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)
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
Elevation extremes:
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: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 24%
forests and woodland : 53%
other: 21% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,750 sq km (1993 est.)
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)
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
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping,
Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
Geography - note: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's
highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru
@Bolivia:People
Population: 7,669,868 (July 1997 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 40% (male 1,543,641; female 1,511,579)
15-64 years: 56% (male 2,081,792; female 2,184,876)
65 years and over : 4% (male 158,409; female 189,571) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.04% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 32.14 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 10.18 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over : 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 65.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population : 60.34 years
male: 57.46 years
female : 63.38 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 4.18 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian
Ethnic groups: Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed white and
Amerindian ancestry) 25%-30%, white 5%-15%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)
Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)
Literacy:
definition : age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.1%
male: 90.5%
female: 76% (1995 est.)
@Bolivia:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia
local long form: Republica de Bolivia
local short form : Bolivia
Data code: BL
Government type: republic
National 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; revised in August 1994
Legal system: based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21
years of age, universal and compulsory (single)
Executive branch:
chief of state : President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamente (since
6 August 1993); Vice President Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde (since 6
August 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head
of government
head of government: President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamente
(since 6 August 1993); Vice President Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde
(since 6 August 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state
and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president from a panel of candidates
proposed by the Senate
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by
popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 6 June 1993 (next
to be held June 1997); Constitutional reforms extend presidential and
vice presidential terms to 5 years beginning in 1997
election results: Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA elected president; percent
of vote - Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (MNR) 34%, Hugo BANZER Suarez
(ADN/MIR alliance) 20%, Carlos PALENQUE Aviles (CONDEPA) 14%, Max
FERNANDEZ Rojas (UCS) 13%, Antonio ARANIBAR Quiroga (MBL) 5%; no
candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE
LOZADA won a congressional runoff election on 4 August 1993 after
forming a coalition with Max FERNANDEZ and Antonio ARANIBAR; FERNANDEZ
died in a plane crash 26 November 1995
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional
consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats;
members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; members are
directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 6
June 1993 (next to be held June 1997); Constitutional reforms extend
congressional terms to 5 years beginning in 1997
election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - MNR 17, ADN 4, MIR 4, CONDEPA 1, UCS 1; Chamber of
Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - MNR 52, UCS
20, ADN 17, MIR 17, CONDEPA 13, MBL 7, ARBOL 1, ASD 1, EJE 1, PDC 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), judges appointed for a
10-year term by National Congress
Political parties and leaders:
Left Parties: Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Antonio ARANIBAR];
Patriotic Axis of Convergence or EJE-P [Ramiro BARRANECHEA]; April 9
Revolutionary Vanguard or VR-9 [Carlos SERRATE]; Alternative of
Democratic Socialism or ASD [Jerjes JUSTINIANO]; Revolutionary Front
of the Left or FRI [Oscar ZAMORA]; Bolivian Communist Party or PCB
[Marcos DOMIC]; United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC]; Assembly for the
Sovereignty of the People or ASP [Evo MORALES]; Front of National
Salvation or FSN [Manual MORALES Davila]; Socialist Party One or PS-1;
Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB; Socialist Unzaguista Movement or
MAS
Center-Left Parties: Movement of the Revolutionary or MIR [Jaime PAZ
ZAMORA]; Christian Democrat or PDC [Benjamin MIGUEL]; New Youth Force
[Alfonso SAAVEDRA Bruno]
Center Party: Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo
SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]
Center-Right Parties : Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Hugo
BANZER]; New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES VILLA]
Populist Parties: Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ];
Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado];
Solidarity and Democracy or SYD; Unity and Progress Movement or MUP
[Ivo KULJIS]; Popular Patriotic Movement or MPP [Julio MANTILLA]
Evangelical Party : Bolivian Renovating Alliance or ARBOL [Marcelo
FERNANDEZ, Hugo VILLEGAS]
Indigenous Parties: Tupac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement or
MRTK-L [Victor Hugo CARDENAS Conde]; Nationalist Katarista Movement or
MKN [Fernando UNTOJA]; Front of Katarista Unity or FULKA [Genaro
FLORES]; Katarismo National Unity or KND [Filepe KITTELSON]
International organization participation: AG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77,
IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM,
OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Fernando Alvaro COSSIO
chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 through 4412
FAX : [1] (202) 328-3712
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Curtis Warren KAMMAN
embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz
mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032
telephone : [591] (2) 430251
FAX: [591] (2) 433900
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
Economy
Economy - overview: With its long history of semifeudal social
controls, dependence on volatile prices for its mineral exports, and
bouts of hyperinflation, Bolivia has remained one of the poorest and
least developed Latin American countries. However, Bolivia has
experienced generally improving economic conditions since the PAZ
Estenssoro administration (1985-89) introduced market-oriented
policies which reduced inflation from 11,700% in 1985 to about 20% in
1988. PAZ Estenssoro was followed as president by Jaime PAZ Zamora
(1989-93) who continued the free-market policies of his predecessor,
despite opposition from his own party and from Bolivia's once powerful
labor movement. By maintaining fiscal discipline, PAZ Zamora helped
reduce inflation to 9.3% in 1993, while GDP grew by an annual average
of 3.25% during his tenure. Inaugurated in August 1993, President
SANCHEZ DE LOZADA has vowed to advance the market-oriented economic
reforms he helped launch as PAZ Estenssoro's planning minister. His
successes include the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico
and the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur) as well as the
privatization of the state airline, phone company, railroad, electric
power company, and oil company. Furthermore, SANCHEZ DE LOZADA
sponsored legislation creating private social security accounts for
all adult Bolivians and capitalized these new accounts with the
state's remaining 50% share in the privatized companies.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (1996 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.9% (1996)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,000 (1996 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 17%
industry: 31%
services : 52% (1995 est.)
