Bolivia’s
economic growth
has been hindered both by the landlocked location of the
country
and by a difficult internal geography of steep mountains and seasonally flooded plains. The situation is
ameliorated
by agreements with Brazil,
Argentina
, and
Paraguay
that cover railway connections and duty-free shipping from eastern river ports via the Hidrovia (Paraguay-Parana Waterway), giving Bolivia access to
Atlantic Ocean
ports; another treaty, made with Peru in 1993, grants Bolivia overland access to the
Pacific Ocean
. Following a defense accord signed between Bolivia and
Chile
in 2008, the port of Iquique in Chile began to transport Bolivian goods freely for the first time since 1904, when a treaty cut off Bolivia’s Pacific outlet. Barges carry soybeans and other crops from Puerto Aguirre (Puerto Quijarro) in eastern Bolivia to Atlantic ports; the ships return with food products,
diesel fuel
, and industrial goods. The
immense
river system provides an important means of domestic transportation throughout the tropical lowlands.
Country Facts
Audio File:
National anthem of Bolivia
- Head Of State And Government:
- President:
Luis Arce
- Capitals:
- La Paz
(administrative);
Sucre
(constitutional)
2
- Population:
- (2024 est.) 12,341,000
- Form Of Government:
- unitary multiparty republic with two legislative houses (Chamber of Senators [36]; Chamber of Deputies [130])
- Official Languages:
- Spanish and 36 indigenous languages
The main
rail
system is in the west; it was built mostly between the 1890s and the 1920s and links the major Andean cities and mines with the Pacific ports of
Antofagasta
and
Arica
(both in Chile) and Matarani (
Peru
), the latter line being connected by shipping across
Lake Titicaca
. Isolated from this network, the eastern railroad system has its nucleus at
Santa Cruz
city, which was linked by rail to Corumba in
Brazil
and to Argentina via Yacuiba during the 1950s. Since the
privatization
of the national rail system in 1996, its use for the transport of soybeans, mineral products, and
consumer
goods has increased rapidly. In 2007, President Morales announced his intention to nationalize Bolivia’s railroads and take full control of the state company, the National Railroad Enterprise (Empresa Nacional de Ferrocarriles; ENFE), as part of his plan to reverse the country’s privatization efforts of the 1990s. The use of railroads for transporting passengers has decreased, however, as bus services have expanded.
Road transport has developed rapidly in highland Bolivia and around Santa Cruz since the mid-1950s, and there are connecting paved highways for most major cities as well as for the colonization centres of the Santa Cruz region. Bus and truck services on unpaved roads connect numerous towns and farming
communities
, yet journeys in these areas are slow and often hazardous, particularly on the narrow, winding mountain roads, which are seldom lined with guardrails. Along the Andean roadsides are numerous white crosses, tributes to those who have died from collisions or from careening off the road.
Air transport is the only fast link between Bolivia’s major cities and is the primary means by which the isolated settlements in the Oriente are connected to the rest of the country, especially in the rainy season, when roads are often destroyed by heavy rains and landslides. The airline
Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB) was founded by a small group of German businessmen in 1925, and in the second half of the 20th century it played an
indispensable
political role in helping Bolivia maintain control over the plains and the eastern border regions. LAB flies international routes to South American capitals, as well as to other cities such as
Sao Paulo
, Rio de Janeiro, and Manaus (all in Brazil),
Panama City
(
Panama
), and
Miami
(
Florida
, U.S.). A newer airline, AeroSur, also provides air passenger service to most Bolivian cities, some tropical towns, and
Buenos Aires
. The Bolivian Air Force company (Transportes Aereos Militares; TAM) carries passengers to small towns in the tropical Bolivian lowlands, and numerous foreign-owned airlines also serve the country. In the mid-1990s Santa Cruz opened a new airport, which was considered to be one of the more modern on the continent and quickly became Bolivia’s main air hub.