Mongolia (2005) | Bolivia (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 21 provinces (aymguud, singular - aymag) and 1 municipality* (singular - hot); Arhangay, Bayanhongor, Bayan-Olgiy, Bulgan, Darhan Uul, Dornod, Dornogovi, Dundgovi, Dzavhan, Govi-Altay, Govi-Sumber, Hentiy, Hovd, Hovsgol, Omnogovi, Orhon, Ovorhangay, Selenge, Suhbaatar, Tov, Ulaanbaatar*, Uvs | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 28.7% (male 407,547/female 392,440)
15-64 years: 67.7% (male 943,418/female 945,063) 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 44,413/female 58,391) (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 | wheat, barley, vegetables, forage crops, sheep, goats, cattle, camels, horses | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber |
Airports | 46 (2004 est.) | 1,093 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (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: 31
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (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: 1,564,116 sq km | total:
1,098,580 sq km land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Alaska | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
Background | The Mongols gained fame in the 13th century when under Chinggis KHAN they conquered a huge Eurasian empire. After his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states, but these broke apart in the 14th century. The Mongols eventually retired to their original steppe homelands and later came under Chinese rule. Mongolia won its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing. A Communist regime was installed in 1924. During the early 1990s, the ex-Communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) gradually yielded its monopoly on power to the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC), which defeated the MPRP in a national election in 1996. Since then, parliamentary elections returned the MPRP overwhelmingly to power in 2000 and produced a coalition government in 2004. | 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 | 21.52 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 27.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $582 million
expenditures: $602 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$2.7 billion expenditures: $2.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
Capital | Ulaanbaatar | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) |
Climate | desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges) | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 12 February 1992 | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Mongolia local long form: none local short form: Mongol Uls former: Outer Mongolia |
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 | 7.03 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 8.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.191 billion (2004 est.) | $6.6 billion (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela J. SLUTZ
embassy: Micro Region 11, Big Ring Road, C.P.O. 1021, Ulaanbaatar 13 mailing address: PSC 461, Box 300, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [976] (11) 329095 FAX: [976] (11) 320776 |
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 Ravdangiyn BOLD
chancery: 2833 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 333-7117 FAX: [1] (202) 298-9227 consulate(s) general: 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 | $215 million (2003) | $588 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | Economic activity in Mongolia has traditionally been based on herding and agriculture. Mongolia has extensive mineral deposits; copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten and gold account for a large part of industrial production. Soviet assistance, at its height one-third of GDP, disappeared almost overnight in 1990 and 1991 at the time of the dismantlement of the USSR. The following decade saw Mongolia endure both deep recession due to political inaction and natural disasters, as well as economic growth due to reform embracing free-market economics and extensive privatization of the formerly state-run economy. Severe winters and summer droughts in 2000, 2001, and 2002 resulted in massive livestock die-off and zero or negative GDP growth. This was compounded by falling prices for Mongolia's primary sector exports and widespread opposition to privatization. Growth improved from 2002 at 4% to 2003 at 5%, due largely to high copper prices and new gold production, with the government claiming a 10.6% growth rate for 2004 that is unconfirmed. Mongolia's economy continues to be heavily impacted by its neighbors. For example, Mongolia purchases 80% of its petroleum products and a substantial amount of electric power from Russia, leaving it vulnerable to price increases. China is Mongolia's chief export partner and a main source of the "shadow" or "grey" economy. The World Bank and other international financial institutions estimate the grey economy to be at least equal to that of the official economy. The actual size of this grey - largely cash - economy is difficult to calculate since the money does not pass through the hands of tax authorities or the banking sector. Remittances from Mongolians working abroad both legally and illegally constitute a sizeable portion. Money laundering is growing as an accompanying concern. Mongolia settled its $11 billion debt with Russia at the end of 2003 on very favorable terms. Mongolia, which joined the World Trade Organization in 1997, seeks to expand its participation and integration into Asian regional economic and trade regimes. | 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 | 2.209 billion kWh (2004 est.) | 3.377 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 8.2 million kWh (2004 est.) | 4 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 130.5 million kWh (2004 est.) | 10 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 2.692 billion kWh (2004 est.) | 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: Hoh Nuur 518 m
highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil (Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m |
lowest point:
Rio Paraguay 90 m highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources in some areas; the policies of former Communist regimes promoted rapid urbanization and industrial growth that had negative effects on the environment; the burning of soft coal in power plants and the lack of enforcement of environmental laws severely polluted the air in Ulaanbaatar; deforestation, overgrazing, and the converting of virgin land to agricultural production increased soil erosion from wind and rain; desertification and mining activities had a deleterious effect on the environment | 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, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, 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 | Mongol (mostly Khalkha) 94.9%, Turkic (mostly Kazakh) 5%, other (including Chinese and Russian) 0.1% (2000) | Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, white 15% |
Exchange rates | togrogs/tugriks per US dollar - 1,185.3 (2004), 1,146.5 (2003), 1,110.3 (2002), 1,097.7 (2001), 1,076.7 (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: President Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR (since 24 June 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Tsakhi ELBEGDORJ (since 20 August 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Chultem ULAAN (since 28 September 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the State Great Hural (parliament) in consultation with the president elections: presidential candidates nominated by political parties represented in State Great Hural and elected by popular vote for a four-year term; presidential tenure limited to two four-year terms; election last held 22 May 2005 (next to be held in May 2009); following legislative elections, leader of majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by State Great Hural election results: Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR elected president; percent of vote - Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR (MPRP) 53.44%, Mendsaikhanin ENKHSAIKHAN (DP) 20.05%, Bazarsadyn JARGALSAIKHAN (MRP) 13.92%, Badarchyn ERDENEBAT (M-MNSDP) 12.59%; Tsakhi ELBEGDORJ elected prime minister by the State Great Hural 74 to 0 |
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 | 497 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $1.26 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | copper, apparel, livestock, animal products, cashmere, wool, hides, fluorspar, other nonferrous metals | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood |
