Cocos (Keeling) Islands (2002) | Bolivia (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
0-14 years: 37.1% (male 1,624,366; female 1,562,501)
15-64 years: 58.4% (male 2,452,892; female 2,561,873) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 172,292; female 212,519) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | vegetables, bananas, pawpaws, coconuts | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 1,081 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
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) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 1,069
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 64 914 to 1,523 m: 225 under 914 m: 776 (2002) |
Area | total: 14 sq km
land: 14 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the two main islands of West Island and Home Island |
total: 1,098,580 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 24 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
Background | There are 27 coral islands in the group. Captain William Keeling discovered the islands in 1609, but they remained uninhabited until the 19th century. Annexed by the UK in 1857, they were transferred to the Australian Government in 1955. The population on the two inhabited islands generally is split between the ethnic Europeans on West Island and the ethnic Malays on Home Island. | 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, resolving disputes with coca growers over Bolivia's counterdrug efforts, continuing the privatization program, and waging an anticorruption campaign. |
Birth rate | NA births/1,000 population | 25.53 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
Capital | West Island | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) |
Climate | tropical with high humidity, moderated by the southeast trade winds for about nine months of the year | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid |
Coastline | 26 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | Cocos (Keeling) Islands Act of 1955 | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands
conventional short form: Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Republica de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | boliviano (BOB) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 7.91 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $5.9 billion (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; administered from Canberra by the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Services | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 consulate(s): Washington, DC |
Disputes - international | none | continues to press Chile and Peru to restore the Atacama corridor ceded to Chile in 1884; Chile demands water rights to Bolivia's Rio Lauca and Silala Spring |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $588 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | Grown throughout the islands, coconuts are the sole cash crop. Small local gardens and fishing contribute to the food supply, but additional food and most other necessities must be imported from Australia. There is a small tourist industry. | Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, made considerable progress in the 1990s 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 held down growth to 2.5%. Bolivia's GDP failed to grow in 2001 due to the global slowdown and laggard domestic activity. Growth picked up slightly in 2002, but the first quarter of 2003 saw extensive civil riots and looting and loss of confidence in the government. Bolivia will remain highly dependent on foreign aid unless and until it can develop its substantial natural resources. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 3.634 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 3.901 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel: 44.4%
hydro: 54% nuclear: 0% other: 1.5% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water resources are limited to rainwater accumulations in natural underground reservoirs | 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 |
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 |
Ethnic groups | Europeans, Cocos Malays | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) | bolivianos per US dollar - 7.17 (2002), 6.61 (2001), 6.18 (2000), 5.81 (1999), 5.51 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by the Australian governor general
head of government: Administrator (nonresident) William Leonard TAYLOR (since 4 February 1999) cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia and represents the monarch and Australia |
chief of state: President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 17 October 2003); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 17 October 2003); Vice President (vacant); 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: 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, Vice President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert assumed the presidency |
Exports | $NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | copra | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood (2000) |
Exports - partners | Australia | Brazil 24.3%, Switzerland 15.7%, US 14.1%, Venezuela 12.8%, Colombia 10.2%, Peru 5.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of Australia is used | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $NA | purchasing power parity - $21.15 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 20% services: 60% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $NA | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 2.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 S, 96 50 E | 17 00 S, 65 00 W |
Geography - note | islands are thickly covered with coconut palms and other vegetation | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru |
Highways | total: 15 km (2001)
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: 53,790 km
paved: 3,496 km (including 13 km of expressways) unpaved: 50,294 km (2000 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 32% (1999) |
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 |
Imports | $NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food |
Imports - partners | Australia | Brazil 22%, Argentina 17.4%, US 15.6%, Chile 7%, Japan 5.5%, Peru 5.4%, China 4.8% (2002) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.9% (1998) |
Industries | copra products and tourism | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing |
Infant mortality rate | NA deaths/1,000 live births | total: 56.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 59.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 52.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 2% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | none | ECLAC, 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), MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 9 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,280 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court | 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) |
Labor force | NA | 2.5 million |
Labor force - by occupation | the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd. employs construction workers, stevedores, and lighterage workers; tourism employs others | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 6,743 km
border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 1.73%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 98.06% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Malay (Cocos dialect), English | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) |
Legal system | based upon the laws of Australia and local laws | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Cocos (Keeling) Islands Shire Council (7 seats) | 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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 64.78 years
male: 62.2 years female: 67.48 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.2% male: 93.1% female: 81.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia, about halfway from Australia to Sri Lanka | Central South America, southwest of Brazil |
Map references | Southeast Asia | South America |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 347,535 GRT/591,113 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 25, chemical tanker 4, container 4, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 12, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1 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, UAE 5, US 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia; the territory does have a five-person police force | - |
Military branches | - | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $147 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1.8% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,118,908 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,380,883 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 96,003 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | NA | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun: Cocos Islander(s)
adjective: Cocos Islander |
noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
Natural hazards | cyclone season is October to April | flooding in the northeast (March-April) |
Natural resources | fish | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population | -1.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 4,860 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,460 km; refined products 1,589 km; unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES-VILLA]; Pachakuti Indigenous Movement or MIP [Felipe QUISPE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jeres JUSTINIANO]
note: the MNR, MIR, and UCS comprise the ruling coalition |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Felipe QUISPE] |
Population | 632 (July 2002 est.) | 8,586,443 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 70% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.22% (2002 est.) | 1.63% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; lagoon anchorage only | 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 |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (2000) | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) |
Radios | 300 (1992) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 3,519 km
narrow gauge: 3,519 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 80%, other 20% (2002 est.) | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) |
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: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | NA | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single) |
Telephone system | general assessment: connected within Australia's telecommunication system
domestic: NA international: telephone, telex, and facsimile communications with Australia and elsewhere via satellite; 1 satellite earth station of NA type (2002) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 287 (1992) | 327,600 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 116,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 48 (1997) |
Terrain | flat, low-lying coral atolls | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 3.23 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 60% (2000 est.) | 7.6%
note: widespread underemployment (2000) |
Waterways | none | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) |