Western Sahara (2004) | Bolivia (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija |
Age structure | 0-14 years: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
0-14 years: 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 | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber |
Airports | 11 (2003 est.) | 1,067 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 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: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 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: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 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 | about the size of Colorado | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. | 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 | NA births/1,000 population | 24.65 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $2.346 billion
expenditures: $2.957 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2003) |
Capital | none | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | - | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Republica de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia |
Currency | Moroccan dirham (MAD) | boliviano (BOB) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 7.77 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $5.332 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador David N. GREENLEE
embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 2430120, 2430251 FAX: [591] (2) 2433900 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none | 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 | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991 but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals | 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 | NA | $588 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. | 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 | 83.7 million kWh (2001) | 3.634 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2001) | 3.901 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | 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: none of the selected agreements
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, 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 | Arab, Berber | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 9.574 (2003), 11.584 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.626 (2000), 9.804 (1999) | bolivianos per US dollar - 7.6592 (2003), 7.17 (2002), 6.6069 (2001), 6.1835 (2000), 5.8124 (1999) |
Executive branch | none | chief of state: President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 17 October 2003); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 17 October 2003); Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 30 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007) election results: as a result of no candidate winning a majority in the 30 June 2002 election, Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante was chosen president by Congress; Congressional votes - Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante 84, Evo MORALES 43; note - following the resignation of the elected president on 17 October 2003, Vice President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert assumed the presidency |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood (2000) |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | Brazil 37%, Venezuela 12.9%, Colombia 11.9%, US 11.5%, Peru 5.1% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | - | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $21.01 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 33.2% services: 51.9% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 2.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 17 00 S, 65 00 W |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru |
Highways | total: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
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 | NA (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2000) | Brazil 25.2%, Argentina 22.3%, US 12%, Chile 9.3%, Peru 5.8% (2003) |
Independence | - | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 3.9% (1998) |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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) | NA | 3.3% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | none | 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 |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,280 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | 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 | 12,000 | 4.1 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 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: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land: 2.67%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 97.54% (2001) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) |
Legal system | - | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | - | 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: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 65.14 years
male: 62.54 years female: 67.86 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA 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 | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Central South America, southwest of Brazil |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | 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 (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $127 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.6% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,175,384 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,417,804 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 98,155 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi,Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | flooding in the northeast (March-April) |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | -1.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | 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 | - | 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 | none | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Roman LOAYZA] |
Population | 267,405 (July 2004 est.) | 8,724,156 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 70% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | NA | 1.56% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | 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 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) |
Railways | - | total: 3,519 km
narrow gauge: 3,519 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Muslim | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) |
Sex ratio | NA | 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 | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single) |
Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
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 | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 600,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 1,401,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 48 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 3.08 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 11.7%
note: widespread underemployment (2003) |
Waterways | - | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2004) |