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- 1,098,580 km²; land area: 1,084,390 km²
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- Comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Montana
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- Land boundaries: 6,743 km total; Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400
- km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km
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- Coastline: none--landlocked
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- Maritime claims: none--landlocked
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- Disputes: 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
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- Climate: varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
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- Terrain: high plateau, hills, lowland plains
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- Natural resources: tin, natural gas, crude oil, zinc, tungsten,
- antimony, silver, iron ore, lead, gold, timber
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- Land use: 3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 25% meadows and
- pastures; 52% forest and woodland; 20% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
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- Environment: cold, thin air of high plateau is obstacle to
- efficient fuel combustion; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification
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- Note: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's
- highest navigable lake, with Peru
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- █ ≡ People ≡ █
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- Population: 6,706,854 (July 1990), growth rate 2.1% (1990)
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- Birth rate: 35 births/1,000 population (1990)
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- Death rate: 13 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
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- Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1990)
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- Infant mortality rate: 125 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
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- Life expectancy at birth: 52 years male, 56 years female (1990)
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- Total fertility rate: 4.7 children born/woman (1990)
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- Nationality: noun--Bolivian(s); adjective Bolivian
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- Ethnic divisions: 30% Quechua, 25% Aymara, 25-30% mixed, 5-15% European
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- Religion: 95% Roman Catholic; active Protestant minority, especially
- Evangelical Methodist
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- Language: Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara (all official)
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- Literacy: 63%
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- Labor force: 1,700,000; 50% agriculture, 26% services and utilities,
- 10% manufacturing, 4% mining, 10% other (1983)
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- Organized labor: 150,000-200,000, concentrated in mining, industry,
- construction, and transportation; mostly organized under Bolivian Workers'
- Central (COB) labor federation
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- █ ≡ Government ≡ █
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- Long-form name: Republic of Bolivia
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- Type: republic
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- Capital: La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of
- judiciary)
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- Administrative divisions: 9 departments (departamentos,
- singular--departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, El Beni, La Paz, Oruro,
- Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
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- Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)
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- Constitution: 2 February 1967
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- Legal system: based on Spanish law and Code Napoleon; has not accepted
- compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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- National holiday: Independence Day, 6 August (1825)
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- Executive branch: president, vice president, Cabinet
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- Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional)
- consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or
- Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
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- Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema)
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- Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government--President Jaime
- PAZ Zamora (since 6 August 1989); Vice President Luis OSSIO Sanjines
- (since 6 August 1989)
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- Political parties and leaders: Movement of the Revolutionary
- Left (MIR), Jaime Paz Zamora; Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN),
- Hugo Banzer Suarez; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR), Gonzalo
- Sanchez de Lozada; United Left (IU), coalition of leftist parties which
- includes Free Bolivia Movement (MBL), led by Antonio Aranibar,
- Patriotic National Convergency Axis (EJE-P) led by Walter Delgadillo,
- and Bolivian Communist Party (PCB) led by Humberto Ramirez; Conscience of
- the Fatherland (CONDEPA), Carlos Palenque Aviles; Revolutionary
- Vanguard-9th of April (VR-9), Carlos Serrate Reich
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- Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18 (married) or 21 (single)
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- Elections:
- President--last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 1993);
- results--Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada (MNR) 23%, Hugo Banzer Suarez
- (ADN) 22%, Jaime Paz Zamora (MIR) 19%; no candidate received a
- majority of the popular vote; Jaime Paz Zamora (MIR) formed a
- coalition with Hugo Banzer (ADN); with ADN support Paz Zamora
- won the congressional runoff election on 4 August and was inaugurated
- on 6 August;
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- Senate--last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May 1993);
- results--percent of vote NA;
- seats (27 total) MNR 9, ADN 8, MIR 8, CONDEPA 2;
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- Chamber of Deputies--last held 7 May 1989 (next to be held May
- 1993); results--percent of vote by party NA;
- seats (130 total) MNR 40, ADN 38, MIR 30, IU 10, CONDEPA 9,
- VR-9 3
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- Member of: FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IATP, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--
- Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL
- ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC--International Wheat Council, LAIA, NAM, OAS, PAHO,
- SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
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- Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jorge CRESPO; Chancery at
- 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 483-4410
- through 4412; there are Bolivian Consulates General in Houston, Los Angeles,
- Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco;
- US--Ambassador Robert GELBARD; Embassy at Banco Popular del Peru Building,
- corner of Calles Mercado y Colon, La Paz (mailing address is P. O. Box 425,
- La Paz, or APO Miami 34032); telephone p591o (2) 350251 or 350120
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- Flag: 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
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- █ ≡ Economy ≡ █
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- Overview: The Bolivian economy steadily deteriorated between
- 1980 and 1985 as La Paz financed growing budget deficits by expanding
- the money supply and inflation spiraled--peaking at 11,700%. An austere
- orthodox economic program adopted by newly elected President Paz
- Estenssoro in 1985, however, succeeded in reducing inflation to between
- 10% and 20% annually during 1987 and 1989, eventually restarting
- economic growth. President Paz Zamora has pledged to retain the economic
- policies of the previous government in order to keep inflation down
- and continue the growth begun under his predecessor. Nevertheless,
- Bolivia continues to be one of the poorest countries in Latin
- America, and it remains vulnerable to price fluctuations for
- its limited exports--mainly minerals and natural gas. Moreover,
- for many farmers, who constitute half of the country's
- work force, the main cash crop is coca, which is sold for cocaine
- processing.
