Essential Information & explanations, latest texts & monographs on Bolivia.

Lonely Planet Bolivia (LONELY PLANET BOLIVIA) by Andrew Dean Nystrom

Bolivia Travel Map by David Sami

Footprint Bolivia Handbook (3rd Edition) by Alan Murphy

A Concise History of Bolivia by Herbert S. Klein

Peru and Bolivia, 8th: The Bradt Trekking Guide by Hilary Bradt

The Complete Bolivian Diaries of Che Guevara, and Other Captured Documents by Ernesto Guevara

Mammals of the Neotropics: The Central Neotropics: Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil by John F. Eisenberg

The Rough Guide to Bolivia by James Read

Let's Go 2003: Peru, Ecuador & Bolivia by Inc. Let's Go

Peru, Bolivia & Ecuador Map (Independent Travel Series) by Hammond World Atlas Corporation

Bolivia: The Evolution of a Multi-Ethnic Society by Herbert S. Klein

Mainstreaming Microfinance: How Lending to the Poor Began, Grew, and Came of Age in Bolivia by Elisabeth H. Rhyne

The Children of Bolivia (World's Children) by Jules M. Hermes

Bolivia in Pictures (Visual Geography Series) by Mary M. Rodgers

Hotel Bolivia : The Culture of Memory in a Refuge from Nazism by Leo Spitzer

Bolivia

This article is about the country of Bolivia. Alternate uses: Bolivia (disambiguation)

The Republic of Bolivia is a landlocked country in western South America. It is bordered by Brazil in the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina in the south, and Chile and Peru in the west. República de Bolivia (In Detail) (Full size) National motto: None Official language Spanish, Quechua, Aymara, Guarani Capital La Paz, Sucre¹ Largest City La Paz President Carlos Mesa Area - Total - % waterRanked 27th 1,098,580 km² 1.4% Population - Total (July 2000) - Density Ranked 85th 8,586,443 8/km² Independence - Date From Spain August 6, 1825 Currency Boliviano Time zone UTC -4 National anthem Bolivianos, el hado propicio Internet TLD.BO Calling Code591 (1) La Paz is the seat of government,Sucre the legal capital. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 History 2 Politics 3 Departments 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 Miscellaneous topics 9 External links History Main article: History of Bolivia Bolivia has long been inhabited by advanced cultures, the most important being the civilization of Tiahuanaco. It became part of the Inca empire in the 15th century. When the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, Bolivia, rich in silver deposits, was incorporated in the Viceroyalty of Peru, and later that of La Plata. Struggle for independence began in 1809, but it remained part of Spain until 1825, when it was liberated by Simón Bolívar, for whom the nation was later named. After briefly being part of a union with Peru, Bolivia became fully independent. In following years, Bolivia lost a lot of ground through war and sales. Faced with racial and cultural troubles, Bolivia has known revolution and military coups. A military junta was overthrown in the early 1980s to reinstate democracy. Politics Main article: Politics of Bolivia The president, elected every five years, is head of state and head of government, and appoints a cabinet of ministers. The Bolivian parliament consists of two chambers, the Camara de Senadores, or Senator's Chamber, has 27 seats, and the Camara de Diputados, or Deputies' Chamber has 130. Departments Main article: Departments of Bolivia Bolivia is divided into nine departments, or departamentos:

Geography Main article: Geography of Bolivia Bolivia is a landlocked nation. The west of Bolivia is situated in the Andes mountain range, with the highest peak, Nevado Sajama at 6,542 m. The centre of the country is formed by a highland plateau, the Altiplano, where most of the Bolivians live. The east of the country is lowland, and covered by the Amazonian rainforests. Lake Titicaca is located on the border between Bolivia and Peru. In the west, in the department of Potosi, lies the Salar De Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flats. Major cities are La Paz, Sucre, Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba. Economy Main article: Economy of Bolivia Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, has made considerable progress toward the development of a market-oriented economy. Successes under President Sánchez de Lozada (1993-97) included the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and becoming an associate member of the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur), as well as the privatisation of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. Growth slowed in 1999, in part due to tight government budget policies, which limited needed appropriations for anti-poverty programs, and the fallout from the Asian financial crisis. In 2000, major civil disturbances in April, and again in September and October, held down overall growth to 2.5%. Bolivia's GDP failed to grow in 2001 due to the global slowdown and laggard domestic activity. Growth is expected to pick up in 2002, but the fiscal deficit and debt burden will remain high. Demographics Main article: Demographics of Bolivia Many of the Bolivians are still of Indian ancestry, although a large group has mixed with the Europeans; they are called mestizos (about 30% of the population). Of the three official languages in Bolivia, two are indigenous: Quechua (the language of the Inca), and Aymará, a pre-Inca language. Spanish is the third language, spoken by about three-quarters of the population, mostly as a second language. Virtually all Bolivians are Roman Catholic, although many elements of the indigenous religions have been incorporated. Culture Main article: Culture of Bolivia Bolivian culture has many Incan and other Indian influences in religion, music and clothing, such as the well known bowler hats. See also:

Music of Bolivia

Miscellaneous topics

Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website. External links

The above article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

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Note again ... some material here is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

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