Zimbabwe (2006) | Bolivia (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status; Bulawayo*, Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 37.4% (male 2,307,170/female 2,265,298)
15-64 years: 59.1% (male 3,616,528/female 3,621,190) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 199,468/female 227,151) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.1% (male 1,624,366; female 1,562,501)
15-64 years: 58.4% (male 2,452,892; female 2,561,873) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 172,292; female 212,519) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; sheep, goats, pigs | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber |
Airports | 403 (2006) | 1,081 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 17
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 8 (2006) |
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 386
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 187 under 914 m: 194 (2006) |
total: 1,069
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 64 914 to 1,523 m: 225 under 914 m: 776 (2002) |
Area | total: 390,580 sq km
land: 386,670 sq km water: 3,910 sq km |
total: 1,098,580 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Montana | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
Background | The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the [British] South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded more complete voting rights for the black African majority in the country (then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, the nation's first prime minister, has been the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and has dominated the country's political system since independence. His chaotic land redistribution campaign, which began in 2000, caused an exodus of white farmers, crippled the economy, and ushered in widespread shortages of basic commodities. Ignoring international condemnation, MUGABE rigged the 2002 presidential election to ensure his reelection. Opposition and labor strikes in 2003 were unsuccessful in pressuring MUGABE to retire early; security forces continued their brutal repression of regime opponents. The ruling ZANU-PF party used fraud and intimidation to win a two-thirds majority in the March 2005 parliamentary election, allowing it to amend the constitution at will and recreate the Senate, which had been abolished in the late 1980s. In April 2005, Harare embarked on Operation Restore Order, ostensibly an urban rationalization program, which resulted in the destruction of the homes or businesses of 700,000 mostly poor supporters of the opposition, according to UN estimates. | 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, resolving disputes with coca growers over Bolivia's counterdrug efforts, continuing the privatization program, and waging an anticorruption campaign. |
Birth rate | 28.01 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 25.53 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.409 billion
expenditures: $1.905 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
Capital | name: Harare
geographic coordinates: 17 50 S, 31 03 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) |
Climate | tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March) | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 21 December 1979 | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
conventional short form: Zimbabwe former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia |
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 | 21.84 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 7.91 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.216 billion (2005 est.) | $5.9 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher W. DELL
embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare telephone: [263] (4) 250-593 and 250-594 FAX: [263] (4) 796-488 |
chief of mission: Ambassador David N. GREENLEE
embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 2430120, 2430251 FAX: [591] (2) 2433900 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Machivenyika T. MAPURANGA
chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 332-7100 FAX: [1] (202) 483-9326 |
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 | Botswana has built electric fences and South Africa has placed military along the border to stem the flow of thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing to find work and escape political persecution; Namibia has supported and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river | continues to press Chile and Peru to restore the Atacama corridor ceded to Chile in 1884; Chile demands water rights to Bolivia's Rio Lauca and Silala Spring |
Economic aid - recipient | $178 million; note - the EU and the US provide food aid on humanitarian grounds (2000 est.) | $588 million (1997) |
Economy - overview | The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles with an unsustainable fiscal deficit, an overvalued exchange rate, soaring inflation, and bare shelves. Its 1998-2002 involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. Badly needed support from the IMF has been suspended because of the government's arrears on past loans, which it began repaying in 2005. The official annual inflation rate rose from 32% in 1998, to 133% at the end of 2004, and 585% at the end of 2005, although private sector estimates put the figure much higher. Meanwhile, the official exchange rate fell from 24 Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar in 1998 to 96,000 in mid-January 2006. The government's land reform program, characterized by chaos and violence, has badly damaged the commercial farming sector, the traditional source of exports and foreign exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs, turning Zimbabwe into a net importer of food products. | 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 | 11.22 billion kWh (2003) | 3.634 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 3.3 billion kWh (2003) | 9 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 8.877 billion kWh (2003) | 3.901 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 44.4%
hydro: 54% nuclear: 0% other: 1.5% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m
highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m |
lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd - once the largest concentration of the species in the world - has been significantly reduced by poaching; poor mining practices have led to toxic waste and heavy metal pollution | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
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 | African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1% | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% |
Exchange rates | Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 4,303.28 (2005), 5,068.66 (2004), 697.424 (2003), 55.036 (2002), 55.052 (2001)
note: these are official exchange rates; non-official rates vary significantly |
bolivianos per US dollar - 7.17 (2002), 6.61 (2001), 6.18 (2000), 5.81 (1999), 5.51 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Vice President Joseph MSIKA (since December 1999) and Vice President Joyce MUJURU (since 6 December 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Vice President Joseph MSIKA (since December 1999) and Vice President Joyce MUJURU (since 6 December 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; responsible to the House of Assembly elections: presidential candidates nominated with a nomination paper signed by at least 10 registered voters (at least one from each province) and elected by popular vote for a six-year term (no term limits); election last held 9-11 March 2002 (next to be held March 2008); co-vice presidents appointed by the president election results: Robert Gabriel MUGABE reelected president; percent of vote - Robert Gabriel MUGABE 56.2%, Morgan TSVANGIRAI 41.9% |
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 | 0 bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, tobacco, gold, ferroalloys, textiles/clothing | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood (2000) |
Exports - partners | South Africa 32.8%, China 7.4%, Japan 6.3%, Zambia 5.2%, Netherlands 5%, US 4.6%, Italy 4.2%, Germany 4.1% (2005) | Brazil 24.3%, Switzerland 15.7%, US 14.1%, Venezuela 12.8%, Colombia 10.2%, Peru 5.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green with a white isosceles triangle edged in black with its base on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird representing the long history of the country is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle, which symbolizes peace; green symbolizes agriculture, yellow - mineral wealth, red - blood shed to achieve independence, and black stands for the native people | 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 - $21.15 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.9%
industry: 24.3% services: 57.9% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 20% services: 60% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -7.7% (2005 est.) | 2.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 30 00 E | 17 00 S, 65 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zambia; in full flood (February-April) the massive Victoria Falls on the river forms the world's largest curtain of falling water | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru |
