Bolivia

Plurinational State of Bolivia Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia (Spanish) Official names in indigenous languages Puliwya Achka Aylluska Mamallaqta (Quechua) Wuliwya Walja Ayllunakana Marka (Aymara) Tetã Hetate'ýigua Volívia (Guarani)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Himno Nacional de Bolivia (Spanish) "National Anthem of Bolivia"
Dual flag: Wiphala[1][2][3]
Location of Bolivia (dark green) in South America (gray)
Capital	Sucre[b]
Administrative center	La Paz[b]
Largest city	Santa Cruz de la Sierra 17°48′S 63°10′W / 17.800°S 63.167°W / -17.800; -63.167
Official languages	Spanish Quechua Aymara Guarani Other Indigenous languages
Ethnic groups (2009[4])	68% Mestizo (mixed White and Indigenous) 20% Indigenous 5% White 2% Cholo 1% Black 1% other 3% unspecified
Religion (2020)[5]	92.8% Christianity 81.4% Catholicism 11.4% other Christian 6.5% no religion 0.7% other
Demonym(s)	Bolivian
Government	Unitary presidential republic
• President	Luis Arce
• Vice President	David Choquehuanca
• President of the Senate	Andrónico Rodríguez
• President of the Chamber of Deputies	Israel Huaytari[6]
Legislature	Plurinational Legislative Assembly
• Upper house	Chamber of Senators
• Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Independence  from Spain
• Declared	6 August 1825
• Recognized	21 July 1847
• Current constitution	7 February 2009
Area
• Total	1,098,581 km2 (424,164 sq mi) (27th)
• Water (%)	1.29
Population
• 2024 census	12,311,974[7] (84th)
• Density	10.4/km2 (26.9/sq mi) (224th)
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$125.428 billion[8] (94th)
• Per capita	$10,340[8] (120th)
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$46.796 billion[8] (96th)
• Per capita	$3,857[8] (126th)
Gini (2021)	40.9[9] medium inequality
HDI (2022)	0.698[10] medium (120th)
Currency	Boliviano (BOB)
Time zone	UTC−4 (BOT)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Drives on	Right
Calling code	+591
ISO 3166 code	BO
Internet TLD	.bo

Bolivia,^[c] officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia,^[d] is a landlocked country located in central South America. It is a country with the largest geographic extension of Amazonian plains and lowlands, mountains and Chaco with a tropical climate, valleys with a warm climate, as well as being part of the Andes of South America and its high plateau areas with cold climates, hills and snow-capped mountains, with a wide biome in each city and region. It includes part of the Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland in the world, along its eastern border. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west. The seat of government is La Paz, which contains the executive, legislative, and electoral branches of government, while the constitutional capital is Sucre, the seat of the judiciary. The largest city and principal industrial center is Santa Cruz de la Sierra, located on the Llanos Orientales (eastern tropical lowlands), a mostly flat region in the east of the country with a diverse non-Andean culture.

The sovereign state of Bolivia is a constitutionally unitary state divided into nine departments. Its geography varies as the elevation fluctuates, from the western snow-capped peaks of the Andes to the eastern lowlands, situated within the Amazon basin. One-third of the country is within the Andean mountain range. With an area of 1,098,581 km² (424,164 sq mi), Bolivia is the fifth-largest country in South America after Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Colombia, and, alongside Paraguay, is one of two landlocked countries in the Americas. It is the 27th largest country in the world, the largest landlocked country in the Southern Hemisphere, and the seventh largest landlocked country on earth, after Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Chad, Niger, Mali, and Ethiopia. The country's population, estimated at 12 million,^[12] is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, Europeans, Asians, Africans, Arabs, Jews and some other mixtures throughout. Spanish is the official and predominant language, although 36 indigenous languages also have official status, of which the most commonly spoken are Guaraní, Aymara, and Quechua.

Well before Spanish colonization, the third part of the high region of Bolivia was an Andean part of great Inca Empire, among which was born the most important culture of America: the Tihuanaco culture in La Paz-Bolivia that converges the ruins of Pumapunko that had a great commercial influence in the Andes of South America reaching Ecuador, Chile and Peru. The largest territory of Bolivia on the eastern side of the lowlands of the north and east of the country were inhabited by independent non-Andean Amazonian tribes with their own civilization and language, cultures and ethnicities that prevail to this day. One of the best known archaeologies of the Chané-Guaraní culture is found in Samaipata, Bolivia. The largest carved stone in the world was later populated by the Incas and the Spanish, who found the carved archaeology known in Quechua as "El Fuerte".^[13] This intervention by different ethnic groups outside their territories was a dispute between Amazonian and Andean cultures, and the Incas were later expelled by the Guaraní tribes in defense of their territories in the eastern plains of Bolivia. Spanish conquistadores, arriving from Cusco, Peru, and Asunción, Paraguay, forcibly took control of the region in the 16th century.

During the subsequent Spanish colonial period, Bolivia was administered by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. Spain built its empire in large part upon the silver that was extracted from Potosí Bolivia's mines, from there, the globalization of the world arose by creating the first silver coins, which were then stamped with the "$" sign, inspired by Potosí,^[14] as well as Spanish royalty. There came the saying "You are worth a Potosí",^[15] which means innumerable wealth. In fact, Bolivia was the first territory where the First Libertarian Cry of Latin America arose in the city of Charcas or city of the four names, now known as the city of Sucre - Bolivia on May 25, 1809, being the first region of rebellion against the Spanish empire of an entire continent based on the Creole law students of the University San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca who inspired by the French Revolution arose the first uprising of America, which thanks to this revolution in Sucre, the other Ibero-American countries (Latin Americans) were able to revolt and become independent of the Spanish empire. Bolivia was likewise born as a nation in the city of Sucre, considered by its history the constitutional and historical capital of the country since August 6, 1825, sixteen years of fighting would follow before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar.^[16] Over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Bolivia lost control of several peripheral territories to neighboring countries, such as Brazil's of the Acre territory, and the War of the Pacific (1879), in which Chile seized the country's Pacific coastal region.

Bolivia experienced a succession of military and civilian governments until Hugo Banzer led a US-backed coup d'état in 1971, replacing the socialist government of Juan José Torres with a military dictatorship. Banzer's regime cracked down on left-wing and socialist opposition parties, and other perceived forms of dissent, resulting in the torturing and murders of countless Bolivian citizens. Banzer was ousted in 1978 and, twenty years later, returned as the democratically elected President of Bolivia (1997–2001). Under the 2006–2019 presidency of Evo Morales, the country saw significant economic growth and political stability but was also widely accused of democratic backsliding,^[17][18] and was described as a competitive authoritarian regime.^[19][20][21] Freedom House classifies Bolivia as a partly-free democracy as of 2023, with a 66/100 score.^[22]

Modern Bolivia is a charter member of the United Nations (UN), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM),^[23] Organization of American States (OAS), Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), Bank of the South, ALBA, and the Union of South American Nations (USAN). Bolivia remains a developing country, and the second-poorest in South America, though it has slashed poverty rates and now has one of the fastest-growing economies on the continent (in terms of GDP). Its main economic resources include agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and goods such as textiles and clothing, refined metals, and refined petroleum. Bolivia is very geologically rich, with mines producing tin, silver, lithium, and copper. The country is also known for its production of coca plants and refined cocaine. In 2021, estimated coca cultivation and cocaine production was 39,700 hectares and 317 metric tons, respectively.^[24]

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