| Plurinational State of Bolivia Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia Timeline: Differently | ||||||
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| Motto: La Unión es la Fuerza "Unity is Strength" |
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| Anthem: "Canción Patriótica" |
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 Location of Bolivia in South America
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| Capital | Sucre La Paz | |||||
| Largest city | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | |||||
| Official languages | Spanish and several indigenous languages | |||||
| Government | Unitary parliamentary republic | |||||
| - | President | Jeanine Añez | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Evo Morales | ||||
| Establishment | ||||||
| - | Independence from Spain | 1825 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 1,283,302 km2 495,486 sq mi |
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| Population | ||||||
| - | Estimate | 13,469,896 (80th) | ||||
| Currency | Boliviano (BOB) | |||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a country in South America. It borders Peru to the west, Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south and Chile to the southwest. It is also bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the southwest. Its geographic features include the Andes and the Amazon Rainforest.
Its surface area of 12.8 million square kilometers makes it the fourth-largest country in South America and the 25th-largest in the world. With a population of over 13.4 million inhabitants, it is the eighth-most populous country in South America and the 80th in the world.
The country's population is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, Europeans, Asians and Africans. Spanish is the official and predominant language, although 36 indigenous languages also have official status, of which the most commonly spoken are Guarani, Aymara and Quechua languages.
Modern Bolivia is a charter member of the League of Nations. For over a decade Bolivia has had one of the highest economic growth rates in Latin America; however, it remains the second poorest country in South America. It is a developing country, with a medium ranking in the Human Development Index, a poverty level of 38.6%, and one of the lowest crime rates in Latin America. Its main economic activities include agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and manufacturing goods such as textiles, clothing, refined metals, and refined petroleum. Bolivia is very rich in minerals, including tin, silver, and lithium.
History[]
Before Spanish colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was part of the Inca Empire, while the northern and eastern lowlands were inhabited by independent tribes. Spanish conquistadors arriving from Cuzco and Asunción took control of the region in the 16th century. Spain built its empire in large part upon the silver that was extracted from Bolivia's mines. After the first call for independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simón Bolívar. Bolivia won the War of the Pacific against Chile and Peru in 1879, defending its coastal territory against Chilean invasion and gaining further territory from Peru.
Between 1899 and 1903, Bolivia fought the Acre War against Brazil, after which it lost its northern province of Acre.
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