Bolivia

Bolivia

Country

Native name

Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia

Capital

Sucre

Largest city

Santa Cruz de la Sierra

Official languages

Spanish, Quechua, Aymara, Guaraní and other Indigenous languages

Legislature

Plurinational Legislative Assembly

Currency

Boliviano(BOB)

Calling code

+591

Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia (Spanish: Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia), is a landlocked country in central-western South America. It borders Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, and Chile and Peru to the west. The country's constitutional capital is Sucre, while La Paz is the seat of the executive and legislative branches of government. Santa Cruz de la Sierra is the country's largest urban and economic centre.

Bolivia has a highly varied physical landscape that includes the Andes, the high Altiplano, valleys, tropical lowlands, parts of the Amazon Basin, the Gran Chaco and extensive wetlands. It is also rich in natural resources, including natural gas and deposits of tin, silver, zinc and lithium.

The country has a culturally diverse population shaped by Indigenous civilizations, Spanish colonial rule and later migration. The 2009 constitution defines Bolivia as a plurinational, intercultural, decentralized state with autonomies and recognizes political, economic, legal, cultural and linguistic pluralism. According to Bolivia's 2024 Population and Housing Census, 11,365,333 people were counted in the country, of whom about 69 percent lived in urban areas.

Name

The name Bolivia was adopted after independence in honour of Simón Bolívar, one of the principal leaders of the Spanish American independence movements. The territory had commonly been known during the colonial period as Upper Peru, and much of it was administered through the Audiencia of Charcas. After the defeat of Spanish royalist forces in the wider Andean region, representatives of Upper Peru chose to establish a separate country in 1825 rather than join either Peru or the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata.

The constitutional name Plurinational State of Bolivia reflects the model established by the 2009 constitution, which recognizes the country's Indigenous nations and peoples and its cultural and linguistic diversity.

History

Pre-Columbian societies

Human settlement in the territory of present-day Bolivia predates European colonization by thousands of years. The central Andes supported a series of complex societies that developed agriculture, trade networks, monumental architecture and political institutions.

Among the most important was the Tiwanaku culture, whose principal ceremonial and political centre developed near Lake Titicaca. Tiwanaku became an influential centre in the southern Andes and left major archaeological remains, including monumental stone structures and ceremonial complexes. UNESCO describes the site as evidence of a civilization that played an important role in the development of pre-Hispanic Andean society.

In the centuries before the Spanish conquest, significant parts of the western Bolivian highlands became incorporated into the Inca Empire. Indigenous societies including Aymara- and Quechua-speaking communities remained important parts of the region's population and social organization after the colonial conquest.

Spanish colonial period

Spanish forces entered the central Andes during the 16th century. The discovery and exploitation of major silver deposits at Potosí transformed the region into one of the most economically important parts of the Spanish Empire in South America. Mining relied heavily on Indigenous labour and connected the region to wider imperial trade networks.

Colonial rule also brought Christianity, European political institutions and new forms of landholding. At the same time, Indigenous languages, religious traditions and community structures continued and often blended with Catholic practices. In eastern Bolivia, Jesuit missionaries established settlements in the Chiquitos region between the late 17th and 18th centuries. Six surviving mission ensembles are recognized by UNESCO for combining European Christian architecture with local traditions.

Resistance to Spanish rule included major Indigenous uprisings as well as independence movements that emerged across Spanish America in the early 19th century.

Independence and the 19th century

Following years of warfare in Upper Peru and the defeat of Spanish royalist forces elsewhere in the Andes, an assembly of representatives declared the territory an independent state on 6 August 1825. The new republic took its name from Simón Bolívar, while Antonio José de Sucre became one of its first national leaders.

The 19th century was marked by political instability, changes of government, disputes over borders and competition for control of natural resources. Bolivia lost its Pacific coastline to Chile following the War of the Pacific in the late 19th century and has remained landlocked since then.

Mining continued to be central to the economy, with silver and later tin becoming important export commodities. Political and economic power was concentrated among relatively small groups, while much of the Indigenous rural population remained outside formal political participation.

Twentieth century

The Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay, fought during the 1930s, had major political and social consequences. Dissatisfaction with the country's political structure later contributed to the 1952 National Revolution led by the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement. Reforms associated with that period included universal suffrage, agrarian reform, the nationalization of major tin mines and efforts to expand education and state institutions into rural areas.

From the 1960s into the early 1980s, Bolivia experienced repeated military interventions and periods of authoritarian government. Civilian constitutional government was restored in the 1980s.

