Global InformationLa Paz information
La Paz | |
|---|---|
Seat of Government | |
| Nuestra Señora de La Paz | |
From top to bottom, left to right: City center with Plaza Murillo; National Museum of Art; Calle Apolinar Jaén; Mi Teleférico; Basilica of San Francisco; Miraflores; La Paz with Mount Illimani in the background | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Motto(s): Los discordes en concordia, en paz y amor se juntaron y pueblo de paz fundaron para perpetua memoria. ("The dissenters in harmony gathered together in peace and love, and a town of peace they founded, for perpetual memory.")[1] | |
  La Paz  La Paz | |
| Coordinates: 16°29′45″S 68°08′00″W / 16.49583°S 68.13333°W | |
| Country | Bolivia |
| Department | La Paz |
| Province | Pedro Domingo Murillo |
| Founded | 20 October 1548 by Alonso de Mendoza |
| Independence | 16 July 1809 |
| El Alto incorporated | 20th century |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ivan Arias |
| Area | |
| • Seat of Government | 472 km2 (182 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 3,240 km2 (1,250 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 3,640 m (11,942 ft) |
| Population (2012) | |
| • Seat of Government | 766,468[2] |
| • Estimate (2020) | 816,044[3] |
| • Density | 1,861.2/km2 (4,820.6/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 757,184 |
| • Metro | 2,187,223 |
| GDP (PPP, constant 2015 values) | |
| • Year | 2023 |
| • Total (Metro) | $14.6 billion[4] |
| • Per capita | $8,400 |
| Time zone | UTC−4 (BOT) |
| Postal code | 0201-0220 |
| Area code | 2 |
| HDI (2016) | 0.827 (Very High)[5] |
| Website | www |
La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Latin American Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnwestɾa seˈɲoɾa de la pas]), is the seat of government and de facto capital of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020,[6] La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bolivia. Its metropolitan area, which is formed by La Paz, El Alto, Achocalla, Viacha, and Mecapaca makes up the second most populous urban area in Bolivia, with a population of 2.2 million, after Santa Cruz de la Sierra with a population of 2.3 million.[6] It is also the capital of the La Paz Department.
The city, in west-central Bolivia 68 km (42 mi) southeast of Lake Titicaca, is set in a canyon created by the Choqueyapu River. It is in a bowl-like depression, part of the Amazon basin, surrounded by the high mountains of the Altiplano. Overlooking the city is the towering, triple-peaked Illimani. Its peaks are always snow-covered and can be seen from many parts of the city. At an elevation of roughly 3,650 m (11,975 ft) above sea level, La Paz is the highest capital city in the world.[7][8] Due to its altitude, La Paz has an unusual subtropical highland climate, with rainy summers and dry winters.
La Paz was founded on 20 October 1548, by the Spanish conquistador Captain Alonso de Mendoza, at the site of the Inca settlement of Laja as a connecting point between the commercial routes that led from Potosí and Oruro to Lima; the full name of the city was originally Nuestra Señora de La Paz (meaning Our Lady of Peace) in commemoration of the restoration of peace following the insurrection of Gonzalo Pizarro and fellow conquistadors against the first viceroy of Peru. The city was later moved to its present location in the valley of Chuquiago Marka.[9] La Paz was under Spanish colonial rule as part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, before Bolivia gained independence. Since its founding, the city was the site of numerous revolts. In 1781, the indigenous leader and independence activist Túpac Katari laid siege to the city for a total of six months, but was finally defeated. On 16 July 1809, the Bolivian patriot Pedro Domingo Murillo ignited a revolution for independence, marking the beginning of the Spanish American Wars of Independence, which gained the freedom of South American states in 1821.[10]
As the seat of the government of Bolivia, La Paz is the site of the Palacio Quemado, the presidential palace. It is also the seat of the Bolivian legislature, the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, and numerous government departments and agencies. The constitutional capital of Bolivia, Sucre, retains the judicial power.[11] The city hosts all the foreign embassies as well as international missions in the country. La Paz is an important political, administrative, economic, and sports center of Bolivia; it generates 24% of the nation's gross domestic product and serves as the headquarters for numerous Bolivian companies and industries.[12]
La Paz is also an important cultural center of South America, as it hosts several landmarks belonging to the colonial times, such as the San Francisco Church, the Metropolitan Cathedral, the Plaza Murillo and Jaén Street. La Paz is also situated at the confluence of archaeological regions of the Tiwanaku and Inca Empire. The city is renowned for its unique markets, particularly the Witches' Market, and for its vibrant nightlife.[13][14] Its unusual topography offers unique views of the city and the surrounding mountains of the Cordillera Real from numerous natural viewing points. The city is considered to be a unique metropolitan structure, where a majority of the city has been built into the canyon of the Chuqiyapi and Irpavi Rivers. La Paz is also home to the largest urban cable car network in the world.[15] In May 2015, it was officially recognized as one of the New 7 Wonders Cities together with Beirut, Doha, Durban, Havana, Kuala Lumpur and Vigan.[16] La Paz is listed on the Global Cities Index 2015, and is considered a global city type "Gamma" by Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC).[17]
- ^ "Bolivia.com – Turismo : La Paz". Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
- ^ "Results of the 2012 Population and Housing Census (in Spanish)". Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ "BOLIVIA: PROYECCIONES DE POBLACIÓN, SEGÚN DEPARTAMENTO Y MUNICIPIO, 2012–2020 (in Spanish)". Archived from the original on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ "TelluBase—BoliviaFact Sheet (Tellusant Public Service Series)" (PDF). Tellusant. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ "Informe Nacional sobre Desarrollo Humano Bolivia 2016". Archived from the original on 3 April 2016.
- ^ a b "Bolivia: Proyecciones de Población según Departamento y Municipio, 2012–2020" [Bolivia: Population Projections by Department and Municipality 2012–2020.]. INE Bolivia. Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia (Bolivia's National Institute of Statistics). Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ "Bolivia Facts". travel.nationalgeographic.com. National Geographic. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^ "The Incredible Mountain City of La Paz, Bolivia". amusingplanet.com. Amusing Planet. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^ "La Paz: National Administrative Capital of Bolivia". britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^ "The History of La Paz, Bolivia". boliviabella.com. Bolivia Bella. Archived from the original on 1 September 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^ "Sucre: National Constitutional Capital, Bolivia". britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^ "La importancia económica de La Paz" [The economic importance of La Paz]. economiabolivia.net (in Spanish). Economía Bolivia. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016.
- ^ "The Witches' Market in La Paz, Spells are Hot Sellers". news.nationalgeographic.com. National Geographic. 30 May 2003. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^ "Top 10 Nightlife Cities". travel.nationalgeographic.com. National Geographic. 22 January 2015. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^ "A Bolivian Subway in the Sky". theatlantic.com. The Atlantic. 11 August 2015. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^ "New 7 Wonder Cities". world.new7wonders.com. New Open World Corporation. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ^ "The World According to GaWC 2020". GaWC – Research Network. Globalization and World Cities. Archived from the original on 24 August 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.