Bolivia is a mountainous, inland country in the center
of South
America, southwest of Brazil.
In terms of its geography, Bolivia is often compared
to
Switzerland,
and its mountains attract many tourists. The Andes mountain range runs
through the southwest portion of Bolivia. Bolivia also contains the largest
lake in South America, Lake Titicaca, which is also the world's highest
navigable lake (elevation 3,805 meters), control of which it shares with Peru.
In area, Bolivia is 1,098,581 square kilometers, or about
the size of Texas and California together. It is bordered by Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile,
and Peru.
In climate, the country ranges from arid desert to high mountain plateaus, to temperate and subtropical lowlands. Natural resources include precious metals, such as gold and silver, as well as natural gas. Bolivia is the world's largest producer of tin. Agricultural products are also important to the economy, including the coca crop, basis of the manufacture of cocaine.
The official name of the country is the Republic of Bolivia, and its capital is La Paz, located in the Cordillera Real Mountains near the western border of the country. La Paz is the highest capital city in the world at 11,800 feet (3,600 meters). (Another source: 3,658 meters, or 12,001 feet.) Bolivia was named for Simon Bolivar, a leader in the South American independence movement. The country gained its independence from Spain on August 6, 1825. The government has three branches, the Executive (the President and the Cabinet), the Legislative, a bicameral National Congress, and the Judicial, headed by a Supreme Court. Its latest constitution has been in force since 1967, revised in 1994.
Most of the population is Roman Catholic, a minority is Protestant. The official language is Spanish, but Quechua, Aymara, and Tuarani are also spoken. These languages are spoken by the Amerindian native population groups of the same names (50 percent of the total population). The other 50 percent of the population is of European and mixed ethnic origin. The majority of the population suffers from severe poverty. The European (of predominantly Spanish ancestry) urban elite and the military dominate the country in political and economic terms. Most Bolivians are subsistence farmers, miners, traders or artisans.
The currency is the boliviano.
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