: 1,084,390 sq km
comparative area: slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Land boundaries: total 6,743 km, Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km,
Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none; landlocked
International disputes: has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South
Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884;
dispute with Chile over Rio Lauca water rights
Climate: varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
Terrain: rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano),
hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin
Natural resources: tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten,
antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber
Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 25%
forest and woodland: 52%
other: 20%
Irrigated land: 1,650 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the
international demand for tropical timber are contributing to
deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation
methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss
of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for
drinking and irrigation
natural hazards: cold, thin air of high plateau is obstacle to
efficient fuel combustion, as well as to physical activity by those
unaccustomed to it from birth; flooding in the northeast (March to
April)
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands;
signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine
Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
Note: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest
navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru
@Bolivia:People
Population: 7,896,254 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 39% (female 1,542,931; male 1,565,624)
15-64 years: 57% (female 2,276,308; male 2,188,100)
65 years and over: 4% (female 174,419; male 148,872) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.25% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 31.61 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.12 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 70.6 deaths/
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