Area Total | 1,098,581 sq km |
Climate | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid |
Natural Resources | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
Imports | $8.601 billion (2017 est.) partners: China 21.7%, Brazil 16.8%, Argentina 12.6%, US 8.4%, Peru 6.5% (2017) |
Exports | $7.746 billion (2017 est.) partners: Brazil 17.9%, Argentina 16%, US 7.8%, Japan 7.3%, India 6.6%, South Korea 6.3%, Colombia 5.8% (2017) |
Government | presidential republic |
Capital | La Paz |
Population | 11.3 million (July 2018 est.) |
Ethnicity | mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 68%, indigenous 20%, white 5%, cholo/chola 2%, black 1%, other 1%, unspecified 3% (2009 est.) |
Language | Spanish (official) 60.7%, Quechua (official) 21.2%, Aymara (official) 14.6%, foreign languages 2.4%, Guarani (official) 0.6%, other native languages 0.4%, none 0.1% (2001 est.) |
News about Bolivia
-
¡Populista! review: Chávez, Castro and Latin America's 'pink wave' leaders
by Carrie Gibson on January 9, 2021
BBC reporter Will Grant has produced an excellent look at the group of strongmen who came from left fieldIf there was ever a surreal start to a trip to Cuba, it was the one that coincided with the news Fidel Castro had died. That was what I woke up to on 26 November 2016, hours before my husband and I were due to fly to Havana. A day later, we found […]
-
Pooch invader: dog disrupts match and steals football boot in Bolivia – video
on December 28, 2020
A friendly pitch invader runs on to the field in Potosi, Bolivia, with a football boot in its mouth. The game is disrupted for a couple of minutes before the dog is carried off the field by one of the players. The game between The Strongest and Nacional Potosi ended 3-0 to The StrongestThe best of 2020's amazing world of sport – video highlights Continue […]
-
Tiny frog species among series of finds in Andean ‘sky islands’
by Damian Carrington Environment editor on December 14, 2020
‘Ecological Swat team’ discovers 20 unknown species in Bolivia including viper and butterfly An “ecological Swat team” has discovered 20 previously unknown species in the misty cloud forests and cascading waterfalls that flank Bolivia’s Zongo valley.Among the animals found were a minuscule 10mm-long frog, a pit viper, two metalmark butterflies and […]
-
Researchers confirm human-to-human transmission of rare virus in Bolivia
by Jessica Glenza on November 16, 2020
Chapare virus, which causes haemorrhagic fevers, was transmitted to health workers in La Paz and resulted in three deaths Researchers with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have discovered human-to-human transmission of a rare virus in Bolivia belonging to a family of viruses that can cause haemorrhagic fevers, such as Ebola.The news is a […]
-
‘We’re in power now’: Evo Morales makes gleeful return to town he fled
by Tom Phillips and Dan Collyns in Chimoré on November 11, 2020
Tens of thousands of supporters greet Bolivian ex-president during his triumphant return to ChimoréTens of thousands of jubilant followers have welcomed Evo Morales back to the coca-growing region from which he fled into exile exactly one year ago after what they branded a racist rightwing coup.“Evo, Evo, Evo,” chanted the people who had travelled from […]
-
Evo Morales: Bolivia’s ex-president returns – in pictures
on November 11, 2020
Bolivia’s former leader Evo Morales made a dramatic homecoming on Monday, greeted by crowds of cheering supporters as he crossed the border from Argentina, where he had been living in exile since late last year Continue reading...
-
'The fight goes on': exiled former president Evo Morales returns to Bolivia
by Tom Phillips and Dan Collyns in Cochabamba on November 9, 2020
Ex-president greeted with thousands of flag-waving supporters a day after new leftwing president, Luis Arce, sworn inThousands of flag-waving supporters have greeted Evo Morales at Bolivia’s southern border, as the country’s exiled former president began a triumphant homecoming that suggests his four-decade political career may be far from over.“As […]
-
Victory parties and prayers: the weekend's best photos
by Paul Bellsham on November 8, 2020
The Guardian’s picture editors select highlights from around the world Continue reading...
-
Bolivia's new leftwing president: 'We have reclaimed democracy'
by Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent on November 8, 2020
Luis Arce takes power after landslide win for Movement for Socialism, but experts predict bumpy road aheadBolivia’s new president, Luis Arce, has vowed to rebuild his country’s battered economy, revive ties with leftwing neighbours and serve one term only, as he prepared to take office after October’s landslide election.Speaking to the Guardian before […]
-
Evo Morales to return from exile to Bolivia in 800-vehicle convoy
by Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent on November 5, 2020
Unease at reappearance of charismatic but divisive figure after last year’s disputed electionBolivia’s exiled former president, Evo Morales, is set to make a triumphant homecoming next week, leading an 800-vehicle convoy to the jungle-clad coca-growing region where he began his political career.The Bolivian newspaper Página Siete reported that Morales […]
-
How Bolivia's left returned to power months after Morales was forced out
by Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent on October 23, 2020
On Friday authorities confirmed Mas’ candidate, Luis Arce, won the presidential election – overcoming the ‘worst’ moment of their 25-year historyTwo agonising weeks had passed since Evo Morales was driven from Bolivia and in his vice-president’s recently vacated chambers one of their party’s rising stars sat, crestfallen and drained.“It […]
-
The world's election – inside the 23 October Guardian Weekly
by Will Dean on October 21, 2020
This week we look at the impact that America’s vote will have beyond its borders; from the climate to the future of the Iran deal. Get the Guardian Weekly delivered at home hereNearly there. Nearly there. The 2020 US presidential election – after surely the strangest campaign ever conducted – is just over a week away. Donald Trump’s theatre of the […]
-
The Bolivian left's election win is a positive sign, but it inherits a dire situation | Kevin Young
by Kevin Young on October 21, 2020
The landslide vote for Luis Arce is reason for optimism, but Bolivia still requires major resources to contain Covid-19On 18 October, the progressive candidate, Luis Arce, decisively won Bolivia’s presidential election, beating his nearest rival by about 20 points according to exit polls. His party, Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas), also apparently retained […]
-
Bolivia election: Evo Morales's leftwing party celebrates stunning comeback
by Tom Phillips and Dan Collyns in La Paz on October 19, 2020
Exit polls for presidential election project win for Luis Arce as rival concedes defeatEvo Morales’s leftwing party is celebrating a stunning political comeback after its candidate appeared to trounce rivals in Bolivia’s presidential election.The official results of Sunday’s twice-postponed election had yet to be announced on Monday afternoon, but […]
-
Is Bolivia poised to swing back towards socialism?
by Tom Phillips and Cindy Jiménez Becerra in La Paz on October 17, 2020
A year after the country’s first indigenous president was controversially ousted, his party is well placed to win a rerun presidential electionDavid Ticona Mamani felt despair and foreboding when Evo Morales was forced from his Andean homeland last November amid civil unrest, electoral meltdown and what supporters of Bolivia’s first indigenous president […]