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Country information
BOLIVIA TODAY
Country Facts
Full country name: Plurinational State of Bolivia
Area: 1.28 million sq km (425,000 sq miles)
Population: 9.7 million (2008)
Constitutional Capital: Sucre (population: 132,000)
People: Indigenous, primarily Aymara, Quechua, and Guarani, Mestizo
Language(s): Under the new Constitution, all 36 Indigenous tongues are official languages, as well as Spanish
Religion(s): Roman Catholic (95%), Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)
Currency: Boliviano
Major political organisations: Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS); PODEMOS (Poder Democratico Social)
Government: Democracy with elections held every 5 years. The 1964 constitution (revised in 1994 and 2004) provides for an executive and a legislature consisting of a 27-member Senate and 130-member Chamber of Deputies.
Head of State: Juan Evo Morales Ayma
Foreign Minister: David Choquehuanca
Membership of international groupings/organisations: Bolivia holds membership of the UN; WTO; G-11; G77; Organisation of American States (OAS); Andean Community (CAN); Latin American Integration Association (ALADI); Rio Group; MERCOSUR (associate membership); Inter-American Developmental Bank (IADB); IMF, IMF, UNASUR (Union of South American Nations)
DID YOU KNOW?
Bolivia has not only has the highest capital city in the world La Paz (3,640m), but also the highest navigable lake, Titicaca (3,805m). British construction workers brought soccer to Bolivia in the 19th century. One of the clubs they founded, Always Ready, still exists today.
HEALTH
In the 2007/2008 UN Human Development Report, Bolivia ranked 117th in the Human Development Indicator (HDI), with an HDI value of 0.695. Bolivia has a population of 9.7 million, 66% of which live in urban areas. Between 1975 and 2006 Bolivia had an annual population growth of 2.2%, and the average life expectancy is now 65 years. Infant mortality is 147 deaths per 1000 births, with an under-5 mortality rate of 65 deaths per 1000 births (however all infant mortality rates have improved significantly in the last few years – 45% since 1990 in the case of under-5 mortality). Especially in the countryside, many births are still performed at home and the maternal mortality ratio per 100 000 live births is 650. The adult literacy rate is 86.7% and a national program for reading and writing ‘Yo Si Puedo’ (Yes I Can) was implemented in 2006. In December 2008 the President declared Bolivia free from illiteracy.
