Conventional Long Form Name: Plurinational State of Bolivia
Capital City: La Paz (administrative capital); Sucre (constitutional capital)
Type of Government: republic; note - the new constitution defines Bolivia as a "Social Unitarian State"
Date of Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)
National Holidays: Independence Day, 6 August (1825)
Chief of State and Head of Government: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006)
Picture of Chief of State and Head of Government:
Capital City: La Paz (administrative capital); Sucre (constitutional capital)
Type of Government: republic; note - the new constitution defines Bolivia as a "Social Unitarian State"
Date of Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)
National Holidays: Independence Day, 6 August (1825)
Chief of State and Head of Government: President Juan Evo MORALES Ayma (since 22 January 2006)
Picture of Chief of State and Head of Government:
Description of Executive Branch/Powers: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 12 October 2014 (next to be held in 2019); note - a presidential candidate wins an election one of 3 ways; Cabinet appointed by the president
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers: bicameral Plurinational Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional consists of the Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (36 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; 70 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 53 indirectly elected in single-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote, and 7 - apportioned to non-contiguous, rural areas in 7 of the 9 states - directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms)
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers: Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (consists of 12 judges); Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal (consists of 7 primary and 7 alternate magistrates); Plurinational Electoral Organ (consists of 7 members); Supreme Court and Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Plurinational Legislative Assembly for 6-year terms); Plurinational Electoral Organ members - 6 judges elected by the Assembly and 1 appointed by the president; judges and members serve 6-year terms; note - the 2009 constitution reformed the procedure for selecting judicial officials for the Supreme Court, Constitutional Tribunal, and the Plurinational Electoral Organ by direct national vote, which occurred in October 2011; Agro-Environmental Court; Council of the Judiciary; District Courts (in each of the 9 administrative departments)
Suffrage (who is allowed to vote): 18 years of age, universal and compulsory
Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Freddy BERSATTI Tudela
Location of THEIR embassy(Chancery) in the U.S.: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Location(s) of THEIR consulate(s) in the U.S.: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Washington,DC
Name of U.S. Ambassador to THEM: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Peter Brennan (since June 2014)
Location of U.S. embassy THERE: Avenida Arce 2780, Casilla 425, La Paz
Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s) THERE: none
Name of THEIR representative to UN: Sacha Sergio Llorenty Soliz
Picture of the flag:
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers: bicameral Plurinational Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional consists of the Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (36 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; 70 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 53 indirectly elected in single-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote, and 7 - apportioned to non-contiguous, rural areas in 7 of the 9 states - directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote; members serve 5-year terms)
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers: Supreme Court or Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (consists of 12 judges); Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal (consists of 7 primary and 7 alternate magistrates); Plurinational Electoral Organ (consists of 7 members); Supreme Court and Plurinational Constitutional Tribunal judges elected by popular vote from list of candidates pre-selected by Plurinational Legislative Assembly for 6-year terms); Plurinational Electoral Organ members - 6 judges elected by the Assembly and 1 appointed by the president; judges and members serve 6-year terms; note - the 2009 constitution reformed the procedure for selecting judicial officials for the Supreme Court, Constitutional Tribunal, and the Plurinational Electoral Organ by direct national vote, which occurred in October 2011; Agro-Environmental Court; Council of the Judiciary; District Courts (in each of the 9 administrative departments)
Suffrage (who is allowed to vote): 18 years of age, universal and compulsory
Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Freddy BERSATTI Tudela
Location of THEIR embassy(Chancery) in the U.S.: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Location(s) of THEIR consulate(s) in the U.S.: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Washington,DC
Name of U.S. Ambassador to THEM: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Peter Brennan (since June 2014)
Location of U.S. embassy THERE: Avenida Arce 2780, Casilla 425, La Paz
Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s) THERE: none
Name of THEIR representative to UN: Sacha Sergio Llorenty Soliz
Picture of the flag:
Description of Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; red stands for bravery and the blood of national heroes, yellow for the nation's mineral resources, and green for the fertility of the land
National Anthem:
National Anthem:
National Symbols: llama, Andean condor; national colors: red, yellow, green
Description of International Disputes: Chile and Peru rebuff Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, but Chile offers instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian natural gas; contraband smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal narcotic trafficking are problems in the porous areas of the border with Argentina
Quantity of refugees inside country AND country(ies) of origin of refugees: 767 (Guatemala, Honduras, and Salvador)(2015)
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: 0
Quantity of Stateless Persons: 0
Description of current human trafficking issues related to Bolivia: Bolivia is a source country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking domestically and abroad; indigenous children are particularly vulnerable; Bolivia is a source country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking domestically and abroad; rural and poor Bolivians, most of whom are indigenous, and LGBT youth are particularly vulnerable; Bolivians perform forced labor domestically in mining, ranching, agriculture, and domestic service, and a significant number are in forced labor abroad in sweatshops, agriculture, domestic service, and the informal sector; women and girls are sex trafficked within Bolivia and in neighboring countries, such as Argentina, Peru, and Chile; a limited number of women from nearby countries are sex trafficked in Bolivia
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use: world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 30,000 hectares under cultivation in 2011, a decrease of 13 percent over 2010; third largest producer of cocaine, estimated at 265 metric tons potential pure cocaine in 2011, a 29 percent increase over 2010; transit country for Peruvian and Colombian cocaine destined for Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Europe; weak border controls; some money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade; major cocaine consumption (2013)
Description of International Disputes: Chile and Peru rebuff Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, but Chile offers instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime access through Chile for Bolivian natural gas; contraband smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal narcotic trafficking are problems in the porous areas of the border with Argentina
Quantity of refugees inside country AND country(ies) of origin of refugees: 767 (Guatemala, Honduras, and Salvador)(2015)
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: 0
Quantity of Stateless Persons: 0
Description of current human trafficking issues related to Bolivia: Bolivia is a source country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking domestically and abroad; indigenous children are particularly vulnerable; Bolivia is a source country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking domestically and abroad; rural and poor Bolivians, most of whom are indigenous, and LGBT youth are particularly vulnerable; Bolivians perform forced labor domestically in mining, ranching, agriculture, and domestic service, and a significant number are in forced labor abroad in sweatshops, agriculture, domestic service, and the informal sector; women and girls are sex trafficked within Bolivia and in neighboring countries, such as Argentina, Peru, and Chile; a limited number of women from nearby countries are sex trafficked in Bolivia
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use: world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 30,000 hectares under cultivation in 2011, a decrease of 13 percent over 2010; third largest producer of cocaine, estimated at 265 metric tons potential pure cocaine in 2011, a 29 percent increase over 2010; transit country for Peruvian and Colombian cocaine destined for Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Europe; weak border controls; some money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade; major cocaine consumption (2013)