Inflation rate - consumer price index: 8% (1996)
Labor force:
total: 2.3 million
by occupation: agriculture NA%, services and utilities NA%,
manufacturing, mining and construction NA%
Unemployment rate: 18.8% (1995 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $3.75 billion
expenditures : $3.75 billion, including capital expenditures of $556.2
million (1995 est.)
Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco,
handicrafts, clothing
Industrial production growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)
Electricity - capacity: 804,300 kW (1995)
Electricity - production: 3.02 billion kWh (1995)
Electricity - consumption per capita: 334 kWh (1995 est.)
Agriculture - products: coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice,
potatoes; timber
Exports:
total value: $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: metals 39%, natural gas 9%, soybeans 11%, jewelry 11%,
wood 8%
partners: US 26%, Argentina 17%, UK 15%, Peru 14% (1995)
Imports:
total value : $1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
commodities: capital goods 48%, chemicals 11%, petroleum 5%, food 5%
(1993 est.)
partners: US 18%, Brazil 15%, Japan 13%, Argentina 8% (1995)
Debt - external: $4.3 billion (November 1996)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $362 million (1993)
Currency: 1 boliviano ($B) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: bolivianos ($B) per US$1 - 5.1720 (November 1996),
4.8003 (1995), 4.6205 (1994), 4.2651 (1993), 3.9005 (1992)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Bolivia:Communications
Telephones: 144,300 (1987 est.)
Telephone system: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most
telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities
domestic : microwave radio relay system being expanded
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 129, FM 0, shortwave 68
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 43
Televisions: 500,000 (1993 est.)
@Bolivia:Transportation
Railways:
total : 3,691 km (single track)
narrow gauge: 3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge (13 km
electrified) (1995)
Highways:
total: 55,487 km
paved: 2,663 km (including 27 km of expressways)
unpaved : 52,824 km (1995 est.)
Waterways: 10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways
Pipelines: crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas
1,495 km
Ports and harbors: none; however, Bolivia has free port privileges in
the maritime ports of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay
Merchant marine:
total : 1 cargo ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,214 GRT/6,390 DWT
(1996 est.)
Airports: 941 (1996 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 693
over 3,047 m : 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
under 914 m: 683 (1996 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total : 248
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 68
914 to 1,523 m: 178 (1996 est.)
Military
Military branches: Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval
Boliviana, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana),
National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia)
Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49 : 1,811,952 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: 1,178,259 (1997 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 80,606 (1997 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $145 million (1996)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.9% (1996)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: 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
Illicit drugs: world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Peru
and Colombia) with an estimated 48,100 hectares under cultivation in
1996, a one percent decrease in overall cultivation of coca over 1995
levels; Bolivia, however, is the second-largest producer of coca leaf;
even so, voluntary and forced eradication programs resulted in leaf
production dropping from 85,000 metric tons in 1995 to 75,100 tons in
1996; government considers all but 12,000 hectares illicit;
intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia
and Brazil to the US and other international drug markets; alternative
crop program aims to reduce illicit coca cultivation
______________________________________________________________________
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Introduction
Current issues: On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the former
Yugoslavia's three warring parties signed a peace agreement that
brought to a halt over three years of interethnic civil strife in
Bosnia and Herzegovina (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14
December 1995). The Dayton Agreement, signed by Bosnian President
IZETBEGOVIC, Croatian President TUDJMAN, and Serbian President
MILOSEVIC, divides Bosnia and Herzegovina roughly equally between the
Muslim/Croat Federation and the Bosnian Serbs while maintaining
Bosnia's currently recognized borders. In 1995-96, a NATO-led
international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in
Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement.
IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR)
whose mission is to deter renewed hostilities. SFOR will remain in
place until June 1998. A High Representative appointed by the UN
Security Council is responsible for civilian implementation of the
accord, including monitoring implementation, facilitating any
difficulties arising in connection with civilian implementation, and
coordinating activities of the civilian organizations and agencies in
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian conflict began in the spring of
1992 when the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina held a referendum
on independence and the Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring
Serbia - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the
republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a
"greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosnia's Muslims and Croats reduced
the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an
agreement in Washington creating their joint Muslim/Croat Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Federation, formed by the Muslims and
Croats in March 1994, is one of two entities (the other being the
Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska) that comprise Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
@Bosnia and Herzegovina:Geography
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia
Geographic coordinates: 44 00 N, 18 00 E
Map references: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe
Area:
total: 51,233 sq km
land: 51,233 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries:
total: 1,459 km
border countries: Croatia 932 km, Serbia and Montenegro 527 km (312 km
with Serbia, 215 km with Montenegro)
Coastline: 20 km
Maritime claims: NA
Climate: hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have
short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters
along coast
Terrain: mountains and valleys
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maglic 2,386 m
Natural resources: coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, forests, copper,
chromium, lead, zinc
Land use:
arable land: 14%
permanent crops : 5%
permanent pastures: 20%
forests and woodland: 39%
other: 22% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: frequent and destructive earthquakes
Environment - current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants;
sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; widespread casualties,
water shortages, and destruction of infrastructure because of the
1992-95 civil strife
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: within Bosnia and Herzegovina's recognized borders,
the country is divided into a joint Muslim-Croat Federation (about 51%
of the territory) and a Serb Republic, The Republika Srpska [RS]
(about 49% of the territory); the region called Herzegovina is
contiguous to Croatia and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic
Croat majority
@Bosnia and Herzegovina:People
Population: 3,222,584 (July 1997 est.)
note: all data dealing with population is subject to considerable
error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic
cleansing
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (male 301,637; female 284,694)
15-64 years: 70% (male 1,123,477; female 1,140,604)
65 years and over: 12% (male 145,711; female 226,461) (July 1997 est.)
Population growth rate: 5.09% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 8.29 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 13.88 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: 56.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth : 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 37 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 59.42 years
male : 54.58 years
female: 64.59 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.09 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian
Ethnic groups: Serb 40%, Muslim 38%, Croat 22% (est.)
Religions: Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%,
other 10%
Languages: Serbo-Croatian (often called Bosnian) 99%
Literacy: NA
@Bosnia and Herzegovina:Government
Country name:
conventional long form : none
conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina
local long form : none
local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina
Data code: BK
Government type: emerging democracy
National capital: Sarajevo
Administrative divisions: there are no first-order administrative
divisions approved by the US Government, but it has been reported that
the Muslim/Croat Federation is comprised of 10 cantons called by
either number or name - Goradzde (5), Livno (10), Middle Bosnia (6),
Neretva (7), Posavina (2), Sarajevo (9), Tuzla Podrinje (3), Una Sana
(1), West Herzegovina (8), Zenica Doboj (4)
Independence: NA April 1992 (from Yugoslavia)
National holiday: Republika Srpska - "Republic Day", 9 January;
Independence Day, 1 March; Bosnia - "Republic Day", 25 November
Constitution: the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included
a new constitution now in force
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal
Executive branch:
chief of state : Chairman of the Presidency Alija IZETBEGOVIC (since
14 September 1996); other members of the three-member rotating
presidency: Kresimir ZUBAK (since 14 September 1996 - Croat) and
Momcilo KRAJISNIK (since 14 September 1996 - Serb)
head of government: Cochairman of the Council of Ministers Haris
SILAJDZIC (since NA January 1997); Cochairman of the Council of
Ministers Boro BOSIC (since NA January 1997) NA
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairmen
note: president of the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina: Vladimir SOLJIC (since March 1997); president of the
Republika Srpska: Biljana PLAVSIC (since September 1996)
elections: the three presidency members (one each Muslim, Croat, Serb)
are elected by direct election (first election for a two-year term,
thereafter for a four-year term); the president with the most votes
becomes the chairman; election last held 14 September 1996 (next to be
held September 1998); the cochairmen are nominated by the presidency
election results: Alija IZETBEGOVIC elected chairman of the collective
presidency with the highest number of votes; percent of vote - Alija
IZETBEGOVIC received 80% of the Muslim vote to Haris SILAJDZIC's 14%;
Kresimir ZUBAK received 88% of the Croat vote to Ivo KOMSIC's 11%;
Momcilo KRAJISNIK received 68% of the Serb vote to Mladen IVANIC's 30%