Capital

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

name: La Paz (administrative capital); Sucre (constitutional [legislative and judicial] capital)

geographic coordinates: 16 30 S, 68 09 W

time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology: La Paz is a shortening of the original name of the city, Nuestra Senora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace); Sucre is named after Antonio Jose de SUCRE (1795-1830), military hero in the independence struggle from Spain and the second president of Bolivia

note: at approximately 3,630 m above sea level, La Paz's elevation makes it the highest capital city in the world

Citizenship

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

citizenship by birth: yes

citizenship by descent only: yes

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 3 years

Legal system

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

civil law system with influences from Roman, Spanish, canon (religious), French, and indigenous law

Suffrage

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Area

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

total: 1,098,581 sq km

land: 1,083,301 sq km

water: 15,280 sq km

Land use

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

agricultural land: 34.3% (2018 est.)

arable land: 3.6% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 30.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 52.5% (2018 est.)

other: 13.2% (2018 est.)

Location

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

Central South America, southwest of Brazil

Age structure

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

0-14 years: 29.14% (male 1,813,044/female 1,737,699)

15-64 years: 64.03% (male 3,929,462/female 3,872,943)

65 years and over: 6.84% (2023 est.) (male 384,356/female 448,575)

Birth rate

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

18.1 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Languages

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

Spanish (official) 68.1%, Quechua (official) 17.2%, Aymara (official) 10.5%, Guarani (official) 0.6%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2.1%; note - Bolivia's 2009 constitution designates Spanish and all indigenous languages as official; 36 indigenous languages are specified, including a few that are extinct (2012 est.)

major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Life expectancy at birth

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

total population: 72.5 years (2023 est.)

male: 71 years

female: 74 years

Major urban areas - population

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

1.936 million LA PAZ (capital), 1.820 million Santa Cruz, 1.400 million Cochabamba (2022); 278,000 Sucre (constitutional capital) (2018)

Median age

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

total: 26.2 years (2023 est.)

male: 25.9 years

female: 26.6 years

Mother's mean age at first birth

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

21.1 years (2008 est.)

note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49

Net migration rate

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

-1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

a high altitude plain in the west between two cordillera of the Andes, known as the Altiplano, is the focal area for most of the population; a dense settlement pattern is also found in and around the city of Santa Cruz, located on the eastern side of the Andes

Population growth rate

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

1.06% (2023 est.)

Total fertility rate

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

2.26 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Urbanization

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

urban population: 71.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.87% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Education expenditures

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

9.8% of GDP (2020 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

-7.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Industrial production growth rate

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

9.56% (2021 est.)

Labor force

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

6.322 million (2021 est.)

Population below poverty line

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

37.2% (2019 est.)

Unemployment rate

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

8.51% (2021 est.)

7.9% (2020 est.)

3.82% (2019 est.)

note: data are for urban areas; widespread underemployment

Public debt

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

49% of GDP (2017 est.)

44.9% of GDP (2016 est.)

note: data cover general government debt and includes debt instruments issued by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

0.74% (2021 est.)

0.94% (2020 est.)

1.84% (2019 est.)

Exports

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

$11.439 billion (2021 est.)

$7.383 billion (2020 est.)

$10.271 billion (2019 est.)

note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.

Exports - partners

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

Argentina 16%, Brazil 15%, United Arab Emirates 12%, India 10%, United States 6%, South Korea 5%, Peru 5%, Colombia 5% (2019)

Imports

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

$10.799 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$8.261 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

$11.957 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Imports - partners

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

Brazil 22%, Chile 15%, China 13%, Peru 11%, Argentina 8%, United States 7% (2017)

Airports

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

855 (2021)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

total: 931,918 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 8 (2020 est.)

Internet users

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

total: 7.92 million (2021 est.)

percent of population: 66% (2021 est.)

Railways

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

total: 3,960 km (2019)

narrow gauge: 3,960 km (2014) 1.000-m gauge

Roadways

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

total: 90,568 km (2017)

paved: 9,792 km (2017)

unpaved: 80,776 km (2017)

Telephones - fixed lines

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

total subscriptions: 539,481 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (2021 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

total subscriptions: 12,033,941 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 100 (2021 est.)

Waterways

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

10,000 km (2012) (commercially navigable almost exclusively in the northern and eastern parts of the country)

Disputes - international

Plurinationaler Staat Bolivien

contraband smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal narcotic trafficking are problems in the porous areas of its border regions with all of its neighbors (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru)

Bolivia-Chile: despite tariff-free access to ports in southern Peru and northern Chile, Bolivia persists with its long-standing claims to regain sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean

Bolivia-Peru: despite tariff-free access to ports in southern Peru and northern Chile, Bolivia persists with its long-standing claims to regain sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean; smuggling of archaeological artifacts from Peru to Bolivia, illegal timber and narcotics smuggling, human trafficking, and falsified documents are current issues 

Bolivia-Brazil: the Roboré Accord of March 29, 1958 placed the long-disputed Isla Suárez/Ilha de Guajará-Mirim, a fluvial island on the Río Mamoré, between the two towns of Guajará-Mirim (Brazil) and Guayaramerin (Bolivia), under Bolivian administration but did not resolve the sovereignty dispute

Bolivia-Argentina: contraband smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal narcotic trafficking are problems in the porous areas of the border 

Bolivia-Paraguay: on April 27, 2009, the president of Argentina hosted the presidents of Bolivia and Paraguay together with representatives of the five other guarantor states -- Brazil, Chile, Peru, the US, and Uruguay -- to the signing for the Final Record of the Boundary Commission in execution of the 1938 Peace Treaty between Bolivia and Paraguay