Jamaica (2005) | Bolivia (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland
note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation |
9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.5% (male 385,099/female 367,398)
15-64 years: 65.6% (male 897,953/female 893,509) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 83,632/female 104,241) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
38.46% (male 1,626,698; female 1,565,748) 15-64 years: 57.07% (male 2,315,098; female 2,421,987) 65 years and over: 4.47% (male 166,986; female 203,946) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, vegetables, poultry, goats, milk, crustaceans, and mollusks | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber |
Airports | 35 (2004 est.) | 1,093 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
total:
13 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2004 est.) |
total:
1,080 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 65 914 to 1,523 m: 212 under 914 m: 800 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total:
1,098,580 sq km land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
Background | Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a drop off in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. | Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and counter-coups. Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in the 1980s, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and drug production. Current goals include attracting foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, continuing the privatization program, and waging an anti-corruption campaign. |
Birth rate | 16.56 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 27.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.793 billion
expenditures: $3.157 billion, including capital expenditures of $236 million (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$2.7 billion expenditures: $2.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
Capital | Kingston | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid |
Coastline | 1,022 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 6 August 1962 | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
conventional long form:
Republic of Bolivia conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Republica de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia |
Currency | - | boliviano (BOB) |
Death rate | 5.37 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.964 billion (2004 est.) | $6.6 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Sue McCourt COBB
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador V. Manuel ROCHA embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 432254 FAX: [591] (2) 433854 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Marlene FERNANDEZ del Granado chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Chile over Rio Lauca water rights |
Economic aid - recipient | $16 million (2003) | $588 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003-04, with brisk tourist seasons. But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a sizable merchandise trade deficit; large-scale unemployment; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy. The ratio of debt to GDP is close to 150%. Inflation, previously a bright spot, is expected to remain in the double digits. Uncertain economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government faced the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem which is hampering economic growth. Attempts at deficit control were derailed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which required substantial government spending to repair the damage. Despite the hurricane, tourism looks set to enjoy solid growth for the foreseeable future. | Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, has made considerable progress toward the development of a market-oriented economy. Successes under President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993-97) included the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and joining the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur), as well as the privatization of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. His successor, Hugo BANZER Suarez has tried to further improve the country's investment climate with an anticorruption campaign. Growth slowed in 1999, in part due to tight government budget policies, which limited needed appropriations for anti-poverty programs, and the fallout from the Asian financial crisis. In 2000, major civil disturbances in April, and again in September and October, held down overall growth to 2.5%. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.849 billion kWh (2002) | 3.377 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 4 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 10 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 6.289 billion kWh (2002) | 3.625 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
56.61% hydro: 41.6% nuclear: 0% other: 1.79% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
lowest point:
Rio Paraguay 90 m highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
Environment - current issues | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions | 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, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% | Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, white 15% |
Exchange rates | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002), 45.996 (2001), 42.986 (2000) | bolivianos per US dollar - 6.4071 (January 2001), 6.1835 (2000), 5.8124 (1999), 5.5101 (1998), 5.2543 (1997), 5.0746 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) 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 on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister |
chief of state:
President Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997); Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 6 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997); Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 6 August 1997); 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 1 June 1997 (next to be held May or June 2002) election results: Hugo BANZER Suarez elected president; percent of vote - Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN) 22%; Jaime PAZ Zamora (MIR) 17%, Juan Carlos DURAN (MNR) 18%, Ivo KULJIS (UCS) 16%, Remedios LOZA (CONDEPA) 17%; no candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Hugo BANZER Suarez won a congressional runoff election on 5 August 1997 after forming a "megacoalition" with MIR, UCS, CONDEPA, NFR, and PDC |
Exports | NA | $1.26 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood |
Exports - partners | US 17.4%, Canada 14.8%, France 13%, China 10.5%, UK 8.7%, Netherlands 7.5%, Norway 6%, Germany 5.9% (2004) | UK 16%, US 12%, Peru 11%, Argentina 10%, Colombia 7% (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) | 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 - $20.9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6.1%
industry: 32.7% services: 61.3% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
16% industry: 31% services: 53% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,100 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.9% (2004 est.) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 77 30 W | 17 00 S, 65 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru |
Highways | total: 18,700 km
paved: 13,109 km unpaved: 5,591 km (1999 est.) |
total:
49,400 km paved: 2,500 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 46,900 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 30.3% (2000) |
lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 31.7% (1990) |
Illicit drugs | major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions | world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru, a distant second) with an estimated 14,600 hectares under cultivation in 2000, a 33% decrease in overall cultivation of coca from 1999 levels; 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 have slashed illicit coca cultivation during the BANZER administration beginning in 1997 |
Imports | NA | $1.86 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food |
Imports - partners | US 38.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.2%, France 5.6%, Japan 4.7% (2004) | US 32%, Japan 24%, Brazil 12%, Argentina 12%, Chile 7%, Peru 4%, Germany 3%, other 6% (1998) |
Independence | 6 August 1962 (from UK) | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2% (2000 est.) | 4% (1995 est.) |
Industries | tourism, bauxite/alumina, textiles, agro processing, wearing apparel, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.36 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
58.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12.4% (2004 est.) | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | CAN, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 9 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,750 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal | 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 | 1.14 million (2004 est.) | 2.5 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20.1%, industry 16.6%, services 63.4% (2003) | 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: 16.07%
permanent crops: 10.16% other: 73.77% (2001) |
arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 53% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, patois English | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held in October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26 |
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 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA June 2002) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ADN 11, MIR 7, MNR 4, CONDEPA 3, UCS 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ADN 32, MNR 26, MIR 23, UCS 21, CONDEPA 19, MBL 5, IU 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.33 years
male: 71.63 years female: 75.12 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
64.06 years male: 61.53 years female: 66.72 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.1% male: 90.5% female: 76% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba | Central South America, southwest of Brazil |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | South America |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 74,881 GRT/100,682 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 5, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 8 (Germany 2, Greece 5, UAE 1) (2005) |
total:
42 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 141,017 GRT/211,058 DWT ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 20, chemical tanker 3, container 1, petroleum tanker 10, roll on/roll off 3 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $31.2 million (2003) | $147 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.4% (2003) | 1.8% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
2,005,660 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,306,452 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
90,120 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 August (1962) | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
noun:
Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (especially July to November) | flooding in the northeast (March-April) |
Natural resources | bauxite, gypsum, limestone | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -4.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -1.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km |
Political parties and leaders | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] | Christian Democratic Party or PDC [leader NA]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Antonio ARANIBAR]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Hugo BANZER Suarez]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [leader NA]; Pachacuti Indigenous Movement [Filipe QUISPE]; United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC]
note: the ADN, MIR, and UCS comprise the ruling coalition |
Political pressure groups and leaders | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions |
Population | 2,731,832 (July 2005 est.) | 8,300,463 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 19.7% (2002 est.) | 70% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.71% (2005 est.) | 1.76% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kingston, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Port Rhoades, Rocky Point | none; however, Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) |
Radios | - | 5.25 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation had been in common carrier service until 1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to transport bauxite (2003) |
total:
3,691 km (single track) narrow gauge: 3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge (13 km electrified) (1995) |
Religions | Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7% | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 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: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 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: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-876; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
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 | 444,400 (2002) | 327,600 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.4 million (2002) | 116,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1997) | 48 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin |
Total fertility rate | 1.95 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.51 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (2004 est.) | 11.4% (1997)
note: widespread underemployment |
Waterways | - | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) |