]! ^! 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 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. 
]" ^" Central South America, southwest of Brazil ^# 17 00 S, 65 00 W ^$ South America ^% `! 1,098,580 sq km `" 1,084,390 sq km `# 14,190 sq km ^& slightly less than three times the size of Montana ^' `! 6,940 km `Y Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,423 km, Chile 860 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 1,075 km ^( 0 km (landlocked) ^) none (landlocked) ^* varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid ^+ rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin ^, `% Rio Paraguay 90 m `& Nevado Sajama 6,542 m ^- tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower ^. `' 2.78% `( 0.19% `) 97.03% (2005) ^/ 1,320 sq km (2003) ^0 flooding in the northeast (March-April) ^1 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 _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands `Q Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection ^2 landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru 
]# ^3 9,119,152 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 34.3% (male 1,593,509/female 1,532,155) `, 61.1% (male 2,730,359/female 2,841,872) `- 4.6% (male 187,123/female 234,134) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 22.2 years `. 21.5 years `/ 22.9 years (2007 est.) ^6 1.42% (2007 est.) ^7 22.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 7.44 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -1.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.04 male(s)/female `, 0.961 male(s)/female `- 0.799 male(s)/female `2 0.979 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 50.43 deaths/1,000 live births `. 53.93 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 46.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 66.19 years `. 63.53 years `/ 68.97 years (2007 est.) ^= 2.76 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.1% (2003 est.) ^? 4,900 (2003 est.) ^@ less than 500 (2003 est.) ^A `3 Bolivian(s) `4 Bolivian ^B Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% ^C Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5% ^D Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 87.2% `. 93.1% `/ 81.6% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Bolivia `7 Bolivia `Z Republica de Bolivia `[ Bolivia ^H republic ^I `8 La Paz (administrative capital) `9 16 30 S, 68 09 W `: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) `* Sucre (constitutional capital) ^J 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija ^K 6 August 1825 (from Spain) ^L Independence Day, 6 August (1825) ^M 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994; referendum on new constitution to be held 6 August 2007 ^N based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single) ^P `; President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government `< President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006); Vice President Alvaro GARCIA Linera (since 22 January 2006) `= Cabinet appointed by the president `> president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 18 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) `? Juan Evo MORALES Ayma elected president; percent of vote - Juan Evo MORALES Ayma 53.7%; Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez 28.6%; Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana 7.8%; Michiaki NAGATANI Morishit 6.5%; Felipe QUISPE Huanca 2.2%; Guildo ANGULA Cabrera 0.7% ^Q bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; 70 are directly elected from their districts and 60 are elected by proportional representation from party lists to serve five-year terms) `> Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 18 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) `? Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PODEMOS 13, MAS 12, UN 1, MNR 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MAS 73, PODEMOS 43, UN 8, MNR 6 ^R 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) ^S Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Juan Evo MORALES Ayma]; Movement Without Fear or MSM [Juan DEL GRANADO]; National Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Mirta QUEVEDO]; National Unity [Samuel DORIA MEDINA Arana]; Poder Democratico Nacional or PODEMOS [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]; Social Alliance [Rene JOAQUINO] ^T Cocalero groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB ^U CAN, CSN, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMISET, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Gustavo GUZMAN Saldana `S 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 483-4410 `U [1] (202) 328-3712 `V Houston, Miami, New York, Oklahoma City, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC ^W `R Ambassador Philip S. GOLDBERG `_ Avenida Arce 2780, La Paz `` P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 `T [591] (2) 216-8000 `U [591] (2) 216-8111 ^X 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 
]% ^Y Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, reformed its economy after suffering a disastrous economic crisis in the early 1980s. The reforms spurred real GDP growth, which averaged 4% in the 1990s, and poverty rates fell. Economic growth, however, lagged again beginning in 1999 because of a global slowdown and homegrown factors such as political turmoil, civil unrest, and soaring fiscal deficits, all of which hurt investor confidence. In 2003, violent protests against the pro-foreign investment economic policies of ex-President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA led to his resignation and the cancellation of plans to export Bolivia's newly discovered natural gas reserves to large northern hemisphere markets. In 2005, the government passed a controversial natural gas law that imposed significantly higher taxes on the oil and gas firms and required production firms to sign new operating contracts, which were completed in October 2006. Bolivian officials are in the process of revamping the defunct state-owned oil company and acquiring majority ownership of five gas production, transportation, refining, and storage companies. The MORALES administration plans to increase state control over other sectors as well, including mining, electricity, telecommunications, transportation, and forestry. Real GDP growth in 2003-06 - helped by increased demand for natural gas in neighboring Brazil - was positive, but still below the levels seen during the 1990s. Bolivia's fiscal position has improved in recent years, and the country had a record 6% fiscal surplus for 2006. In 2005, the G8 announced a $2 billion debt-forgiveness plan over the next few decades. