Bolivia | Facts & Information

Updated May 3, 2023 | Infoplease Staff

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Facts & Figures

  • Official Name: The Plurinational State of Bolivia

    President: Luis Arce Catacora (2020)

    Vice President: David Choquehuanca

    President of the Senate: Andrónico Rodríguez

    President of the Chamber of Deputies: Jerges Mercado

    Type of Government: Unitary Presidential Republic

    Land area: 418,683 sq mi (1,084,389 sq km); Water Area: 15,280 sq km; Total Area: 424,164 sq mi (1,098,580 sq km)

    Population (2022 est.): 12,054,379 (growth rate: 1.12%); birth rate: 18.61/1000; infant mortality rate: 22.28/1000; life expectancy: 72.5

    Administrative Capital: La Paz, 1.908 million

    Constitutional Capital: Sucre, 278,000

    Largest City: Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 2.4 million

    Other large cities: Santa Cruz 1.784 million; Cochabamba, 1.369 million (2022)

    Monetary unit: Boliviano

    National name: República de Bolivia

    Current Government Officials

    Languages: Spanish (official) 60.7%, Quechua (official) 21.2%, Aymara (official) 14.6%, Guarani (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% note: Bolivia's 2009 constitution designates Spanish and all indigenous languages as official; 36 indigenous languages are specified, including some that are extinct (2001 census)

    Ethnicity/race: Mestizo (mixed White and Amerindian ancestry) 68%, Indigenous 20%, White 5%, Cholo/Chola 2%, African descent 1%, other 1%, unspecified 3%; 44% of respondents indicated feeling part of some indigenous group, predominantly Quechua or Aymara (2009 est.)

    National Holiday: Independence Day, August 6

    Religion: Roman Catholic 70%, Evangelical 14.5%, Adventist 2.5%, Church of Jesus Christ 1.2%, agnostic 0.3%, atheist 0.8%, other 3.5%, none 6.6%, unspecified 0.6% (2018 est.)

    Literacy rate: 92.5%. Male 96.5%, female 88.6% (2015 est.)

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2020 est.): $92.59 billion; per capita $7,900. Real growth rate: 2.2%. Inflation: 1.8%. Unemployment: 4% in urban areas with widespread underemployment. Arable land: 3.6%. Agriculture: soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber. Labor force: 5.719 million; agriculture 29.4%, industry 22%, services 48.6%. Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing. Natural resources: tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower. Exports: $7.55 billion (2020 est.): natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore, tin. Major trading partners (exports): Argentina 16%, Brazil 15%, United Arab Emirates 12%, India 10%, United States 6%, South Korea 5%, Peru 5%, Colombia 5% (2019). Imports: $8.27 billion (2020 est.): petroleum products, plastics, paper, aircraft and aircraft parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans. Major trading partners (imports): Brazil 22%, Chile 15%, China 13%, Peru 11%, Argentina 8%, United States 7% (2017).

    Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 598,082 (2020); mobile cellular: 11,804,343 (2020). Broadcast media: large number of radio and TV stations broadcasting with private media outlets dominating; state-owned and private radio and TV stations generally operating freely, although both pro-government and anti-government groups have attacked media outlets in response to their reporting (2019). Internet hosts: 180,988 (2012). Internet users: 7,003,817 (2020).

    Transportation: Railways: total: 3,960 km (2019). Roadways: total: 90,568 km; paved: 9,792 km; unpaved: 80,776 km (2017). Waterways: 10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2012). 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. Airports: 855 (2021 est.).

    Major sources and definitions

See also: