Dialing code +591
ISO 2 code BO
ISO 3 code BOL
Capital Sucre
Main Language Spanish
Currency Boliviano (BOB)
GDP $43.1 billion 90th
Population 9,947,418 84th

Geography

Continent South America
Location Central South America southwest of Brazil
Land 1,098,580 km2 28th
Terrain Rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano) hills lowland plains of the Amazon Basin
Climate Varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
Natural Hazards Rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano) hills lowland plains of the Amazon Basin
Note: Landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3 805 m) with Peru

Neighbouring Countries

Argentina Brazil Chile Paraguay Peru

History

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 countercoups. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982 but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty social unrest and illegal drug production. In December 2005 Bolivians elected Movement Toward Socialism leader Evo MORALES president - by the widest margin of any leader since the restoration of civilian rule in 1982 - after he ran on a promise to change the country's traditional political class and empower the nation's poor indigenous majority. However since taking office his controversial strategies have exacerbated racial and economic tensions between the Amerindian populations of the Andean west and the non-indigenous communities of the eastern lowlands.
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Demographics

Life Expectancy 66.89 years 143rd
Median Age 21.9 years 143rd
Birth Rate 25.82 births/1,000 population 61st
Death Rate 7.05 births/1,000 population 120th
Sex Ratio 0.79 male(s)/female 91st
Literacy 86.7% 129th
Population

9.9 million

Transportation

Roadways 62479 km 70th
Railways 3504 km 49th
Airports 1009 7th
Waterways 10000 km 13th
Heliports None
Airports paved 3 37th

Economy

Currency Boliviano (BOB)
GDP $43.1 billion 90th
GDP per capita (PPP) $4500 133rd