Bolivia History Politics Departments Geography Economy

The Republic of Bolivia is a landlocked country in western South America. It is bordered by Brazil in the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina in the south, and Chile and Peru in the west.

1 History

Main article: History of Bolivia

Bolivia has long been inhabited by advanced cultures, the most important being the civilization of Tiahuanaco. It became part of the Inca empire in the 15th century. When the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, Bolivia, rich in silver deposits, was incorporated in the Viceroyalty of Peru, and later that of La Plata.

Struggle for independence began in 1809, but it remained part of Spain until 1825, when it was liberated by Simón Bolívar, for whom the nation was later named. After briefly being part of a union with Peru, Bolivia became fully independent. In following years, Bolivia lost a lot of ground through wars like War of the Pacific and sales.

Faced with racial and cultural troubles, Bolivia has known revolution and military coups. A military junta was overthrown in the early 1980s to reinstate democracy.

2 Politics

Main article: Politics of Bolivia

The president, elected every five years, is head of state and head of government, and appoints a cabinet of ministers. The Bolivian parliament consists of two chambers, the Camara de Senadores, or Senator's Chamber, has 27 seats, and the Camara de Diputados, or Deputies' Chamber has 130.

3 Departments

Main article: Departments of Bolivia

Bolivia is divided into nine departments, or departamentos:

Additionally, each deparment is further divided into provinces, or provincias, which handle some local affairs and are similar to counties in the states of the United States of America.

4 Geography

Main article: Geography of Bolivia

Bolivia is a landlocked nation. The west of Bolivia is situated in the Andes mountain range, with the highest peak, Nevado Sajama at 6,542 m. The centre of the country is formed by a highland plateau, the Altiplano, where most of the Bolivians live. The east of the country is lowland, and covered by the Amazonian rainforests. Lake Titicaca is located on the border between Bolivia and Peru. In the west, in the department of Potosi, lies the Salar De Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flats.

Major cities are La Paz, Sucre, Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba.

5 Economy

Main article: Economy of Bolivia

Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, has made considerable progress toward the development of a market-oriented economy. Successes under President Sánchez de Lozada ( 1993- 97) included the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and becoming an associate member of the Southern Cone Common Market ( Mercosur), as well as the privatisation of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. Silver mines boomed among this age, being the country's greatest export. The Spanish were said to have taken enough silver out of Bolivia to build a bridge across to Spain.

Growth slowed in 1999, in part due to tight government budget policies, which limited needed appropriations for anti- poverty programs, and the fallout from the Asian financial crisis. In 2000, major civil disturbances in April, and again in September and October, held down overall growth to 2.5%. Bolivia's GDP failed to grow in 2001 due to the global slowdown and laggard domestic activity. Growth is expected to pick up in 2002, but the fiscal deficit and debt burden will remain high.

6 Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Bolivia

The majority of present day Bolivians are descended from Amerindian peoples who pre date both the Incan invaders - another Amerindian people who conquered Bolivia and incorporated it into the Tawantinsuyu - and the Spanish colonizers.

Approximately 55% of the population is believed to be of unmixed indigenous ancestry, comprised principally of Aymarás (30%) and the Incan descended Quechuas (25%). A large minority of Bolivians are also of European descent, either of mestizo (those of mixed Spanish and Amerindian ancestry) or unmixed European ancestry (mainly Spanish creoles), 30% and 15% respectively.

Of the three official languages of Bolivia, two are Native_American_languages: Aymará and Quechua, the other being Spanish. Although Spanish is spoken by about three-quarters of the entire population - as the first and only language of Whites and mestizos - of the Amerindian who do speak Spanish, most use it as a second language. Despite this, Spanish continues to be the language give most priority, partly due to the monopoly held by Whites and mestizos on the country’s economy and political life. It also serves for the purposes of legislature, commerce and trade with its regional neighbours.

Virtually all Bolivians are Roman Catholic, although the practice of the religion has been syncretized with many indigenous elements of the various Amerindian religious traditions.

7 Culture

Main article: Culture of Bolivia

Bolivian culture has many Incan and other Indian influences in religion, music and clothing, such as the well known bowler hats. The most well known fiesta is the UNESCO heritage 'El carnaval de Oruro'. See also:

Music of Bolivia

8 Miscellaneous topics

Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.

9 External links

Countries in South America
Argentina \| Bolivia \| Brazil \| Chile \| Colombia \| Ecuador \| Guyana \| Paraguay \| Peru \| Suriname \| Uruguay \| Venezuela
Dependencies: Falkland Islands \| French Guiana

Southern Common Market (MercoSur)
Argentina \| Brazil \| Paraguay \| Uruguay
Associate members
Bolivia \| Chile \| Colombia \| Ecuador \| Mexico \| Venezuela

Organization of American States (OAS)

Bolivia South American countries

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