Bolivia

International phone code for Bolivia: +591

Standard EAN-13 (country barcode):  777

Olympic country code:  BOL

FIFA code:  BOL

Total area: 424,164 sq mi (1,098,580 sq km)

Population (2014 est.): 10,631,486 (growth rate: 1.6%); birth rate: 23.28/1000; infant mortality rate: 38.61/1000; life expectancy: 68.55

Historic and judicial capital (2011 est.) Sucre, 307,000; Administrative capital: La Paz, 1.715 million

Other large cities: Santa Cruz 1.719 million (2011)

Monetary unit: Boliviano

National name: Repblica de Bolivia

Languages: Spanish (official) 60.7%, Quechua (official) 21.2%, Aymara (official) 14.6%, Guarani (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% note: Bolivia's 2009 constitution designates Spanish and all indigenous languages as official; 36 indigenous languages are specified, including some that are extinct (2001 census)

Ethnicity/race: Quechua 30%, mestizo 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15%

National Holiday: Independence Day, August 6

Religion: Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5%

Literacy rate: 91.2% (2009 est.)

Background:

Bolivia is named after the independence fighter Simon Bolivar; it broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and counter-coups.

Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in the 1980s, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and drug production.

Current goals include attracting foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, continuing the privatization program, and waging an anti-corruption campaign.