# Bolivia

| Plurinational State of Bolivia*Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia*  (Spanish) *Tetã Hetãvoregua Mborivia*  (Guarani) *Wuliwya Suyu*  (Aymara) *Puliwya Mamallaqta* (Quechua) |
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Flag

Coat of arms

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| **Motto:**"La Unión es la Fuerza" (Spanish) "Unity is Strength" |
| **Anthem:** "Himno Nacional de Bolivia" (Spanish)  |
| **Dual flag *Wiphala
 |
| Location of  Bolivia  (dark green)in South America  (grey) |
|  |
| Capital | Sucre (constitutional and judicial) La Paz (executive and legislative) |
| Largest city | Santa Cruz ﻿ / ﻿ |
| Official languages | * Spanish
* Quechua
* Aymara
* Guarani
* and 33 others (all Indigenous languages)
 |
| Ethnic groups (2009) | * 68% Mestizo (mixed Native and White)
* 20% Native Bolivian
* 5% White Bolivian
* 2% Cholo
* 1% Afro-Bolivian
* 1% Others
* 3% Unspecified
 |
| Religion (2018) | 88.9% Christianity —70.0% Roman Catholic —17.2% Protestant —1.7% Other Christian 9.3% No religion 1.2% Other religions 0.6% No answer |
| Demonym(s) | Bolivian |
| Government | Unitary presidential constitutional republic |
|  |
| • President  | Rodrigo Paz Pereira |
| • Vice President  | Edmand Lara |
|  |
| Legislature | Plurinational Legislative Assembly |
| • Upper house | Chamber of Senators |
| • Lower house | Chamber of Deputies |
| Independence |
|  |
| • Recognized  | 21 July 1847 |
| • Admitted to the United Nations  | 14 November 1945 |
| • Current republic  | 7 February 2009 |
|  |
| Area |
| • Total | 1,098,581 km2 (424,164 sq mi) (27th) |
| • Water (%) | 1.29 |
| Population |
| • census estimate |  8,014,380 hab (83rd) |
| • Density | 10.4/km2 (26.9/sq mi) (224th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2019 estimate |
| • Total | $89.018 billion (88th) |
| • Per capita | $7,790 (123rd) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2019 estimate |
| • Total | $40.687 billion (90th) |
| • Per capita | $3,823 (117th) |
| Gini (2018) |  42.2 medium |
| HDI (2019) |  0.692 medium · 107th |
| Currency | Boliviano (BOB) |
| Time zone | UTC−4 (BOT) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +591 |
| ISO 3166 code | BO |
| Internet TLD | .bo |
| 1. **^** While Sucre is the constitutional capital, La Paz is the seat of government and the executive capital. See below.
 |

**Bolivia** /bəˈlɪviə/ (listen), officially the **Plurinational State of Bolivia**, is a country in South America. It is landlocked by Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Peru, and Chile. Rodrigo Paz Pereira became its president in November 2025.

As of 2024 the population of Bolivia was 11,916,453.

Bolivia is named after Simón Bolívar. The main languages are Spanish and Quechua, but there are other languages too.

## History

Bolivia used to be a colony of Spain. The silver mines in Bolivia made most of Spain's money, and Spain used the native Bolivians as slaves to work in the mines.

After many wars, Simón Bolívar helped Bolivia to gain its independence in 1825. After this, the country experienced a very divisive 19th century, both politically and racially. There were strong political differences amongst liberals and conservatives in Bolivia following their independence.

Additionally, creoles in the country dominated Bolivian society until late in the 19th century, when Indians and other indigenous communities started to uprise. A notable figure in these indigenous uprisings was Pablo Zárate Willka.

Bolivia used to own some of the Pacific coast, but it lost it in 1879 in the War of the Pacific.

## Geography

Map of Bolivia from the CIA World Factbook
Uyuni
Bolivia is 424,135 mi² (1,098,581 km²). This makes Bolivia the world's 28th-largest country (after Ethiopia). It is around the same size as Mauritania.

Bolivia is a landlocked nation, which means none of its borders touch the sea. It is surrounded on all sides by other countries.

The west of Bolivia is on the Andes mountain range. The highest mountain in Bolivia, located near the city of Oruro, is called Nevado de Sajama.

Although the west is very high-altitude with lots of mountains, there are also parts of Bolivia which are very flat and/or very near sea level. There is also a bit of Bolivia covered by the Amazon rainforest, and the highest lake in the world: Lake Titicaca.

The major cities are La Paz, El Alto, Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba. For other places in Bolivia see List of cities in Bolivia.

## Demographics

The population of Bolivia is approximately 10,907,778 people. The ethnic composition of the country is like the following:

* 62% Native American
* 26% Mestizo
* 10% White
* 2% Black

## Economy

Bolivia suffers from poverty. Over 65% of the population lives below the poverty line.

## Divisions

Bolivia is divided into nine departments. These departments are divided into 112 provinces. The provinces are divided into 339 municipalities and into native community lands.

## Culture

Bolivian culture has many Inca, Aymara and other native influences in religion, music and clothing. There is a big festival in Oruro, which is called "El carnaval de Oruro". People in Bolivia like playing football, and football, which is often played in the street. Zoos are also very popular, but they do not have much money.

## National symbols

The Cantuta (often spelled kantuta or qantuta) (Cantua buxifolia or Fuchsia buxifolia) is a flower found in the Yungas, and is the national flower of Bolivia along with the *patujú* (Heliconia rostrata) found in the tropical regions of Bolivia.

## Related pages

* Bolivia at the Olympics
* Bolivia national football team
* List of rivers of Bolivia

**Notes**

## Other websites

* Bolivia map
* Media related to Bolivia at Wikimedia Commons
* Bolivia travel guide from Wikivoyage