Ambassador Jorge CRESPO; Chancery at
3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
483-4410 through 4412; there are Bolivian Consulates General in Houston,
Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco;

US--Ambassador Robert S. GELBARD; Embassy at Banco Popular del Peru
Building, corner of Calles Mercado y Colon, La Paz (mailing address is
P. O. Box 425, La Paz, or APO Miami 34032); telephone [591] (2)
350251 or 350120

_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green
with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of
Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow
band

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The Bolivian economy steadily deteriorated between
1980 and 1985 as La Paz financed growing budget deficits by expanding
the money supply and inflation spiraled--peaking at 11,700%. An austere
orthodox economic program adopted by newly elected President Paz
Estenssoro in 1985, however, succeeded in reducing inflation to between
10% and 20% annually since 1987, eventually restarting economic growth.
President Paz Zamora has retained the economic policies of the previous
government, keeping inflation down and continuing the moderate growth
begun under his predecessor. Nevertheless, Bolivia continues to be one of
the poorest countries in Latin America, and it remains vulnerable to
price fluctuations for its limited exports--agricultural products,
minerals, and natural gas. Moreover, for many farmers, who constitute
half of the country's work force, the main cash crop is coca, which is
sold for cocaine processing.

_#_GDP: $4.85 billion, per capita $690; real growth rate 2.7% (1990)

_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 18% (1990)

_#_Unemployment rate: 21.5% (1990 est.)

_#_Budget: revenues $2.5 billion; expenditures $2.8 billion,
including capital expenditures of $850 million (1990 est.)

_#_Exports: $927 million (f.o.b., 1990);

commodities--metals 45%, natural gas 30%, other 25%
(coffee, soybeans, sugar, cotton, timber);

partners--US 15%, Argentina

_#_Imports: $716 million (c.i.f., 1990);

commodities--food, petroleum, consumer goods, capital goods;

partners--US 22%

_#_External debt: $3.7 billion (December 1990)

_#_Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1990); accounts for
almost 30% of GDP

_#_Electricity: 833,000 kW capacity; 1,763 million kWh produced, 260
kWh per capita (19