Home > South America > Bolivia
Bolivia flag
Plurinational State of Bolivia
Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia
   Bolivia is among the poorest countries in South America, especially as regards the indigenous part of the population. The Bolivian territory is very diversified, given that close to the Andes we have a vast plateau of 3,500 meters high rather arid, on the contrary to the east of the country there is a lowland rich in rivers, in the middle the Andean valleys that connect these two ecosystems very different from each other.
Government type Presidential republic
Area 1,098,581 km² (424,164 sq mi)
Population 10,060,000 inh. (2012 census)
Population 12,332,000 inh. (2024 est.)
Population density 11 inh/km² (29 inh/mi²)
Capital Sucre (361,000 pop.)
Currency Boliviano
Human development index 0.692 (118th place)
Languages Spanish, Quechua, Aymará, Guaraní and 33 other native languages (all official)
Life expectancy M 71 years, F 77 years
Location in South America

Boundaries:

Perù and Chile WEST
Argentina SOUTH
Paraguay SOUTH-EAST
Brazil EAST and NORTH

GEOGRAPHY DATA OF BOLIVIA


Largest cities
Santa Cruz de la Sierra 1,903,000 pop., 2,230,000 urban aggl.
El Alto 1,109,000 pop., 2,069,000 urban aggl.
La Paz 957,000 pop.
Cochabamba 856,000 pop., 1,259,000 urban aggl.
Sucre 361,000 pop.
Oruro 352,000 pop.
Highest mountains
Nevado Sajama 6,542 m (21,463 ft)
Illimani 6,438 m (21,122 ft)
Janq'u Uma 6,427 m (21,086 ft)
Longest rivers
Paraguay 2,620 km (1,628 mi) total, 50 km (31 mi) in Bolivia
Mamoré (with Rio Grande) 1,930 km (1,199 mi)
Pilcomayo 1,800 km (1,118 mi) total, including parts in Argentina and Paraguay
Itonomas 1,493 km (928 mi)
Guaporé 1,210 km (752 mi) total, including the Brazilian section
Beni 1,100 km (684 mi)
Madre de Dios 1,060 km (659 mi) total, the first part is in Perù
Largest lakes
Titicaca 8,372 km² (3,232 sq mi) total, 3,334 km² (1,287 sq mi) in Bolivia
Lake Poopó 1,000 km² (386 sq mi)
Largest islands
Isla del Sol (in Lake Titicaca) 14.3 km² (5.5 sq mi)

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS OF BOLIVIA

   Bolivia is administratively divided into 9 departments, with Santa Cruz being both the largest (1/3 of the country's territory) and the most populated, with over 3 million inhabitants, a limit also exceeded by the department of La Paz.

   Santa Cruz is the biggest city, with almost two million inhabitants, 3 other urban centers, El Alto, La Paz and Cochabamba, are around one million inhabitants; the distribution of the main cities is concentrated in the central-eastern zone, with other areas that are instead sparsely populated.



Sucre



Useful links

Instituto Nacional de Estadística
Bolivia Travel