1988 Edition

Boundary disputes

none; has wanted a sovereign corridor to the Pacific Ocean since Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Chile over Rio Lauca water rights

short section with Namibia is indefinite

Climate

varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid

tropical; warm winters and hot summers

Comparative area

about the size of California and Texas combined

slightly smaller than Texas

Environment

cold, thin air of high plateau makes physical activity very difficult; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

continuing drought severely affecting important cattle industry; overgrazing; desertification

Ethnic divisions

95% Batswana; about 4% Kalanga, Basarwa, and Kgalagadi; about 1% white

Infant mortality rate

about 63/1,000 (1985)

Labor force

about 400,000 total; 110,000 formal sector employees (1984); most others are engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture; 40,000 formal sector employees spend at least six to nine months per year as wage earners in South Africa (1980); 17% unemployment (1983)

Land boundaries

6,083 km total

3,774 km total

Land use

3% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 25% meadows and pastures; 52% forest and woodland; 20% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

2% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 75% meadows and pastures; 2% forest and woodland; 21% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Language

English (official), Setswana

Life expectancy

63.5 (1985)

Literacy

about 24% in English; about 35% in Tswana; less than 1% secondary school graduates

Nationality

noun — Motswana (sing.), Botswana (pi.); adjective — Botswana

Organized labor

16 trade unions organized

Population

1,149,141 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 3.48%

Religion

50% indigenous beliefs, 50% Christian

Special notes

landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake, with Peru

landlocked; very long boundary with South Africa

Terrain

high plateau, hills, lowland plains

predominately flat to gently rolling tableland

Total area

1,098,580 km2; land area: 1,084,390 km2

600,370 km2; land area: 585,370 km2

Ethnic divisions

30% Quechua, 25% Aymara, 25-30% mixed, 5-15% European

Infant mortality rate

142/1,000 (1983)

Labor force

1.7 million (1983); 50% agriculture, 26% services and utilities, 10% manufacturing, 4% mining, 10% other

Language

Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara (all official)

Life expectancy

49

Literacy

63%

Nationality

noun — Bolivian(s); adjective Bolivian

Organized labor

150,000-200,000, concentrated in mining, industry, construction, and transportation; mostly organized under Bolivian Workers' Central (COB) labor federation

Population

6,309,642 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.19%

Religion

95% Roman Catholic; active Protestant minority, especially Methodist

Administrative divisions

nine departments with limited autonomy

10 administrative districts

Branches

executive; bicameral legislature (National Congress — Senate and Chamber of Deputies); Congress began meeting again in October 1982; judiciary

executive — President appoints and presides over the Cabinet, which is responsible to National Assembly; bicameral legislature (National Assembly with 34 popularly elected members and four members elected by the 34 representatives; House of Chiefs with deliberative powers only); judicial — local courts administer customary law, High Court and subordinate courts have criminal jurisdiction over all residents, Court of Appeal has appellate jurisdiction

Capital

La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary)

Gaborone

Communists

no known Communist organization; Koma of BNF has long history of Communist contacts

Elections

presidential election on 14 July 1985 did not produce the required majority for any of the three leading candidates; Victor Paz Estenssoro, center-left leader of the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR), placed second in the popular vote to center-right Hugo Banzer, head of the Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN); however, the MNR won 94 congressional seats compared to the ADN's 51; as a result, the Bolivian Congress on 5 August chose Paz Estenssoro to head the government; he was inaugurated on 6 August Political parties and leaders: the two parties that garnered the most votes in the 1985 elections, the Nationalist Revolutionary Movement (MNR) and the Nationalist Democratic Action (ADN), continue to have a tactical alliance; MNR, Victor Paz Estenssoro; ADN, Hugo Banzer; Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR), Jaime Paz Zamora; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement of the Left (MNRI), Hernan Siles Zuazo; Bolivian Socialist Falange (FSB), Mario Gutierrez; Authentic Revolutionary Party (PRA), Walter Guevara; Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Benjamin Miguel; Nationalist Revolutionary Party of the Left, Juan Lechin Oquendo

general elections held 8 September 1984 Political parties and leaders: Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Quett Masire; Botswana National Front (BNF), Kenneth Koma; Botswana People's Party (BPP); Botswana Independence Party (BIP), Motsamai Mpho

Government leader

Victor PAZ Estenssoro, President (since August 1985)

Dr. Quett K. J. MASIRE, President (since July 1980)

Legal system

based on Spanish law and Code Napoleon; constitution adopted 1967; constitution in force except where contrary to dispositions dictated by governments since 1969; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; constitution came into effect 1966; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IATP, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDE— Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, LAIA and Andean SubRegional Group (created in May 1969 within LAIA, formerly LAFTA), NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

