services: 51.8% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 39.8%
industry: 19.6% services: 40.5% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2006 est.) | 5.2% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 00 S, 65 00 W | 13 00 N, 2 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru | landlocked savanna cut by the three principal rivers of the Black, Red, and White Voltas |
Highways | - | total: 12,506 km
paved: 2,001 km unpaved: 10,505 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.3%
highest 10%: 47.2% (2002) |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 46.8% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 26,500 hectares under cultivation in August 2005, an 8% increase from 2004; transit country for Peruvian and Colombian cocaine destined for Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Europe; cultivation steadily increasing despite eradication and alternative crop programs; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade, especially along the borders with Brazil and Paraguay; major cocaine consumption | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, plastics, paper, aircraft and aircraft parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans | capital goods, foodstuffs, petroleum |
Imports - partners | Brazil 29.3%, Argentina 16%, Chile 12.1%, US 9.1%, Peru 8.1% (2006) | France 31.2%, Cote d'Ivoire 14.6%, Togo 9%, Belgium 5% (2003) |
Independence | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) | 5 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.7% (2004 est.) | 14% (2001 est.) |
Industries | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing | cotton lint, beverages, agricultural processing, soap, cigarettes, textiles, gold |
Infant mortality rate | total: 50.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 53.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 46.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 98.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 106.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 90.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.3% (2006 est.) | 1.9% (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, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMISET, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 1,320 sq km (2003) | 250 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; Appeals Court |
Labor force | 4.297 million (2006 est.) | 5 million
note: a large part of the male labor force migrates annually to neighboring countries for seasonal employment (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture 90% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 6,940 km
border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,423 km, Chile 860 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 1,075 km |
total: 3,193 km
border countries: Benin 306 km, Cote d'Ivoire 584 km, Ghana 549 km, Mali 1,000 km, Niger 628 km, Togo 126 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.78%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 97.03% (2005) |
arable land: 14.43%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 85.38% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) | French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population |
Legal system | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system and customary 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; 70 members are directly elected from their districts and 60 are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 18 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PODEMOS 13, MAS 12, UN 1, MNR 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 73, PODEMOS 43, UN 8, MNR 6 |
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (111 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly election last held 5 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CDP 57, RDA-ADF 17, PDP/PS 10, CFD 5, PAI 5, others 17 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 66.19 years
male: 63.53 years female: 68.97 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 44.2 years
male: 42.62 years female: 45.83 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.7% male: 93.1% female: 80.7% (2001 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 26.6% male: 36.9% female: 16.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central South America, southwest of Brazil | Western Africa, north of Ghana |
Map references | South America | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 25 ships (1000 GRT or over) 73,877 GRT/110,148 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 12, carrier 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 9 foreign-owned: 9 (Argentina 1, China 1, Egypt 1, Iran 1, Italy 1, Singapore 1, Syria 1, Taiwan 1, Yemen 1) (2007) |
- |
Military branches | Bolivian Armed Forces: Bolivian Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Bolivian Navy (Armada Boliviana; includes marines), Bolivian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana, FAB) (2007) | Army, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $52.7 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.9% (2006) | 1.6% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 3,047,306 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,552,212 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) | Republic Day, 11 December (1958) |
Nationality | noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
noun: Burkinabe (singular and plural)
adjective: Burkinabe |
Natural hazards | flooding in the northeast (March-April) | recurring droughts |
Natural resources | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower | manganese, limestone, marble; small deposits of gold, antimony, copper, nickel, bauxite, lead, phosphates, zinc, silver |
Net migration rate | -1.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 4,860 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,475 km; refined products 1,589 km; unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Juan Evo MORALES Ayma]; Movement Without Fear or MSM [Juan DEL GRANADO]; National Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Mirta QUEVEDO]; National Unity [Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana]; Poder Democratico Nacional or PODEMOS [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]; Social Alliance [Rene JOAQUINO] | African Democratic Rally-Alliance for Democracy and Federation or RDA-ADF [Herman YAMEOGO]; Confederation for Federation and Democracy or CFD [Amadou Diemdioda DICKO]; Congress for Democracy and Progress or CDP [Roch Marc-Christian KABORE]; Movement for Tolerance and Progress or MTP [Nayabtigungou Congo KABORE]; Party for African Independence or PAI [Philippe OUEDRAOGO]; Party for Democracy and Progress or PDP [Joseph KI-ZERBO]; Union of Greens for the Development of Burkina Faso or UVDB [Ram OVEDRAGO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Cocalero groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB | Burkinabe General Confederation of Labor or CGTB; Burkinabe Movement for Human Rights or MBDHP; Group of 14 February; National Confederation of Burkinabe Workers or CNTB; National Organization of Free Unions or ONSL; watchdog/political action groups throughout the country in both organizations and communities |
Population | 9,119,152 (July 2007 est.) | 13,574,820
note: 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 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 64% (2004 est.) | 45% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.42% (2007 est.) | 2.57% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) | AM 3, FM 17, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Railways | total: 3,504 km
narrow gauge: 3,504 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
total: 622 km
narrow gauge: 622 km 1.000-m gauge note:: another 660 km of this railway extends into Cote D'Ivoire (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5% | indigenous beliefs 40%, Muslim 50%, Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.961 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.799 male(s)/female total population: 0.979 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single) | universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: privatization beginning in 1995; reliability has steadily improved; new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile- cellular telephone use expanding rapidly; fixed-line teledensity of 7 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 27 per 100 persons
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) (2007) |
general assessment: all services only fair
domestic: microwave radio relay, open-wire, and radiotelephone communication stations international: country code - 226; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 646,300 (2005) | 65,400 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.421 million (2005) | 227,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 48 (1997) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin | mostly flat to dissected, undulating plains; hills in west and southeast |
Total fertility rate | 2.76 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 6.28 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.8% in urban areas; widespread underemployment (2006 est.) | NA |
Waterways | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2007) | - |