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank forgave a total of approximately $1.8 billion of Bolivian debt in 2006 that has helped reduce fiscal pressures on the government. ^Z $27.21 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $10.22 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 3.3% (2006 est.) ^] $3,000 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 12.8% `A 36.1% `B 51.2% (2006 est.) ^_ 4.3 million (2006 est.) ^` `@ NA% `A NA% `B NA% ^a 7.8% in urban areas; widespread underemployment (2006 est.) _! 64% (2004 est.) _" `C 1.3% `D 32% (1999) _d 60.6 (2002) _# 4.3% (2006 est.) _V 12.4% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $4.153 billion `F $3.619 billion; including capital expenditures of $741 million (2006 est.) _& soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber _' mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing _( 5.7% (2004 est.) _) 4.472 billion kWh (2004) _* 4.168 billion kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 9 million kWh (2004) _- 42,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) _. 47,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _W 458.8 million bbl (1 January 2002) _1 10.05 billion cu m (2004 est.) _2 2.14 billion cu m (2004 est.) _X 7.91 billion cu m (2004 est.) _Y 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Z 679.6 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.) _Q $688 million (2006 est.) _3 $3.668 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 natural gas, soybeans and soy products, crude petroleum, zinc ore, tin _5 Brazil 44.2%, US 12.5%, Argentina 10.9%, Colombia 7.8%, Peru 4.8% (2005) _6 $2.934 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 petroleum products, plastics, paper, aircraft and aircraft parts, prepared foods, automobiles, insecticides, soybeans _8 Brazil 21.9%, Argentina 16.7%, US 13.8%, Chile 6.9%, Peru 6.5%, Japan 6.1%, China 5.8% (2005) _[ $3.303 billion (2006 est.) _9 $5.916 billion (2006 est.) _: $221 million (2005 est.) _; boliviano (BOB) _< bolivianos per US dollar - 8.0159 (2006), 8.0661 (2005), 7.9363 (2004), 7.6592 (2003), 7.17 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 646,300 (2005) _? 2.421 million (2005) _@ `G new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile cellular telephone use expanding rapidly `H 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 `I country code - 591; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _A AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) _B 48 (1997) _C .bo _D 20,085 (2006) _E 480,000 (2005) 
]' _F 1,084 (2006) _G `! 16 `a 4 `J 4 `b 5 `c 3 (2006) _R `! 1,068 `a 1 `J 3 `b 60 `c 207 `W 797 (2006) _^ gas 4,860 km; liquid petroleum gas 47 km; oil 2,475 km; refined products 1,589 km; unknown (oil/water) 247 km (2006) _e `! 3,519 km `n 3,519 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) _H `! 62,479 km `K 3,749 km `L 58,730 km (2004) _b 10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2005) _S `! 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 127,297 GRT/198,525 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 8, chemical tanker 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 10 `X 10 (Argentina 1, China 1, Egypt 2, Iran 1, Singapore 3, Taiwan 1, Yemen 1) (2006) _I Puerto Aguirre (inland port on the Paraguay/Parana waterway at the Bolivia/Brazil border); Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay 
]( _J Bolivian Armed Forces: Bolivian Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Bolivian Navy (Armada Boliviana; includes marines), Bolivian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana, FAB) (2007) _T 18 years of age for voluntary military service; when annual number of volunteers falls short of goal, compulsory recruitment is effected, including conscription of boys as young as 14; one estimate holds that 40% of the armed forces are under the age of 18, with 50% of those under the age of 16; conscript tour of duty - 12 months (2002) _K males age 18-49: 1,923,234 females age 18-49: 2,007,315 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,311,414 females age 18-49: 1,502,177 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 101,101 females age 18-49: 98,671 (2005 est.) _U 2% (2006 est.) 
]) _N Chile rebuffs Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, offering instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian natural gas and other commodities __ `f Bolivia is a source and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of labor and sexual exploitation to Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, as well as to Spain; children are trafficked internally for sexual exploitation, forced mining, and agricultural labor; illegal migrants from Asia transiting Bolivia are vulnerable as trafficking victims `g Tier 2 Watch List - Bolivia has failed to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in the areas of prosecutions and victim protection _O world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 26,500 hectares under cultivation in August 2005, an 8% increase from 2004; transit country for Peruvian and Colombian cocaine destined for Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Europe; cultivation steadily increasing despite eradication and alternative crop programs; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade, especially along the borders with Brazil and Paraguay; major cocaine consumption 