inflation to 9.3% in 1993, while GDP grew by an annual average of
3.25% during his tenure. President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993-1997) vowed
to advance the market-oriented economic reforms he helped launch as
PAZ Estenssoro's planning minister. His successes included the signing
of a free trade agreement with Mexico and the Southern Cone Common
Market (Mercosur) as well as the privatization of the state airline,
phone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company.
Furthermore, SANCHEZ DE LOZADA sponsored legislation creating private
social security accounts for all adult Bolivians and capitalized these
new accounts with the state's remaining 50% share in the privatized
companies. Hugo BANZER Suarez took office in August 1997 and has
proclaimed his commitment to the economic reforms of the previous
administration.

GDP: purchasing power parity-$23.1 billion (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 4.4% (1997 est.)

GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$3,000 (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 17%
industry: 26%
services: 57% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate-consumer price index: 7% (1997)

Labor force:
total: 2.5 million
by occupation: agriculture NA%, services and utilities NA%,
manufacturing, mining and construction NA%

Unemployment rate: 10%

Budget:
revenues: $3.75 billion
expenditures: $3.75 billion, including capital expenditures of $556.2
million (1995 est.)

Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco,
handicrafts, clothing

Industrial production growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)

Electricity-capacity: 786,000 kW (1995)

Electricity-production: 2.9 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity-consumption per capita: 370 kWh (1995)

Agriculture-products: coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice,
potatoes; timber

Exports:
total value: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities: metals 34%, natural gas 9.4%, soybeans 8.4%, jewelry 11%,
wood 6.9%
partners: US 22%, UK 9.3%, Colombia 8.7%, Peru 7.4%, Argentina 7.2%

Imports:
total value: $1.7 billion (c.i.f. 1997)
commodities: capital goods 48%, chemicals 11%, petroleum 5%, food 5%
(1993 est.)
partners: US 20%, Japan 13%, Brazil 12, Chile 7.5% (1996)

Debt-external: $4.2 billion (1997)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $588 million (1997)

Currency: 1 boliviano ($B) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: bolivianos ($B) per US$1-5.3724 (January 1998), 5.2543
(1997), 5.0746 (1996), 4.8003 (1995), 4.6205 (1994), 4.2651