Altitude and the changes in annual precipitation toward the southwest dominate the climate of Bolivia. Widely varing conditions can often be seen over short disctances. Average seasonal temperatures ranges are generally smaller than the average diurnal ranges. The average temperatures of the coldest (June/July) and the warmest (November) months at La Paz (11,900 feet above sea level) are 43.5F and 51.8F, respectivily.Lake Titicaca, with nearly constant water temperature of 51F throughout the year, has a moderating influence on its surroindings; winter temperatures in its environs are slightly higher then those at similar altitudes elsewhere on the Altiplano. The southern areas that form the Bolivian part of the Gran Chaco have the highest temperatures in South America, with highs of over 104F and an average of 82.5F and 72F for the hottest and coolest months.The rainy seasons lasts from approximately October to March and is longer in the north. The southwestern part of Bolivia is arid, and agriculture there is largely dependent of irrigation. The northeastern flanks of the lowlands have amount have abundant rainfall (an annual average of over 60 inches). The average annual precipitation at La Paz is 22.6 inches.The extreme south is semiarid, with an average annual rainfall of 20 inches and frequent drought. The northern part of the eastern lowlands and the adjacent lower slopes of the Cordillera Oriental are covered by dense evergreen forests. The vegetation of the Bolivia Chaco is that of a dry savanna with scrublands, thorny bushes, and high grasses.
At 1,098,580 km² (424,135 mi²), Bolivia is the world's 28th-largest country (after Ethiopia). It is comparable in size to Mauritania, and it has about 1.5 times the area of the US state of Texas.
Bolivia has been a landlocked nation since 1879, when it lost its coastal department of Litoral to Chile in the War of the Pacific. However, it does have access to the Atlantic via the Paraguay River.
An enormous diversity of ecological zones are represented within Bolivia's territory. The western highlands of the country are situated in the Andes Mountains and include the Bolivian Altiplano. The eastern lowlands include large sections of Amazonian rainforests and Chaco. The highest peak is Nevado Sajama at 6,542 metres (21,463 ft) located in the department of Oruro. Lake Titicaca is located on the border between Bolivia and Peru. The Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, lies in the southwest corner of the country, in the department of Potosí.
Major cities are La Paz, El Alto, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and Cochabamba.
The western parts (Andean region) of what is today Bolivia formed part of the Lake Titicaca) and in the valleys of the Cordillera Oriental. The Spaniards, whose main interest was precious metals, discovered in 1544 rich silver deposits in a mountain at the foot of which they founded the settlement of Potosi at an altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet) above sea level. By the end of the sixteenth century, Potosi had a population of 120,000, the largest urban center in South America. It held its position troughout the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, when its population exceeded 160,000. Potosi was preceded by Chuqisaca, later renamed Sucre, which was founded in 1538 and later became the administrative capital of the Spanish colonial rule.
Other Spanish settlements followed, including La Paz (1548), Cochabamba (1574), and Oruro (1604). Alto Peru (Upper Peru), as Bolivia was known during the period of Spanish rule, was at first a dependency of the Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1776 it was transferred to the newly formed Viceroyalty of La Plata.
Independence was declared in 1825 by an assembly which met in Chuqisaca (Sucre). General Antonio Jose de Sucre, who, in comand of Colombian troops, played a leading role in the defeat of the Spanish garrison, was elected as the first president. The following year a constitution was drawn up by Simon Bolivar and adopted. It was then that the country received the name of Bolivia. A long period of internal struggle and instability followed with dicators, mainly military, ruling the country. Some of these dictators involved themselves in the internal struggles of Peru (in which Chile also intervened), while others struggled to prevent the annexation of Bolivia by Peru. The position of Bolivia's boundaries was uncertain and subject to conflict. However, Bolivian territory extended to the Pacific and included most of the coast of the Atacama desert and the port of Antofagasta. The discovery of rich nitrate deposits in the Atacama desert and rising border tensions led the outbreak of war betweeen Chile and Bolivia (1879-1883), in which Peru participated on the side of Bolivia. Chile's victory in this war resulted in Bolivia's loss of its outlet to the Pacific. Efforts, mainly political, to regain some outlet to the sea failed. The railway which linked Bolivia with the Pacific coast (Oruro-Antofagasta) was inaugurated in 1892.
The frequent changes in the regime were often accompanied by changes in the constitution. Thus, from the declaration of independence to the end of the nineteenth century, ten different constitutions were enacted. In 1904 Bolivia lost a substantial part of its possesions in the eastern lowlands to Brazil. Defeated in a war with Paraguay (1932-1935), Bolivia lost most of its territory in the Gran Chaco. At present, Bolivia extends over less than half the territory over which it claimed soveriegnty when it declared independence. The expansion of mining from the end of the nineteenth century attracted foreign investment. This led to the development of three large foreign mining corporations that became dominant in Bolivia's economic and political life. These, together with large landowners and the military, actually controlled the country.
In 1952 a revolutionary party (Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario MNR) seized control of the government. This led to the expropriation of the mines by the state and to agrarian reform, by which the large estates were divided among former tenants and peasants. Before it was deposed by the army in 1964, the MNR introduced far-reaching economic and social changes. Over the next 25 years (1964-1989) Bolivia has 19 presidents (13 were generals), with only two completing a full term in office.
Bolivia's population was estimated at 7 million in 1989 (5.9 million at the 1982 census) and has been increasing over the last decade by an average annual rate of 2.6 percent. It has more than doubled over the last forty years, numbering just over 3 million at the 1950 census. Aproximately 55 percent of the total population is believed to be "pure" indigenous Indian descent, 25-30 percent mestizo, and about 15 percent European. The Indians make up the great majority of the population in the northern parts of the Altiplano and the higher valleys and basins of the Andes.
Spanish is the official language, but more than half of the population speaks native languages. About 34 percent speaks Quechua and 25 percent Aymara (mainly in the Cordillera Oriental and southern Altiplano). More than 95 percent of the people are Catholic and about 1 percent Protestant.
Bolivia's population is concentrated mainly in the northern parts of the Altiplano and the basins and valleys of the Cordillera Oriental. The eastern lowlands (with the exception of Santa Cruz and its surroundings), most of the Cordillera Occidental, and the southern parts of the Altiplano are only sparsely populated. Only two of Bolivia's nine departments (17 percent of the total area) have a population density of 16-20 persons per square kilometer (40-50 per square mile), while 59 percent of the total area has a density of less than 3 persons per square kilometer (7.5 per square mile). The average population density for the country as a whole is 6.4 persons per square kilometer (16 per square mile). The portion of the urban population is 49 percent; it was 33.5 percent in 1950.
Capitale costituzionale: Sucre
Sede del Governo: La Paz
Popolazione: 8.800.000
Superficie: 1.098.580 Km²
Fuso orario: -5h rispetto all’Italia; -6h quando in Italia vige l'ora legale
Lingue: le lingue ufficiali sono lo spagnolo, l’aymará, il quechua. Si parla anche il Guaraní.
Religioni: cattolici 95%, minoranze protestanti e animiste.
Moneta: Boliviano (BOB)
Prefisso dall'Italia: 00591, seguito dal prefisso della città (per La Paz 2, Santa Cruz 3)
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