Exports - partners | China 47.8%, US 17.9%, UK 15.7% (2004) | UK 16%, US 12%, Peru 11%, Argentina 10%, Colombia 7% (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), blue, and red; centered on the hoist-side red band in yellow is the national emblem ("soyombo" - a columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric representation for fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the yin-yang symbol) | 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: 20.6%
industry: 21.4% services: 58% (2003 est.) |
agriculture:
16% industry: 31% services: 53% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 10.6% according to official estimate (2004 est.) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 46 00 N, 105 00 E | 17 00 S, 65 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru |
Heliports | 2 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 49,256 km
paved: 8,874 km unpaved: 40,376 km (2002) |
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%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 37% (1995) |
lowest 10%:
2.3% highest 10%: 31.7% (1990) |
Illicit drugs | - | 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 | 11,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $1.86 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, fuel, cars, food products, industrial consumer goods, chemicals, building materials, sugar, tea | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food |
Imports - partners | Russia 33.3%, China 23.6%, Japan 7.4%, South Korea 6%, US 4.6% (2004) | US 32%, Japan 24%, Brazil 12%, Argentina 12%, Chile 7%, Peru 4%, Germany 3%, other 6% (1998) |
Independence | 11 July 1921 (from China) | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.1% (2002 est.) | 4% (1995 est.) |
Industries | construction and construction materials; mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, and gold); oil; food and beverages; processing of animal products, cashmere and natural fiber manufacturing | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 53.79 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 57.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 50.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
58.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11% (2004 est.) | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ARF, AsDB, CP, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OPCW, OSCE (partner), SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, 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 | 840 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,750 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (serves as appeals court for people's and provincial courts but rarely overturns verdicts of lower courts; judges are nominated by the General Council of Courts and approved by the president) | 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 | 1.488 million (2003) | 2.5 million |
Labor force - by occupation | herding/agriculture 42%, mining 4%, manufacturing 6%, trade 14%, services 29%, public sector 5%, other 3.7% (2003) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 8,220 km
border countries: China 4,677 km, Russia 3,543 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: 0.77%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.23% (2001) |
arable land:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 53% other: 21% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999) | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) |
Legal system | blend of Soviet, German, and US systems that combine "continental" or "civil" code and case-precedent; constitution ambiguous on 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 State Great Hural 76 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms
elections: last held 27 June 2004 (next to be held in June 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - MPRP 48.78%, MDC 44.8%, independents 3.5%, Republican Party 1.5%, others 1.42%; seats by party - MPRP 36, MDC 34, others 4; note - following June 2004 election, two seats in dispute and unoccupied |
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: 64.52 years
male: 62.3 years female: 66.86 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
64.06 years male: 61.53 years female: 66.72 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% male: 98% female: 97.5% (2002) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.1% male: 90.5% female: 76% (1995 est.) |
Location | Northern Asia, between China and Russia | Central South America, southwest of Brazil |
Map references | Asia | South America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 65 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 339,423 GRT/533,853 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 54, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 38 (China 2, Lebanon 1, Philippines 1, Russia 10, Singapore 10, South Korea 1, Syria 1, Thailand 1, Ukraine 1, UAE 4, Vietnam 6) (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 | Mongolian Armed Forces: Mongolian People's Army (MPA), Mongolian People's Air Force (MPAF) (2005) | 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 | $23.1 million (FY02) | $147 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (FY02) | 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/Revolution Day, 11 July (1921) | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun: Mongolian(s)
adjective: Mongolian |
noun:
Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian |
Natural hazards | dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought, and "zud," which is harsh winter conditions | flooding in the northeast (March-April) |
Natural resources | oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 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 | Citizens' Will Republican Party or CWRP (also called Civil Courage Republican Party or CCRP) [Sanjaasurengiin OYUN]; Democratic Party or DP [R. GONCHIKDORJ]; Motherland-Mongolian New Socialist Democratic Party or M-MNSDP [Badarchyn ERDENEBAT]; Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party or MPRP [Nambaryn ENKHBAYAR]; Mongolian Republican Party or MRP [Bazarsadyn JARGALSAIKHAN]
note: DP and M-MNSDP formed Motherland-Democracy Coalition (MDC) in 2003 and with CWRP contested June 2004 elections as single party; MDC's leadership dissolved coalition in December 2004 |
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 | NA | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions |
Population | 2,791,272 (July 2005 est.) | 8,300,463 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 36.1% (2004 est.) | 70% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.45% (2005 est.) | 1.76% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none; however, Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 62, shortwave 3 (2004) | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) |
Radios | - | 5.25 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 1,810 km
broad gauge: 1,810 km 1.524-m gauge (2004) |
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 | Buddhist Lamaist 50%, none 40%, Shamanist and Christian 6%, Muslim 4% (2004) | 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 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 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: network is improving with international direct dialing available in many areas
domestic: very low density of about 6.5 telephones for each thousand persons; two wireless providers cover all but two provinces international: country code - 976; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region) |
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 | 142,300 (2004) | 327,600 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 404,400 (2004) | 116,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 52 (plus 21 provincial repeaters and many low power repeaters) (2004) | 48 (1997) |
Terrain | vast semidesert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in south-central | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin |
Total fertility rate | 2.26 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.51 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.7% (2003) | 11.4% (1997)
note: widespread underemployment |
Waterways | 580 km
note: only waterway in operation is Lake Khovsgol (135 km); Selenge River (270 km) and Orkhon River (175 km) are navigable but carry little traffic; lakes and rivers freeze in winter, are open from May to September (2004) |
10,000 km (commercially navigable) |