42 Facts About Bolivia

1.

Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in western-central South America.

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2.

Sovereign state of Bolivia is a constitutionally unitary state, divided into nine departments.

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3.

Bolivia remained relatively politically stable until 1971, when Hugo Banzer led a CIA-supported coup d'etat which replaced the socialist government of Juan Jose Torres with a military dictatorship headed by Banzer.

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4.

Bolivia remains the second poorest country in South America, though it has slashed poverty rates and has the fastest growing economy in South America .

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5.

Bolivia is very rich in minerals, including tin, silver, lithium, and copper.

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6.

Bolivia is named after Simon Bolivar, a Venezuelan leader in the Spanish American wars of independence.

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7.

In 2009, a new constitution changed the country's official name to "Plurinational State of Bolivia" to reflect the multi-ethnic nature of the country and the strengthened rights of Bolivia's indigenous peoples under the new constitution.

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8.

The territory now called Bolivia was known as Charcas, and was under the authority of the Viceroy of Peru in Lima.

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9.

Bolivia was captured and recaptured many times during the war by the royalists and patriots.

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10.

Bolivia was finally freed of Royalist dominion by Marshal Antonio Jose de Sucre, with a military campaign coming from the North in support of the campaign of Simon Bolivar.

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11.

Since independence, Bolivia has lost over half of its territory to neighboring countries.

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12.

On 7 April 1943, Bolivia entered World War II, joining part of the Allies, which caused president Enrique Penaranda to declare war on the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan.

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13.

Juan Jose Torres, who had fled Bolivia, was kidnapped and assassinated in 1976 as part of Operation Condor, the U S -supported campaign of political repression by South American right-wing dictators.

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14.

The result of the conflict was to include text in the constitution stating that the capital of Bolivia is officially Sucre, while leaving the executive and legislative branches in La Paz.

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15.

Bolivia's was confirmed as interim president by the constitutional court who declared her succession to be constitutional and automatic.

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16.

Bolivia had the lowest inflation accumulated inflation of any Latin American country in 2021.

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17.

Bolivia is located in the central zone of South America, between 57°26'–69°38'W and 9°38'–22°53'S.

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18.

Bolivia has a high level of biodiversity, considered one of the greatest in the world, as well as several ecoregions with ecological sub-units such as the Altiplano, tropical rainforests, dry valleys, and the Chiquitania, which is a tropical savanna.

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19.

Bolivia is especially vulnerable to the negative consequences of climate change.

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20.

Bolivia is considered the place of origin for such species as peppers and chili peppers, peanuts, the common beans, yucca, and several species of palm.

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21.

Bolivia has been governed by democratically elected governments since 1982; prior to that, it was governed by various dictatorships.

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22.

In October 2011, Bolivia held its first judicial elections to choose members of the national courts by popular vote, a reform brought about by Evo Morales.

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23.

Bolivia has its constitutionally recognized capital in Sucre, while La Paz is the seat of government.

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24.

On 12 July 1839, President Jose Miguel de Velasco proclaimed a law naming the city as the capital of Bolivia, and renaming it in honor of the revolutionary leader Antonio Jose de Sucre.

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25.

In 2018, Bolivia signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

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26.

Bolivia has nine departments—Pando, La Paz, Beni, Oruro, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Potosi, Chuquisaca, Tarija.

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27.

In recent history, Bolivia has consistently led Latin America in measures of economic growth, fiscal stability and foreign reserves.

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28.

Since 1985, the government of Bolivia has implemented a far-reaching program of macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform aimed at maintaining price stability, creating conditions for sustained growth, and alleviating scarcity.

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29.

Once Bolivia's government depended heavily on foreign assistance to finance development projects and to pay the public staff.

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30.

Bolivia has the world's largest lithium reserves, second largest antimony reserves, third largest iron ore reserves, sixth largest tin reserves, ninth largest lead, silver, and copper reserves, tenth largest zinc reserves, and undisclosed but productive reserves of gold and tungsten.

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31.

Bolivia has the second largest natural gas reserves in South America.

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32.

Three largest, and main international airports in Bolivia are El Alto International Airport in La Paz, Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz, and Jorge Wilstermann International Airport in Cochabamba.

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33.

Bolivia was ranked 104th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, up from 110th in 2019.

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34.

Bolivia's drinking water and sanitation coverage has greatly improved since 1990 due to a considerable increase in sectoral investment.

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35.

Some regions of Bolivia are largely under the power of the ganaderos, the large cattle and pig owners, and many small farmers are still reduced to peons.

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36.

Indigenous peoples of Bolivia can be divided into two categories of ethnic groups: the Andeans, who are located in the Andean Altiplano and the valley region; and the lowland groups, who inhabit the warm regions of central and eastern Bolivia, including the valleys of Cochabamba Department, the Amazon Basin areas of northern La Paz Department, and the lowland departments of Beni, Pando, Santa Cruz, and Tarija .

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37.

Bolivia has great linguistic diversity as a result of its multiculturalism.

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38.

The Constitution of Bolivia recognizes 36 official languages besides Spanish: Aymara, Araona, Baure, Besiro, Canichana, Cavineno, Cayubaba, Chacobo, Chiman, Ese Ejja, Guarani, Guarasu'we, Guarayu, Itonama, Leco, Machajuyai-Kallawaya, Machineri, Maropa, Mojeno-Ignaciano, Mojeno-Trinitario, More, Moseten, Movima, Pacawara, Puquina, Quechua, Siriono, Tacana, Tapiete, Toromona, Uru-Chipaya, Weenhayek, Yaminawa, Yuki, Yuracare, and Zamuco.

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39.

Bolivia's program placed emphasis on the expansion of indigenous languages in the educational systems of the country.

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40.

Bolivia is a constitutionally secular state that guarantees the freedom of religion and the independence of government from religion.

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41.

In 2008, following UNESCO standards, Bolivia was declared free of illiteracy, making it the fourth country in South America to attain this status.

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42.

Bolivia has won 13 medals at the Pan American Games and 10 of them came from racquetball events, including their only gold medal won in the Men's Team event in 2019.

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