Ireland (2002) | Bolivia (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 26 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow
note: Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan are part of Ulster Province |
9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 21.3% (male 425,366; female 403,268)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 1,307,469; female 1,305,038) 65 years and over: 11.4% (male 191,927; female 250,091) (2002 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; beef, dairy products | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber |
Airports | 41 (2001) | 1,065 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 16
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 6 (2002) |
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.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 20
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 17 (2002) |
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.) |
Area | total: 70,280 sq km
land: 68,890 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
total: 1,098,580 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
Background | Celtic tribes settled on the island in the 4th century B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the United Kingdom. In 1948 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, known as the Good Friday Agreement and approved in 1998, is currently being implemented. | 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. |
Birth rate | 14.62 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 23.76 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $34 billion
expenditures: $27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001) |
revenues: $2.264 billion
expenditures: $2.769 billion, including capital expenditures of $741 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Dublin | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) |
Climate | temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid |
Coastline | 1,448 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 29 December 1937; adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Ireland |
conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Republica de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia |
Currency | euro (EUR); Irish pound (IEP)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
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Death rate | 8.01 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 7.64 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $11 billion (1998) (1998) | $5.439 billion (June 2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard J. EGAN
embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [353] (1) 668-7122/668-8777 FAX: [353] (1) 668-9946 |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Noel FAHEY
chancery: 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3939 FAX: [1] (202) 232-5993 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco |
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 |
Disputes - international | disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and the UK over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM | 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 |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $283 million (2001) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $681 million (2002) |
Economy - overview | Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy with growth averaging a robust 8% in 1995-2002. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry, which accounts for 45% of GDP, about 80% of exports, and employs 28% of the labor force. Although exports remain the primary engine for Ireland's robust growth, the economy is also benefiting from a rise in consumer spending, construction, and business investment. Over the past decade, the Irish government has implemented a series of national economic programs designed to curb inflation, reduce government spending, increase labor force skills, and promote foreign investment. Ireland joined in launching the euro currency system in January 1999 along with 10 other EU nations. The economy felt the impact of the global economic slowdown in 2001-02, particularly in the high-tech export sector; the growth rate was cut by half. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 20.823 billion kWh (2000) | 3.848 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 71 million kWh (2000) | 3 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 169 million kWh (2000) | 9 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 22.285 billion kWh (2000) | 4.132 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 95%
hydro: 4% nuclear: 0% other: 1% (2000) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Carrauntoohil 1,041 m |
lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff | 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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation |
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 |
Ethnic groups | Celtic, English | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); Irish pounds per US dollar - 0.7014 (1998), 0.6588 (1997) | bolivianos per US dollar - 7.9363 (2004), 7.6592 (2003), 7.17 (2002), 6.6069 (2001), 6.1835 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Mary MCALEESE (since 11 November 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Bertie AHERN (since 26 June 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with previous nomination by the prime minister and approval of the House of Representatives elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 31 October 1997 (next to be held NA November 2004); prime minister nominated by the House of Representatives and appointed by the president election results: Mary MCALEESE elected president; percent of vote - Mary MCALEESE 44.8%, Mary BANOTTI 29.6% note: government coalition - Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats |
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. |
Exports | $85.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products | natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore, tin |
Exports - partners | EU 62.8% (UK 19.8%, Germany 11.3%, France 7.7%, Netherlands 5.6%, Belgium 4.8%), US 17.1% (2000) | Brazil 40%, US 13.9%, Colombia 8.7%, Peru 6.3%, Japan 4.5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange; similar to the flag of Cote d'Ivoire, which is shorter and has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter and has colors of green (hoist side), white, and red | 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 - $111.3 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4%
industry: 36% services: 60% (2001) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 28% services: 59% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $28,500 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.9% (2002 est.) | 3.7% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 53 00 N, 8 00 W | 17 00 S, 65 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on major air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe; over 40% of the population resides within 97 km of Dublin | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru |
