Bolivia

C

Climate

Although situated entirely within the tropics, Bolivia has, as a result of its varied elevation, a wide range of climate. In the higher regions the climate is cold and dry. The Altiplano and the high ranges of the Andes have unbelievably clear skies and intense sunshine, with afternoon thundershowers during summer (from December to March). In the lower-lying regions the climate is warmer. Humid, tropical conditions prevail in the northern plains. The southern plains are cooler and dryer. The mean annual temperatures range from 8°C (47°F) in the Altiplano to 26°C (79°F) in the eastern lowlands.

D

Natural Resources

The Andes Mountains are rich in mineral resources. These resources include tin, lead, silver, copper, antimony, zinc, sulfur, bismuth, gold, tungsten, and lithium. Bolivia has nearly half of the world’s known reserves of lithium, which is used in lithium-ion batteries to power hybrid and electric vehicles, as well as electronic devices. Salt, petroleum, and natural gas are also found in Bolivia. Bolivia has the second largest reserves of natural gas in Latin America. Only Venezuela has larger reserves. The soil of certain regions, notably the valleys of the Yungas east of Santa Cruz, is extremely fertile.

E

Plants and Animals

Because of the wide variations in elevation, plant and animal species of nearly every climatic zone are found in Bolivia. A coarse grass, called ichu, grows on the largely barren high plateau in the west. Para rubber trees, more than 2,000 species of hardwood trees, and vanilla, sarsaparilla, and saffron plants are common in the tropical forests of the east.

The llama, found chiefly on the Altiplano, is an efficient beast of burden. Alpacas and vicuñas also inhabit the plateau. Jaguars, capybaras, peccaries, tapirs, and other animals are common in the Yungas. Birds are found in great variety in the forests. Fish are abundant in Lake Titicaca and the rivers, among them bass, trout, and deadly piranhas. Monkeys, pumas, armadillos, and a variety of reptiles, birds, and insects are found predominantly in the tropical Amazon Basin.

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III

People

The population of Bolivia (2009 estimate) is 9,775,246, giving the country a population density of 9 persons per sq km (23 per sq mi), one of the lowest in South America. Roughly 55 percent of all the people are Native American, and about 30 percent are mestizo (of mixed Native American and European ancestry). Most of the remaining inhabitants are of Spanish descent. Some 36 percent of the people live in rural areas.

The official languages of Bolivia are Spanish and two Native South American languages, Quechua and Aymara; of those the Native American languages are more commonly spoken. Roman Catholicism is the religion of the great majority of the population. However, in rural areas, Catholicism contains many elements of indigenous beliefs.

The Native Americans are divided into the two major native language groups, the Aymara and the Quechua. Of the groups that presently live in Bolivia, the Aymara have probably been there the longest. They had a well-developed civilization along the shores of Lake Titicaca for many centuries before the Quechua-speaking Incas conquered them. Native American language, religion, and customs prevail in rural areas, and the Native American influence remains strong in the poorer districts of even major cities.

In past centuries the indigenous communities resisted European influences, a response to the Spanish conquest of the region in the early 1500s. European settlers established a rigid class system in which an upper class of colonists ruled over a lower class of Native Americans.

The Bolivian upper classes speak Spanish and trace their ancestry to the early Spanish colonists. However, since the settlers and Native Americans intermixed from the very beginning of the conquest, few of the old aristocratic families can claim pure European ancestry. Until the 1950s these aristocratic families, plus a few recent immigrants from other South American countries and Europe, had a monopoly on wealth, education, and political power. They owned almost all the land and controlled most large businesses and some of the mining industry. Even the country’s educational system was geared to training this elite. Since the revolution of 1952, however, Bolivian society has become more open and allows for more social mobility.

A

Principal Cities

La Paz was long Bolivia’s largest city and remains its administrative capital (population, 2008 estimate, 839,905). However, Santa Cruz (1,538,343), a major trade center located east of the Andes, has surpassed it in population. Other large cities in Bolivia include El Alto (896,773), a shantytown that was once a suburb of La Paz and became the country’s fastest-growing city; Cochabamba (603,342), in a fertile farming region; Oruro (232,246), in the mining district; Sucre (288,290), the country’s official capital; and Potosí (164,803), the silver-mining center of the colonial era.

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