General Information

Bolivia is a country rich in culture, tradition and values. The population reaches almost 8 million, of which more than 50% are indigenous.
Majority of the indigenous are descendants of the Incas, and speak Quechua. The other group is the Aymara, who are descendants of the Tiahuanaco culture.
The official language is Spanish, and only half the country speaks the language, or is bilingual in Quechua/Spanish or Aymara/Spanish.
The Bolivian economy is mainly based on agriculture, silver, gold, potassium and natural gas.
The national currency is the “Boliviano”.

Brief History

Bolivia was the cradle of the great Tiahuanaco culture that really flourished on the base of the Titicaca Lake between 600-1200 BC. The Spanish conquest was easy and fast, and only lasted from 1531 to 1533. Soon the silver mines were discovered in the Potosi Hill, which made the Spanish crown to flourish. However, although there was so much wealth, the natives never saw or received any benefit. On the contrary, they became slaves and most of them died in the mines shortly after. Bolivia got its independence from the Spanish on August 6th of 1825, when the Congress met in Chuquisaca city and started a new republic, Republica Bolívar. The independence was achieved thanks to heroes like Simon Bolivar and Antonio Jose de Sucre in the battle of Junin and Ayacucho in 1824. The country’s name was proposed by a priest Manuel Martín Cruz in honor of the Liberator. On October 3th, of the same year the name was changed to its present name República de Bolivia. In 1879 the Pacífico War broke out between Chile and Bolivia. As a result of this war, Bolivia lost its entire seaside, and the incalculable natural resources in the region. In the year 1952, Bolivia underwent a time of major socio-economic transformation. All the big mining enterprises were nationalized and a Mining Corporation was created. Since 1985, Bolivia has left estate capitalism behind, to become a free market economy, which completely changed the economical structure in the country.

Geography

Bolivia is a country located in the heart of South America and is the only land-locked country in the region. It is bordered on the west by Chile and Peru, on the north and east by Brazil, and on the south by Argentina and Paraguay.
Physically the land is divided into five basic and diverse regions: the high Altiplano, the highland valleys, the yungas, the Chaco and the Forests of the Amazon and Parana basins.
The Altiplano is the most densely populated region of the country, although it is by no means crowded. Despite the name and the elevation, the Altiplano is flat. The altitudes range from 3500 to 4000m, but the snows-capped peaks of the Cordillera Real and the many isolated volcanic summits of the Cordillera Occidental reach much higher. The average elevation of peaks in the Cordillera Real near La Paz is 5500m. The Nevado Illimani, one of the highest peaks of the Bolivian Andes, rises to an elevation of 6460m.
The Highland Valleys, south and east of the Altiplano boast the most hospitable living conditions in the country, with near optimum climatic conditions and fertile soils. This is the Cordillera Central, an area of scrambled hills and valleys, fertile basins and intense agriculture. With rain falling in summer instead of winter, the land supports olives, nuts, wheat, maize, grapes and wine is produced in the city of Tarija.
The Yungas are to the north and east of Cochabamba and La Paz, where the Andes falls away into the Amazon basin. Vegetation is abundant with tropical fruit, coffee, sugar, coca, and tabaco growing with minimal tending.
To the south-eastern corner of Bolivia, along the Paraguayan and Argentine borders, lies the flat, nearly impenetrable, scrubland of the Chaco. Because the region is almost uninhabited, native flora and fauna thrive, and the Chaco provides a refuge for such rare animal species as the jaguar and peccary, which have been largely displaced in other parts of the country.
The lowlands encompass about 60% of Bolivia’s total land area. The lowlands of the north and east are hot, flat and sparsely populated.
Many rivers systems drain this vast area. The Acre, Madre de Dios, Abuña, Beni, Mamore, Ichilo, Ibare, Grande, Paragua and a score of other rivers flow northward towards Brazil into Amazon tributaries. The Rio Paragua flows southward into the Parana Basin and eventually to the Atlantic via the Rio de la Plata.

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