Highways | total: 92,500 km
paved: 87,043 km (including 115 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,457 km (1999 est.) |
total: 60,282 km
paved: 3,979 km unpaved: 56,303 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 27% (1997) |
lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 32% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for and consumer of hashish from North Africa to the UK and Netherlands and of European-produced synthetic drugs; minor transshipment point for heroin and cocaine destined for Western Europe | 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 |
Imports | $48.3 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals; petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing | petroleum products, plastics, paper, aircraft and aircraft parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans |
Imports - partners | EU 61.4% (UK 33.4%, Germany 5.9%, France 4.5%, Netherlands 3.5%), US 16.2%, Japan 4% (2000) | Brazil 29.7%, Argentina 17.6%, US 10.8%, Chile 7.7%, Peru 7.3% (2004) |
Independence | 6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty) | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (2002 est.) | 5.7% (2004 est.) |
Industries | food products, brewing, textiles, clothing; chemicals, pharmaceuticals, machinery, transportation equipment, glass and crystal; software | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing |
Infant mortality rate | 5.43 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.6% (2002 est.) | 4.9% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 22 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,280 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet) | 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 | 1.8 million (2001) | 3.8 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 64%, industry 28%, agriculture 8% (2000 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 360 km
border countries: UK 360 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: 19.49%
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 80.47% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 2.67%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 97.14% (2001) |
Languages | English is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) |
Legal system | based on English common law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Oireachtas consists of the Senate or Seanad Eireann (60 seats - 49 elected by the universities and from candidates put forward by five vocational panels, 11 are nominated by the prime minister; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Dail Eireann (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 and 17 July 2002 (next to be held NA July 2007); House of Representatives - last held 17 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 30, Fine Gael 15, Labor Party 5, Progressive Democrats 4, independents and others 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - Fianna Fail 41.5%, Fine Gael 22.5%, Labor Party 10.8%, Sinn Fein 6.5%, Progressive Democrats 4.0%, Green Party 3.8%, others 10.9%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 81, Fine Gael 31, Labor Party 21, Progressive Democrats 8, Green Party 6, Sinn Fein 5, others 14 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.17 years
male: 74.41 years female: 80.12 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 65.5 years
male: 62.89 years female: 68.25 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% (1981 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.2% male: 93.1% female: 81.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain | Central South America, southwest of Brazil |
Map references | Europe | South America |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 110,741 GRT/127,342 DWT
ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 20, container 1, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 2 (2002 est.) |
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) |
Military branches | Army (including Naval Service and Air Corps), National Police (Garda Siochana) | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval; includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana) (2004) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $700 million (FY00/01) | $132.2 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (FY00/01) | 1.6% (2004) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,013,739 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 816,744 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 32,287 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun: Irishman(men), Irishwoman(women), Irish (collective plural)
adjective: Irish |
noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
Natural hazards | NA | flooding in the northeast (March-April) |
Natural resources | zinc, lead, natural gas, barite, copper, gypsum, limestone, dolomite, peat, silver | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 4.12 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 7,592 km (transmission 1,158 km; distribution 6,434 km) (2000) | 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 | Fianna Fail [Bertie AHERN]; Fine Gael [Enda KENNY]; Green Party [Trevor SARGENT]; Labor Party [Pat RABBITTE]; Progressive Democrats [Mary HARNEY]; Sinn Fein [Gerry ADAMS]; Socialist Party [Joe HIGGINS]; The Workers' Party [Tom FRENCH] | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Roman LOAYZA] |
Population | 3,883,159 (July 2002 est.) | 8,857,870 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10% (1997 est.) | 64% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.07% (2002 est.) | 1.49% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Foynes, Galway, Limerick, New Ross, Waterford | 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 9, FM 106, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) |
Radios | 2.55 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 3,314 km
broad gauge: 1,949 km 1.600-m gauge (38 km electrified; 485 km double-tracked) narrow gauge: 1,365 km 0.914-m gauge (operated by the Irish Peat Board to transport peat to power stations and briqueting plants) (2001) |
total: 3,519 km
narrow gauge: 3,519 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 91.6%, Church of Ireland 2.5%, other 5.9% (1998) | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single) |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern digital system using cable and microwave radio relay
domestic: microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.6 million (2002) | 600,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3 million (2002) | 1,401,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (many low-power repeaters) (2001) | 48 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin |
Total fertility rate | 1.9 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.94 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.7% (2002 est.) | 9.2% in urban areas
note: widespread underemployment (2003 est.) |
Waterways | 700 km (limited facilities for commercial traffic) (1998) | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2004) |