Bolivia
sovereign state in South America From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bolivia[a] /bəˈlɪviə/ (
listen), officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia,[b][8][9] is a country in South America. It is landlocked by Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Peru, and Chile. Luis Alberto Arce Catacora became its president in November 2020.
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As of 2019, the population of Bolivia was between 8,000,000 and 9,000,000.
Bolivia is named after Simón Bolívar. The main languages are Spanish and Quechua, but there are other languages too.
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History
Bolivia used to be a colony of Spain. The silver mines in Bolivia made most of Spain's money, and Spain used the native Bolivians as slaves to work in the mines.
After many wars, Simón Bolívar helped Bolivia to gain its independence in 1825. After this, the country experienced a very divisive 19th century, both politically and racially. There were strong political differences amongst liberals and conservatives in Bolivia following their independence.
Additionally, creoles in the country dominated Bolivian society until late in the 19th century, when Indians and other indigenous communities started to uprise. A notable figure in these indigenous uprisings was Pablo Zárate Willka.[10]
Bolivia used to own some of the Pacific coast, but it lost it in 1879 in the War of the Pacific.
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Geography
Bolivia is 424,135 mi² (1,098,581 km²).[11] This makes Bolivia the world's 28th-largest country (after Ethiopia). It is around the same size as Mauritania.
Bolivia is a landlocked nation, which means none of its borders touch the sea. It is surrounded on all sides by other countries.
The west of Bolivia is on the Andes mountain range. The highest mountain in Bolivia, located near the city of Oruro, is called Nevado de Sajama.
Although the west is very high-altitude with lots of mountains, there are also parts of Bolivia which are very flat and/or very near sea level. There is also a bit of Bolivia covered by the Amazon rainforest, and the highest lake in the world: Lake Titicaca.
The major cities are La Paz, El Alto, Santa Cruz de la Sierra and Cochabamba. For other places in Bolivia see List of cities in Bolivia.
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Demographics
The population of Bolivia is approximately 10,907,778 people. The ethnic composition of the country is like the following:
- 62% Native American
- 26% Mestizo
- 10% White
- 2% Black
Economy
Bolivia suffers from poverty. Over 65% of the population lives below the poverty line.[12]
Divisions
Bolivia is divided into nine departments. These departments are divided into 112 provinces. The provinces are divided into 339 municipalities and into native community lands.[13]
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Culture
Bolivian culture has many Inca, Aymara and other native influences in religion, music and clothing. There is a big festival in Oruro, which is called "El carnaval de Oruro". People in Bolivia like playing football, and football, which is often played in the street. Zoos are also very popular, but they do not have much money.
National symbols
The Cantuta (often spelled kantuta or qantuta) (Cantua buxifolia or Fuchsia buxifolia) is a flower found in the Yungas, and is the national flower of Bolivia along with the patujú (Heliconia rostrata) found in the tropical regions of Bolivia.
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