AfDB, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OAU, Southern African Customs Union, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

National holiday

Independence Day, 6 August

Botswana Day, 30 September

Official name

Republic of Bolivia

Republic of Botswana

Suffrage

universal and compulsory at age 18 if married, 21 if single

universal adult at age 21

Type

republic

parliamentary republic; independent member of Commonwealth

Voting strength

(1985 election) ADN 28.11%, MNR 26.66%; MIR 8.86%

(September 1984 election) Legislative Assembly— BDP, 28 seats; BNF, 5 seats; BPP, 1 seat

Agriculture

main crops — potatoes, corn, rice, sugarcane, yucca, bananas, coffee; imports significant quantities of wheat; an illegal producer of coca for the international drug trade

principal crops are corn, sorghum, millet, cowpeas; livestock raised and exported; heavy dependence on imported food

Budget

revenues, $476.9 million; expenditures, $669.8 million (1986 est.)

revenues, $433 million; expenditures, $351 million (FY84/85 est.)

Electric power

508,000 kW capacity; 2,080 million kWh produced, 330 kWh per capita (1986) Bolivia (continued) Botswana

174,000 kW capacity; 533 million kWh produced, 480 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$673 million (f.o.b., 1985); tin, natural gas, silver, tungsten, zinc, antimony, lead, bismuth, gold, coffee, sugar, cotton

$653 million (f.o.b. 1985); diamonds, cattle, animal products, copper, nickel

Fiscal year

calendar year

1 April-31 March

GDP

$3.79 billion (1986 est.), $610 per capita; 79.2% private consumption, 16.6% public consumption, 12.0% gross domestic investment; - 11.0% current account balance (1983); real growth rate - 3.7% (1986)

$905 million, $880 per capita; average annual real growth 2% (FY83/84)

Imports

$582 million (c.i.f., 1985); foodstuffs, chemicals, capital goods, pharmaceuticals, transportation

$535 million (c.i.f., 1985); foodstuffs, vehicles, textiles, petroleum products

Major industries

mining, smelting, petroleum refining, food processing, textiles, and clothing

livestock processing; mining of diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash; tourism

Major trade partners

exports — Argentina 44%, US 24%, EC 19%, FRG 6%, UK 4%; imports— Brazil 22%, US 16%, EC 16%, Argentina 14%, Japan 13%, FRG 4% (1984)

Switzerland, US, UK, other EC members of Southern African Customs Union

Monetary conversion rate

1,923,000 pesos=US$l (December 1986); currency changed to boliviano on 1 January 1987 with a one-year transition period; 1.92 bolivianos=US$l (1 January 1987)

1.88 pula=US$l (November 1986)

Natural resources

tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron ore

diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal

Airfields

711 total, 643 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m, 7 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 130 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

105 total, 97 usable; 9 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 24 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

Bolivian Army, Bolivian Navy, Bolivian Air Force (literally, the Army of the Nation, the Navy of the Nation, the Air Force of the Nation)

Army, Air Wing, Botswana Police

Civil air

56 major transport aircraft

6 major transport aircraft

Highways

38,836 km total; 1,300 km paved, 6,700 km gravel, 30,836 km improved and unimproved earth

11,514 km total; 1,600 km paved; 1,700 km crushed stone or gravel, 5,177 km improved earth, 3,037 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways

officially estimated to be 10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways

Military manpower

males 15-49, 1,510,000; 984,000 fit for military service; 65,000 reach military age (19) annually 2001"" "is ha bong Boundary representation is not necessarily authoritative See refionil map VII

males 15-49, 215,000; 113,000 fit for military service; 13,000 reach military age (18) annually

Pipelines

crude oil, 1,670 km; refined products, 1,495 km; natural gas, 580 km

Ports

none (Bolivian cargo moved through Arica and Antofagasta, Chile, and Matarani, Peru)

Railroads

3,675 km total; 3,538 km 1.000meter gauge and 32 km 0.760-meter gauge, all government owned, single track; 105 km 1,000-meter gauge, privately owned

726 km 1.0 67-meter gauge

Telecommunications

radio-relay system being expanded; improved international services; 144,300 telephones (2.6 per 100 popl.); 129 AM, 62 shortwave, 38 TV stations; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT station Defense Forces

the small system is a combination of open-wire lines, radiorelay links, and a few radiocommunication stations; 17,900 telephones (1.7 per 100 popl.); 3 AM, 2 FM, 2 TV stations; 1 Indian Ocean satellite ground station Defense Forces