Highways | - | 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%: 2%
highest 10%: 40.4% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 32% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | transit point for African cannabis and South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines destined for the South African and European markets | world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 24,400 hectares under cultivation in June 2002, a 23% increase from June 2001; 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 under the SANCHEZ DE LOZADA administration have been unable to keep pace with farmers' attempts to increase cultivation after significant reductions in 1998 and 1999; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade, especially along the borders with Brazil and Paraguay |
Imports | 23,000 bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food |
Imports - partners | South Africa 42.9%, China 4.6%, Botswana 3.3% (2005) | Brazil 22%, Argentina 17.4%, US 15.6%, Chile 7%, Japan 5.5%, Peru 5.4%, China 4.8% (2002) |
Independence | 18 April 1980 (from UK) | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.6% (2005 est.) | 3.9% (1998) |
Industries | mining (coal, gold, platinum, copper, nickel, tin, clay, numerous metallic and nonmetallic ores), steel; wood products, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, clothing and footwear, foodstuffs, beverages | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 51.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 54.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 56.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 59.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 52.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 266.8% official data; private sector estimates are much higher (2005 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ECLAC, 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), MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMISET, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 9 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,740 sq km (2003) | 1,280 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; High 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 | 3.94 million (2005 est.) | 2.5 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 66%
industry: 10% services: 24% (1996) |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 3,066 km
border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 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: 8.24%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 91.43% (2005) |
arable land: 1.73%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 98.06% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) |
Legal system | mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of a House of Assembly (150 seats - 120 elected by popular vote for five-year terms, 12 nominated by the president, 10 occupied by traditional chiefs chosen by their peers, and eight occupied by provincial governors appointed by the president) and a Senate (66 seats - 50 elected by popular vote for a five-year term, six nominated by the president, 10 nominated by the Council of Chiefs)
elections: House of Assembly last held 31 March 2005 (next to be held in 2010), Senate last held 26 November 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 59.6%, MDC 39.5%, other 0.9%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 78, MDC 41, independents 1; Senate - percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 73.7%, MDC 20.3%, other 4.4%, independents 1.6%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 43, MDC 7 |
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 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: 39.29 years
male: 40.39 years female: 38.16 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 64.78 years
male: 62.2 years female: 67.48 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write English
total population: 90.7% male: 94.2% female: 87.2% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.2% male: 93.1% female: 81.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia | Central South America, southwest of Brazil |
Map references | Africa | South America |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total: 53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 347,535 GRT/591,113 DWT
ships by type: bulk 2, cargo 25, chemical tanker 4, container 4, livestock carrier 1, petroleum tanker 12, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of Belize 2, China 2, Cuba 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Honduras 1, Latvia 2, Liberia 2, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Saudi Arabia 1, Singapore 1, South Korea 3, Switzerland 1, Ukraine 1, UAE 5, US 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF): Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ), Zimbabwe Republic Police (2005) | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $124.7 million (2005 est.) | $147 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4% (2005 est.) | 1.8% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,118,908 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,380,883 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 96,003 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 18 April (1980) | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun: Zimbabwean(s)
adjective: Zimbabwean |
noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare | flooding in the northeast (March-April) |
Natural resources | coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2006 est.) |
-1.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 261 km (2006) | gas 4,860 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,460 km; refined products 1,589 km; unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | African National Party or ANP; Movement for Democratic Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI]; Peace Action is Freedom for All or PAFA; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]; United People's Party [Daniel SHUMBA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga or ZANU-Ndonga [Wilson KUMBULA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF [Robert Gabriel MUGABE]; Zimbabwe African Peoples Union or ZAPU [Agrippa MADLELA]; Zimbabwe Youth in Alliance or ZIYA | 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 [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES-VILLA]; Pachakuti Indigenous Movement or MIP [Felipe QUISPE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jeres JUSTINIANO]
note: the MNR, MIR, and UCS comprise the ruling coalition |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition [Wellington CHIBEBE]; National Constitutional Assembly or NCA [Lovemore MADHUKU]; Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions or ZCTU [Lovemore MATOMBO] | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Felipe QUISPE] |
Population | 12,236,805
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
8,586,443 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 80% (2004 est.) | 70% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.62% (2006 est.) | 1.63% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | 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 7, FM 20 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) |
Railways | total: 3,077 km
narrow gauge: 3,077 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified) (2005) |
total: 3,519 km
narrow gauge: 3,519 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1% | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 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 (2003 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: system was once one of the best in Africa, but now suffers from poor maintenance; more than 100,000 outstanding requests for connection despite an equally large number of installed but unused main lines
domestic: consists of microwave radio relay links, open-wire lines, radiotelephone communication stations, fixed wireless local loop installations, and a substantial mobile cellular network; Internet connection is available in Harare and planned for all major towns and for some of the smaller ones international: country code - 263; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat; two international digital gateway exchanges (in Harare and Gweru) |
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 | 328,000 (2005) | 327,600 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 699,000 (2005) | 116,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 16 (1997) | 48 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin |
Total fertility rate | 3.13 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 3.23 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 80% (2005 est.) | 7.6%
note: widespread underemployment (2000) |
Waterways | on Lake Kariba, length small (2005) | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) |