Economic reforms during the late 20th century reduced the state's direct role in parts of the economy, while social movements increasingly focused on Indigenous rights, control of natural resources, land, water and political representation.

Plurinational era

Evo Morales took office as president in 2006 following an election in which his Movement for Socialism became a major national political force. His government expanded the role of the state in important sectors of the economy and promoted a constitutional reform process.

A new constitution was approved in a national referendum in January 2009 and promulgated on 7 February 2009. It formally established Bolivia as a Unitary Social State of Plurinational Communitarian Law, recognized various forms of territorial autonomy and strengthened constitutional recognition of Indigenous nations and peoples.

Bolivia underwent a major political crisis following the disputed 2019 presidential election. A new election was held in 2020, after which Luis Arce became president.

In the 2025 presidential election, senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira won the second-round vote against former president Jorge Quiroga. Paz took office on 8 November 2025. Edmand Lara was elected vice president on the same ticket.

Geography

Bolivia lies near the centre of South America and has no coastline. Its terrain changes sharply from the high mountains and plateaus of the west to subtropical valleys and extensive eastern lowlands.

The western part of the country contains two major branches of the Andes with the Altiplano between them. This high plateau includes important population centres as well as Lake Titicaca, which Bolivia shares with Peru. The surrounding mountain region contains several high peaks and volcanoes.

Southwest Bolivia contains the Salar de Uyuni, a vast salt flat formed from the remnants of prehistoric lakes. The region contains extensive salt and mineral deposits, including lithium-bearing brines.

East and northeast of the Andes, the land descends into valleys and broad plains connected to the Amazon Basin. Other ecosystems include the dry forests and savannas of the Chiquitanía and the Gran Chaco in the southeast.

Bolivia's location and elevation differences create climates ranging from cold high-altitude conditions to tropical and subtropical environments. The World Bank identifies droughts, floods and large forest fires among the country's significant climate-related risks.

Biodiversity and protected areas

Bolivia contains ecosystems ranging from Amazonian rainforest and cloud forest to wetlands, dry forest, savanna and high-altitude grasslands. One of its internationally recognized protected areas is Noel Kempff Mercado National Park in the Santa Cruz department.

UNESCO describes the park as one of the largest and most intact protected areas in the Amazon Basin. Its habitats include evergreen forest, palm forest, cerrado, wetlands, savannas and semi-deciduous forest, supporting thousands of plant species and more than 600 recorded bird species.

Government and politics

Bolivia is governed under the Constitution of 2009. The constitution defines the country as free, independent, sovereign, democratic, intercultural, decentralized and autonomous, while recognizing political, economic, legal, cultural and linguistic pluralism.

Public power is divided among the executive, legislative, judicial and electoral organs. The constitution provides for direct and participatory democracy, representative democracy and forms of community democracy associated with Indigenous peoples.

The president serves as head of state and head of government. As of September 2026, the president is Rodrigo Paz Pereira, who assumed office on 8 November 2025. The vice president is Edmand Lara.

The national legislature is the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, which consists of two chambers. Bolivia also has departmental, municipal and Indigenous autonomous institutions within the framework established by the constitution.

Sucre is constitutionally designated as the capital of Bolivia. La Paz contains the principal offices of the executive and legislative branches and functions as the country's administrative seat.

Administrative divisions

Bolivia is divided into nine departments:

• Beni
• Chuquisaca
• Cochabamba
• La Paz
• Oruro
• Pando
• Potosí
• Santa Cruz
• Tarija

The 2024 census counted Santa Cruz as the most populous department, followed closely by La Paz. Cochabamba ranked third.

Economy

Bolivia is classified by the World Bank as a lower-middle-income economy. Mining, hydrocarbons, agriculture, manufacturing, commerce and services are important parts of national economic activity.

The country possesses significant natural resources. Mineral production includes zinc, silver and tin, while Bolivia also has large lithium resources associated particularly with salt flats in the southwest. Natural gas was for many years a major source of export earnings and public revenue.

Agriculture varies greatly by region. Products include soybeans, sugarcane, maize, potatoes, quinoa, coffee, Brazil nuts and livestock products. The eastern lowlands, especially Santa Cruz, form an important centre of commercial agriculture.

Bolivia benefited from high commodity prices during the early 21st century. After the commodity boom weakened after 2014, continued public spending and declining hydrocarbon production contributed to increasing fiscal pressures, falling international reserves and foreign-exchange difficulties.

