Libya (2001) | Bolivia (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
35.41% (male 947,645; female 907,854) 15-64 years: 60.64% (male 1,645,085; female 1,533,066) 65 years and over: 3.95% (male 101,701; female 105,248) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 36.4% (male 1,619,950; female 1,557,883)
15-64 years: 59.1% (male 2,522,086; female 2,631,944) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 175,193; female 217,100) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber |
Airports | 136 (2000 est.) | 1,067 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
58 over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
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:
78 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
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:
1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1,098,580 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Alaska | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
Background | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. | 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 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 | 27.67 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 24.65 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6.85 billion expenditures: $4.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $2.346 billion
expenditures: $2.957 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003) |
Capital | Tripoli | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) |
Climate | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid |
Coastline | 1,770 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Republica de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia |
Currency | Libyan dinar (LYD) | boliviano (BOB) |
Death rate | 3.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.77 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.1 billion (2000 est.) | $5.332 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 | 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 | Libya does not have an embassy in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime APARICIO Otero
chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Washington, DC |
Disputes - international | Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger and also a part of southeastern Algeria | has reactivated its claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, to secure sovereign maritime access for Bolivian natural gas |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.4 million (1995) | $588 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. In this statist society, import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food requirements. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. Following the suspension of UN sanctions in 1999, Libya has been trying to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors, and several foreign companies have visited in search of contracts. | 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 | 17.577 billion kWh (1999) | 3.634 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 18.9 billion kWh (1999) | 3.901 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
Environment - current issues | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities | 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:
Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
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 | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% |
Exchange rates | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.5101 (January 2001), 0.5081 (2000), 0.4616 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997), 0.3651 (1996)
note: Libya currently has two rates for foreign trade; one for government operations and foreign companies and one for Libyan individuals (0.45 dinars per US dollar in December 1998) |
bolivianos per US dollar - 7.6592 (2003), 7.17 (2002), 6.6069 (2001), 6.1835 (2000), 5.8124 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
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 | $13.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, refined petroleum products | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood (2000) |
Exports - partners | Italy 33%, Germany 24%, Spain 10%, France 5%, Turkey 4%, Tunisia 4% (1999) | Brazil 37%, Venezuela 12.9%, Colombia 11.9%, US 11.5%, Peru 5.1% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) | 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 - $45.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21.01 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7% industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 33.2% services: 51.9% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.5% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 25 00 N, 17 00 E | 17 00 S, 65 00 W |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru |
Highways | total:
24,484 km paved: 6,800 km unpaved: 17,684 km (1996) |
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 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 | $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food |
Imports - partners | Italy 24%, Germany 12%, Tunisia 9%, UK 7%, France 6%, South Korea 5% (1999) | Brazil 25.2%, Argentina 22.3%, US 12%, Chile 9.3%, Peru 5.8% (2003) |
Independence | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.9% (1998) |
Industries | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing |
Infant mortality rate | 28.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 54.58 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 58.23 deaths/1,000 live births female: 50.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 18.5% (2000 est.) | 3.3% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | CAN, 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) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 4,700 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,280 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme 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 | 1.5 million (2000 est.) | 4.1 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | services and government 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | total:
4,383 km border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 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:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 0% other: 91% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.67%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 97.54% (2001) |
Languages | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) |
Legal system | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) | 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 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:
75.65 years male: 73.53 years female: 77.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 65.14 years
male: 62.54 years female: 67.86 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.2% male: 93.1% female: 81.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia | Central South America, southwest of Brazil |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
12 NM note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 399,725 GRT/654,843 DWT ships by type: cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 413,407 GRT/699,901 DWT
by type: bulk 3, cargo 26, chemical tanker 4, container 3, livestock carrier 1, multi-functional large load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea/passenger 3, specialized tanker 2 foreign-owned: Argentina 1, British Virgin Islands 1, Cambodia 1, China 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Eritrea 1, Germany 2, Greece 1, Hong Kong 1, Indonesia 1, Iran 1, Italy 2, Latvia 2, Panama 3, Romania 1, Russia 1, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Saudi Arabia 2, Singapore 3, Syria 1, Turkey 1, United Kingdom 1, United States 3, Yemen 2 registered in other countries: 1 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) | $127 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.9% (FY99/00) | 1.6% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,459,400 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,175,384 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
866,012 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,417,804 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
61,694 (2001 est.) |
males: 98,155 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun:
Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan |
noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms | flooding in the northeast (March-April) |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km | 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 | 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 [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 | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Roman LOAYZA] |
Population | 5,240,599
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2001 est.) |
8,724,156 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 70% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.42% (2001 est.) | 1.56% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah | 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 17, FM 4, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) |
Radios | 1.35 million (1997) | - |
Railways | note:
Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (1001) |
total: 3,519 km
narrow gauge: 3,519 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 97% | 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: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 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: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single) |
Telephone system | general assessment:
telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996 domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
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 | 380,000 (1996) | 600,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 1,401,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1998) | 48 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin |
Total fertility rate | 3.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.08 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2000 est.) | 11.7%
note: widespread underemployment (2003) |
Waterways | none | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2004) |