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- GNP: $4.6 billion, per capita $660; real growth rate 2.8% (1988)
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- Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15.5% (1989)
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- Unemployment rate: 20.7% (1988)
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- Budget: revenues $2,867 million; expenditures $2,867 million,
- including capital expenditures of $663 million (1987)
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- Exports: $634 million (f.o.b., 1989);
- commodities--metals 45%, natural gas 32%, coffee, soybeans,
- sugar, cotton, timber, and illicit drugs;
- partners--US 23%, Argentina
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- Imports: $786 million (c.i.f., 1989);
- commodities--food, petroleum, consumer goods, capital goods;
- partners--US 15%
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- External debt: $5.7 billion (December 1989)
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- Industrial production: growth rate 8.1% (1987)
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- Electricity: 817,000 kW capacity; 1,728 million kWh produced, 260 kWh per
- capita (1989)
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- Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverage, tobacco,
- handicrafts, clothing; illicit drug industry reportedly produces the largest
- revenues
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- Agriculture: accounts for 20% of GDP (including forestry and
- fisheries); principal commodities--coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane,
- rice, potatoes, timber; self-sufficient in food
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- Illicit drugs: world's second-largest producer of coca
- (after Peru) with an estimated 54,000 hectares under cultivation;
- government considers all but 12,000 hectares illicit and subject to
- eradication; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or
- through Colombia and Brazil to the US and other international drug
- markets
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- Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $909 million;
- Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87),
- $1.4 billion; Communist countries (1970-88), $340 million
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- Currency: boliviano (plural--bolivianos); 1 boliviano ($B) = 100
- centavos
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- Exchange rates: bolivianos ($B) per US$1--2.6917 (1989), 2.3502
- (1988), 2.0549 (1987), 1.9220 (1986), 0.4400 (1985)
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- Fiscal year: calendar year
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- █ ≡ Communications ≡ █
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- Railroads: 3,675 km total; 3,643 km 1.000-meter gauge and 32 km
- 0.760-meter gauge, all government owned, single track
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- Highways: 38,836 km total; 1,300 km paved, 6,700 km gravel, 30,836 km
- improved and unimproved earth
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- Inland waterways: 10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways
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- Pipelines: crude oil 1,800 km; refined products 580 km; natural gas
- 1,495 km
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- Ports: none; maritime outlets are Arica and Antofagasta in Chile and
- Matarani in Peru
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- Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,051
- GRT/22,155 DWT; note--1 is owned by the Bolivian Navy
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- Civil air: 56 major transport aircraft
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- Airports: 636 total, 551 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways;
- 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 8 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 110 with runways
- 1,220-2,439 m
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- Telecommunications: radio relay system being expanded; improved
- international services; 144,300 telephones; stations--129 AM, no FM, 43 TV,
- 68 shortwave; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
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- █ ≡ Defense Forces ≡ █
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- Branches: Bolivian Army, Bolivian Navy, Bolivian Air Force (literally,
- the Army of the Nation, the Navy of the Nation, the Air Force of the Nation)
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- Military manpower: males 15-49, 1,629,154; 1,060,187 fit for military
- service; 70,528 reach military age (19) annually
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- Defense expenditures: 3% of GNP (1987)