World Bank data placed Bolivia's gross domestic product at about US$64.8 billion in 2025, with GDP per capita at about US$5,148. The same dataset recorded a contraction in real GDP during 2025 and consumer-price inflation of 19.5 percent for that year.

During 2026, the government pursued a stabilization program amid foreign-currency shortages, fiscal deficits and low liquid international reserves. In September, Bolivia's legislature approved a US$1.9 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund under an Extended Fund Facility, subject to the IMF's approval process. President Paz also announced the end of the state diesel subsidy as part of changes intended to address fuel shortages and fiscal pressure.

Demographics

The 2024 Population and Housing Census counted 11,365,333 people in Bolivia. Of these, 5,682,498 were men and 5,682,835 were women. About 7.85 million people, or 69 percent of the counted population, lived in urban areas, while approximately 3.52 million lived in rural areas.

The census also indicated a long-term demographic shift toward an older population. People aged 0–14 represented 27 percent of the population in 2024, compared with 38.7 percent in 2001, while the proportion aged 65 and above increased to 7.4 percent.

Bolivia has one of the largest Indigenous populations in Latin America. Government analysis of the 2024 census reported that approximately 4.3 million people, or 38.7 percent of the national population, identified with an Indigenous native peasant nation or people or as Afro-Bolivian.

Languages

Spanish is widely used throughout Bolivia, but the country is also home to numerous Indigenous languages. The constitution recognizes Spanish and a large group of Indigenous languages as official languages of the state. Among the most widely spoken Indigenous languages are Quechua, Aymara and Guaraní.

The constitution requires the plurinational government and departmental governments to use at least two official languages, one of which must be Spanish, with the other chosen according to local use and circumstances.

Religion

Christianity, particularly Roman Catholicism, has had a major historical influence on Bolivian society since the colonial period. Protestant and evangelical churches have also grown, while Indigenous religious traditions remain important in many communities.

Bolivian cultural and religious practices often combine Catholic and Indigenous elements. This blending is visible in festivals, local rituals, music, dance and religious art. The Constitution of 2009 guarantees freedom of religion and separates the state from religion.

Education and health

Access to education expanded considerably during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. According to the Pan American Health Organization's country profile, average years of schooling rose to 9.8 years by 2020, while the reported literacy rate reached 99.5 percent in 2021.

Health indicators have also changed substantially. PAHO reported life expectancy at birth of 68.7 years in 2024, compared with 62.1 years in 2000. Access to healthcare varies between urban areas and remote rural communities, particularly in mountainous and Amazonian regions.

Culture

Bolivian culture reflects the interaction of Indigenous civilizations, Spanish colonial traditions, African influences and later migration. Regional differences are pronounced between the Andean highlands, valleys, Amazonian areas, eastern lowlands and the Chaco.

Traditional clothing, textile production, weaving, ceramics, music and dance remain significant in many communities. Indigenous languages and community festivals form an important part of local cultural identity.

The Carnival of Oruro is one of Bolivia's best-known cultural celebrations. UNESCO inscribed it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008 after it had originally been proclaimed in 2001. The festival combines Indigenous traditions with Christian religious practices and features thousands of dancers and musicians.

Bolivia had ten elements listed by UNESCO under its Intangible Cultural Heritage programs by 2025, including the Carnival of Oruro, the Andean cosmovision of the Kallawaya, Pujllay and Ayarichi music and dances, ritual journeys during Alasita, the Gran Poder festival in La Paz and the Festivity of the Virgen of Guadalupe in Sucre.

World Heritage Sites

Bolivia has seven properties on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Six are cultural sites and one is a natural property.

The cultural properties are:

• City of Potosí
• Historic City of Sucre
• Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos
• Fuerte de Samaipata
• Tiwanaku
• Qhapaq Ñan, the Andean Road System

The country's natural World Heritage property is Noel Kempff Mercado National Park.

Sport

Association football is one of the most widely followed sports in Bolivia. The country's national team has participated in international competitions including the FIFA World Cup and Copa América. Matches played at the high altitude of La Paz are a distinctive feature of Bolivian football.

Other sports practiced in the country include basketball, volleyball, cycling, athletics, tennis and racquetball. Traditional and regional sporting activities are also held as part of local festivals and community events.

See also

• South America
• Andes
• Altiplano
• History of Bolivia
• Culture of Bolivia
• Economy of Bolivia
• Geography of Bolivia
• Demographics of Bolivia
• List of cities in Bolivia

External links

• Presidency of the Plurinational State of Bolivia
• National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia
• Bolivia at the World Bank
• Bolivia at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre