Bolivia+(Jordan+S.)

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**Republica de Bolivia** **"Bolivia"**



General Information and Founding
Bolivia, a land-locked country in South America, and was inhabited mainly by the Incas until the 16th Century.

**Founding**
Originally, Bolivia was controlled and inhabited by the Incas until the Spanish came to the country in search of the rich minerals that are located there. After they arrived, the Bolivian Indians escaped to the high mountains of the Andes to flee from the Spanish and the European diseases they brought along, but they soon were turned into slaves for the Spanish. In 1825, Bolivia broke away from Spanish Control, gaining it's independence of the small country, and was named Bolivia by Simon Bolivar, a famous liberator.

**Capitals**
Bolivia has two major capitals, and they are La Paz and Sucre.

**Population**

 * Approximately 10,118,683 million people as of July of 2011

**Demographics**
Ethnic Groups
 * Quechua: 30%
 * Mestizo: 30%
 * Aymara: 25%
 * White: 15%

Age Structure
 * 0-14: 34.6% (Male: 1,785,453 / Female: 1,719,173)
 * 15-65: 60.7% (Male: 3,014,419 / Female: 3,129, 942)
 * 65 Yrs and Older: 4.6% (Male: 207,792 / Female: 261, 904)

Median Age
 * Male: 21.8 Years old.
 * Female: 23.2 Years old.
 * Average: 22.5 Years old.

Population Growth
 * 1.664% Per year

Birth Rate
 * Approx. 24 births per 1,000 people.

Death Rate
 * Approx 7 deaths per 1,000 people.

**Religion**
Bolivia's main religion is Catholic, with over 80% of Bolivians protesting it as their faith, while there are numerous other religions apparent such as the Mormon Church, Baptists, Jehova's Witnesses, and many other smaller religions mixed into the original Bolivian culture and beliefs. Bolivia has two major religion divisions that are practiced....
 * Roman Catholic: 95%
 * Protestant (Evangelical Methodist): Approx 5%

**Languages**
Bolivia has 3 official languages spoken with many other smaller languages spoken in small parts of the country. The list following shows the top languages and their ranking in percent spoken.
 * 1) Spanish: 60.7%
 * 2) Quechua: 21.2%
 * 3) Aymara: 14.6%
 * 4) Foreign Languages: 2.4%
 * 5) Other: 1.2%

**Economy and Major Imports/Exports**
Bolivia is one of the poorest and least developed countries in Latin America ever since a major economic crisis during the early years of the 1980s. In turn of this, reforms attempted to spur private investments and spur economic growth, and cut poverty rates in during the 1990s. In the years of 2003-2005, the economic, local government, and public unrest caused issues and oppositions to the new plan of exporting newly found natural gas to surrounding countries to export. In response to this, the government passed a law to impose higher royalties and require all foreign firms to surrender power to Bolivia's state energy company. The recession's growth began to slow, and made Bolivia's growth rate the highest in South America in 2009. During the years of 2010 and 2011, increases in the sectors of mining and hydrocarbons and higher prices of foods posed challenges for the economy.\

Agricultural Products
 * Soybeans
 * Coffee
 * Coca
 * Sugarcane
 * Rice
 * Potatoes
 * Timber

Industries
 * Mining
 * Smelting
 * Petroleum
 * Food and Beverages
 * Tobacco
 * Handicrafts
 * Clothing

**Exports**
The exports in Bolivia equal to almost $8.188 Billion dollars in 2011 and approximately $6.179 Billion dollars in 2010, so there is a slight rise in the value of the exports.
 * Natural Gas
 * Soybeans and soy products
 * Crude Petroleum
 * Zinc Ore
 * Tin

**Imports**
The imports in Bolivia equaled to almost $6.385 Billion dollars in 2011 in contrast to only about $4.922 Billion in 2010.
 * Petroleum Products
 * Plastics
 * Aircraft and parts
 * Automobiles
 * Insecticides
 * Soybeans


 * [[image:Bolivia_5_Bolivianos_1928_obverse_P-129.jpg width="264" height="144" align="left" caption="Bolivian Currency issued by Banco Central De Bolivia "Central Bank of Bolivia.""]]

**Monetary System**
Bolivia's money has been maintained by the Central Bank (Banco Central) since 1928 and has been regulating money in Bolivia since. Originally, Bolivian currency was in terms of Bolivianos until January 1963, when it was replaced with the Bolivian Peso.

**Government**
Bolivia is a republic country and based on its new constitution, defines Bolivia as a "Social Unitarian State." Bolivia has nine administrative divisions placed across the country. They are...
 * 1) Beni
 * 2) Chuquisaca
 * 3) Cochabamba
 * 4) La Paz
 * 5) Oruro
 * 6) Pando
 * 7) Potosi
 * 8) Santa Cruz
 * 9) Tarija

Bolivia's independence day in on August 6, 1825, and their constitution day is on February 7th, 2009. Bolivia's current leader is Juan Evo Morales and has been chief of state and head of government since January 22, 2006 along with his Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera. The next major election for Bolivia will be held in 2014. Bolivia has a stable political climate with their president Juan Evo Morales having and maintaining a high popularity rating in Bolivia, while some outside negative views counteract this peace.

**Flag and It's Meaning**
The Bolivian flag was adopted by the country in October of 1851 and the red, yellow, and green stripes, along with the Emblem located in the center all have significant meanings and symbolism to Bolivia's past, and beginning as a independent country.
 * ~ The Colors ||~  ||
 * **Red** || Bravery, Strength ||
 * **Yellow** || Generosity ||
 * **Green** || Hope, Joy, Love ||
 * Emblem Meaning**
 * **Crossed Muskets** || Struggle for Independence ||
 * **Olive Branches** || Peace ||
 * **Eagle** || Liberty ||

Geography
Bolivia is a land-locked country located in Central South America with the neighboring countries of....
 * Argentina
 * Brazil
 * Chile
 * Paraguay
 * Peru

The Total area of Bolivia is 1,098,581 sq km, with 1, 083, 301 sq km of land and 15,280 sq km of water, and the area is almost the equivalent of three times the size of the state of Montana.

Interesting Geographical Features

 * Land-Locked
 * Lowest Elevation: Rio Paraguay at only 90 m.
 * Highest Elevation: Nevado Sajama at 6, 542 m.
 * Experiences volcanic activity in the Andes Mountains on the Bolivia/Chile Border, though the last time there was an eruption was 1995.

Lago Titicaca (//Lake Titicaca//)

 * World's highest navigable lake at an of elevation 3,805m
 * Larger than Puerto Rico.
 * Maximum Depth is about 370m, with an average depth of 215m
 * Large enough to maintain a constant temperature of 10 degrees Celsius.
 * Moderates the temperature in the area surrounding it, providing the ability to grow abundant crops.

Climate
Bolivia's climate mainly depends on where you are located.

The Highlands can be extremely cold, and temperatures can frequently go below zero at night. Snow is common in the town of Potosi during the winter months and may even perhaps fall in La Paz and Oruro during the winter while in Sucre and Cochabamba the winter months usually provide blue skies and comfortable temperatures.

The Rainforest typically is very hot and very wet, but from May to October, the drier period of the rainforest sets in. As altitude in the Andes Mountains decreases, the temperature increases. The Summer months are from November through March, and during these months, the weather is usually warmer and wetter.

The Winter months are from April through October, are typically colder and drier than the summer months.

**Culture**
Bolivia's culture has many influences from its Inca heritage and other Indian influences in their music, religion, and clothing. For example, one of their traditional clothing accessories is the bowler hat. Bolivians share some similar holidays with North America and some other countries such as Christmas on December 25 and New Years Day on January 1st. Their best known festival in Bolivia is "El carnaval de Oruro" and traditionally consists of football in the streets, music, and parades. The music in Bolivia is the most connected to its traditional heritage out of all surrounding countries of similar ancestry. The music was based largely from European forms, but when a reform in 1952 sparked interest in regaining pride in their history, a revolution began and inspired and increased nationalistic reforms in social, cultural, and political awareness for the Aymara and Quechua native peoples.

Music is played during festivals and dances and some of the tunes contain strong Spanish influences from their Spanish heritage. Some of the instruments played are traditional instruments that have been played for many decades.

Some of the common musical instruments are the...
 * Charango: similar to a guitar.
 * Skin Drums
 * Zampona



Bolivia also has many traditional dances, and the national dance is the cueca, which originated with a Chilean version. The Cueca consists of couples dancing side to side and waving handkerchiefs while set at a three quarters musical time rhythm. Since the majority of the country is Roman Catholic, they celebrate holidays such as Easter and Christmas along with individual towns and groups having their own festivals.

**Tourism Information**
Bolivia has many options and places to visit while in the country from the high peaks in the Andes Mountains to the low, flat plains in the Amazon Basin. Below are some major places to research and consider if planning to visit Bolivia in the future.


 * 1) Sucre: legal capital, small city, large culture and rich with history.
 * 2) La Paz: largest city, and main international hub for commerce/trade and travel.
 * 3) Sala De Uyuni: largest salt flat in the world, and on the flats is the Hotel Playa Blanca which is made completely out of salt from the flats, including the furniture.
 * 4) Lake Titicaca: highest navigatable lake in the world, and houses a unique native culture that lives on floating islands made of reeds native to the region, and also if you get bored there, it is only a short distance to Peru!
 * 5) Tropical Rainforest: provides many opportunities to visit and view rare animals and plant life, and a major opportunity for photographers to get that "sought after" photograph.







**Current Events in Bolivia**
1. __**90 Emergencies happen in only four days of Carnival.**__ Carnival is a traditional festival held right before the Catholic holiday of Lent, and in this year's celebration, almost 90 emergencies occured in the city of La Paz according to Mayor Luis Revilla. The only emergencies were small and not life- threatening according to Mayor Revilla. //([])//

//2.// __**Evo Wants New, Larger Government Palace**__ President Evo Morales has come to the conclusion that the current government headquarters, "Palacio Quemado," is too small and is calling for a larger one. He has already called on architects to draft new designs for future palaces, while some others, such as former presidential candidate Samuel Doria Medida called this expense "unnecessary" and to focus on other issues. //__(__[|http://www.boliviaweekly.com/evo-wants-new-larger-government-palace/2780] [|/])//

My Sources

Book: //A Brief History of Bolivia// by Waltraud Q. Morales

Web 1:[| https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bl.html]

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Web 4:[| http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/bolivia.html]

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Web 6: [|http://www.photius.com/countries/bolivia/economy/bolivia_economy_monetary_and_exchang~137.html]

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Web 9:[| http://farmlandgrab.org/12169]

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