Global InformationBolivia information
Plurinational State of Bolivia Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia (Spanish) Official names in indigenous languages
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 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Anthem: Himno Nacional de Bolivia (Spanish) "National Anthem of Bolivia" | |
Other national symbol: Wiphala[1][2][3] | |
 Location of Bolivia (dark green) in South America (gray) | |
| Capital | Sucre[b] |
| Administrative center | La Paz[b] |
| Largest city | Santa Cruz de la Sierra 17°48′S 63°10′W / 17.800°S 63.167°W |
| Official languages |
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| Ethnic groups (2009[4]) |
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| Religion (2020)[5] |
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| Demonym(s) | Bolivian |
| Government | Unitary presidential republic |
• President | Luis Arce |
• Vice President | David Choquehuanca |
• President of the Senate | Andrónico Rodríguez |
• President of the Chamber of Deputies | Israel Huaytari[6] |
| Legislature | Plurinational Legislative Assembly |
• Upper house | Chamber of Senators |
• Lower house | Chamber of Deputies |
| Independence from Spain | |
• Declared | 6 August 1825 |
• Recognized | 21 July 1847 |
• Current constitution | 7 February 2009 |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,098,581 km2 (424,164 sq mi) (27th) |
• Water (%) | 1.29 |
| Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 12,186,079[7] (79th) |
• Density | 10.4/km2 (26.9/sq mi) (224th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total |  $125.428 billion[8] (94th) |
• Per capita | $10,340[8] (120th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $46.796 billion[8] (96th) |
• Per capita | $3,857[8] (126th) |
| Gini (2019) |  41.6[9]medium |
| HDI (2022) |  0.698[10]medium (120th) |
| Currency | Boliviano (BOB) |
| Time zone | UTC−4 (BOT) |
| Date format | dd/mm/yyyy |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +591 |
| ISO 3166 code | BO |
| Internet TLD | .bo |
Bolivia,[c] officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia,[d] is a landlocked country located in western-central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west. The seat of government and administrative capital is La Paz, which contains the executive, legislative, and electoral branches of government, while the constitutional capital is Sucre, the seat of the judiciary. The largest city and principal industrial center is Santa Cruz de la Sierra, located on the Llanos Orientales (eastern tropical lowlands), a mostly flat region in the east of the country.
The sovereign state of Bolivia is a constitutionally unitary state divided into nine departments. Its geography varies as the elevation fluctuates, from the western snow-capped peaks of the Andes to the eastern lowlands, situated within the Amazon basin. One-third of the country is within the Andean mountain range. With an area of 1,098,581 km2 (424,164 sq mi), Bolivia is the fifth-largest country in South America after Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Colombia, and, alongside Paraguay, is one of two landlocked countries in the Americas. It is the 27th largest country in the world, the largest landlocked country in the Southern Hemisphere, and the seventh largest landlocked country on earth, after Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Chad, Niger, Mali, and Ethiopia.
The country's population, estimated at 12 million,[12] is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, Europeans, Asians, Africans and some other mixtures throughout. Spanish is the official and predominant language, although 36 indigenous languages also have official status, of which the most commonly spoken are Guaraní, Aymara, and Quechua.
Well-before Spanish colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was part of the great Incan Empire, while the northern and eastern lowlands were inhabited by independent tribes. Spanish conquistadores, arriving from Cusco, Peru, and Asunción, Paraguay, forcibly took control of the region in the 16th century. During the subsequent Spanish colonial period, Bolivia was administered by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. Spain built its empire, in large part, upon the silver that was extracted from Bolivia's mines. After the first call for independence in 1809, sixteen years of fighting would follow before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar.[13] Over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Bolivia lost control of several peripheral territories to neighboring countries, such as Brazil's claiming of the Acre territory, and the War of the Pacific (1879), in which Chile seized the country's Pacific coastal region.
Bolivia experienced a succession of military and civilian governments until Hugo Banzer led a CIA-supported coup d'état in 1971, replacing the socialist government of Juan José Torres with a military dictatorship. Banzer's regime cracked-down on left-wing and socialist opposition parties, and other perceived forms of dissent, resulting in the torturing and murders of countless Bolivian citizens. Banzer was ousted in 1978 and, twenty years later, returned as the democratically elected President of Bolivia (1997–2001). Under the 2006–2019 presidency of Evo Morales, the country saw significant economic growth and political stability.
Modern Bolivia is a charter member of the UN, IMF, NAM,[14] OAS, ACTO, Bank of the South, ALBA, and USAN. Bolivia remains a developing country, and the second-poorest in South America, though it has slashed poverty rates and now has one of the fastest-growing economies on the continent (in terms of GDP). Its main economic resources include agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and goods such as textiles and clothing, refined metals, and refined petroleum. Bolivia is very geologically rich, with mines producing tin, silver, lithium, and copper. The country is also known for its production of coca plants and refined cocaine. In 2021, estimated coca cultivation and cocaine production was 39,700 hectares and 317 metric tons, respectively.[15]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ León, Ana María; Herscher, Andrew (2021). "Indigenous Modernities: The Tocapu and Other American Grids". In Hernández, Felipe; Lara, Fernando Luiz (eds.). Spatial Concepts for Decolonizing the Americas. Cambridge Scholars. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-5275-7653-7. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
- ^ Galván, Javier A. (2011). Culture and Customs of Bolivia. Abc-Clio. p. xxiii. ISBN 978-0-313-38364-9. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
- ^ "Bolivia (Plurinational State of)'s Constitution of 2009, English translation" (PDF). constituteproject.org. Constitute (Oxford University Press). Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
The symbols of the State are the red, yellow and green tri-color flag; the Bolivian national anthem; the coat of arms; the wiphala; the rosette; the kantuta flower and the patujú flower. (Art. 6 ii)
- ^ "Bolivia". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 25 March 2017. (Archived 2017 edition.)
- ^ "National Profiles | World Religion".
- ^ "El "arcista" Israel Huaytari es elegido presidente de Diputados en polémica sesión con división en las bancadas". Los Tiempos (in Spanish). 3 November 2023. Archived from the original on 24 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ^ "Bolivia". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Bolivia)". International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
- ^ "GINI index (World Bank estimate) – Bolivia". World Bank. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 8 September 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ "Bolivia". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 24 September 2022. (Archived 2022 edition.)
- ^ "Salem Press". 25 August 2013. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- ^ "Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) – The Nuclear Threat Initiative". The Nuclear Threat Initiative. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
- ^ "ONDCP Releases Data on Coca Cultivation and Production in the Andean Region | ONDCP". The White House. 14 July 2022. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.