(1991 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: domestic telephone service is very poor with very few
telephones in use
international: international telephone and telegraph service is by
landline through India; a satellite earth station was planned (1990)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1990)
Radios: 23,000 (1989 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 0 (1990 est.)
Televisions: 200 (1985 est.)
Defense———
Branches: Royal Bhutan Army, Palace Guard, Militia
Manpower availability: males age 15–49: 444,875 males fit for military service: 237,529 males reach military age (18) annually: 17,634 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP
======================================================================
@Bolivia———
Map—
Location: 17 00 S, 65 00 W—Central South America, southwest of
Brazil
Flag——
Description: 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
Geography————
Location: Central South America, southwest of Brazil
Geographic coordinates: 17 00 S, 65 00 W
Map references: South America
Area:
total area: 1,098,580 sq km
land area: 1,084,390 sq km
comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Land boundaries:
total: 6,743 km
border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km,
Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
International disputes: has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Chile over Rio Lauca water rights
Climate: varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
Terrain: rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m highest point: Cerro Illimani 6,882 m
Natural resources: tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten,
antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber
Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 25%
forest and woodland: 52%
other: 20%
Irrigated land: 1,650 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: 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
natural hazards: cold, thin air of high plateau is obstacle to
efficient fuel combustion, as well as to physical activity by those
unaccustomed to it from birth; flooding in the northeast
(March-April)
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
Desertification, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
Geographic note: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca,
world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru
People———
Population: 7,165,257 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 39% (male 1,422,313; female 1,390,885)
15–64 years: 56% (male 1,959,989; female 2,042,135)
65 years and over: 5% (male 153,111; female 196,824) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.82% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 32.37 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 10.75 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: −3.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.97 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 67.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 59.81 years male: 56.94 years female: 62.82 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.25 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality: noun: Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian
Ethnic divisions: Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed European and Indian ancestry) 25%-30%, European 5%-15%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)
Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara
(official)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population: 83.1%
male: 90.5%
female: 76%
Government—————
Name of country:
conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia
local long form: Republica de Bolivia
local short form: Bolivia
Data code: BL
Type of government: republic
Capital: La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary)
Administrative divisions: 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 August (1825)
Constitution: 2 February 1967
Legal system: based on Spanish