Bolivia

Map Credit: © Maps of the World (mapsofworld.com)
Click on map to enlarge it in a lightbox window.

Officially known as the Plurinational State of Bolivia, BOLIVIA is a landlocked country located in the central region of South America. Bolivia's bordering countries are Argentina to the south, Brazil to the northeast, Chile to the southwest, Paraguay to the southeast, and Peru to the west. Paraguay is the only other South American landlocked state. Even though it is completely surrounded by land, Bolivia is close to coastal access with the Pacific Ocean. Only a small area of northern Chile and southern Peru block Bolivia from the coast. In addition, Bolivia was not always landlocked. In the late nineteenth century, the country lost its coastal area to Chile in the War of the Pacific (Guerra del Pacífico). Bolivia's currency is the Bolivian Boliviano, and its ISO 4217 currency code is BOB.

● ● ● ● ●  People and Places  ● ● ● ● ●  Bolivia's total population is about 10,725,000, based on 2015 data. Unlike most countries, some Bolivians live in two capital cities: La Paz (administrative capital) and Sucre (constitutional capital). La Paz (the word Peace in English) is the highest capital city in the world since it stands over 12,000 feet above sea level. Other Bolivian cities include Cochabamba, El Alto (immediately west of La Paz), Oruro, Potosí, and Santa Cruz. About 43 languages are spoken in Bolivia. Due to the country's linguistic and ethnic group diversity, languages such as Aymara, Ayoreo (a Zamucoan language), Chácobo, Chiquitano (Bésiro), Guaraní, Machinere, Quechua, Sirionó, Tapieté, and Uru are native official languages, which are less widely spoken than Spanish (another official language). Even extinct languages with no native speakers — Canichana, Cayubaba (Cayuvava), Pauserna-Guarasugwé, and Puquina — are designated as official languages. Bolivia's literacy rate is about 95%, a rate similar to the percentages of Paraguay and Peru but higher than Brazil (91.5%) and Guyana (85%) and lower than Argentina (98%), Chile (96.7%), and Uruguay (98.4%).

Most religious people are Christians, who are predominantly Roman Catholic and comprise about 90% of Bolivia's total population. About 350,000 or more Bolivians adhere to tenets and beliefs in ethnic religions, and over 200,000 citizens are Bahá'í believers. Bolivia boasts multiple landmarks and sites of interests, particularly statues, churches, and sites of ancient civilizations. Did you know that the Cristo de la Concordia (Christ of Peace) is the world's second-largest Jesus Christ statue, standing over 40 meters (about 133 feet) above the ground and taller than Brazil's Christ the Redeemer monument? Located on San Pedro Hill east of Cochabamba city, Bolivia's concrete behemoth is slightly shorter than Świebodzin, Poland's circa-2010 Christ the King statue. Other sites of interest include Biocentro Güembé (Santa Cruz), House of Liberty Museum (Sucre), Iglesia de San Francisco (La Paz), Mariscal Antonio Jose de Sucre suspension bridge, Metropolitan Cathedral of La Paz, Metropolitan Cathedral of Sucre, Palacio Portales (Cochabamba), Plaza 25 de Mayo (Sucre), Presidential Palace (La Paz), and the Tiwanaku ancient civilization site.

● ● ● ● ●  Land Features  ● ● ● ● ●  Bolivia is particularly known for its location along South America's major mountain range, two large salt flats, and a well-known lake. Lake Titicaca (Lago Titicaca) is the largest lake within Bolivia's border, specifically located on the western border with southern Peru. It is often known as the world's highest navigable lake at 12,500 feet in elevation, and this lake's surface area is about 8,366 square kilometers (3,230 sq. miles). Meanwhile, this lake boasts the largest volume in South America. The second largest lake and largest one completely within the country, Lake Poopó is south of Oruro and boasts a surface area of 1,339 sq. kilometers (517 sq. miles).

Stretching across southwestern Bolivia and mostly into northern Chile, the Atacama Desert serves as the home for Bolivia's two largest salt flats: Salar de Uyuni  (largest in the world) and Salar de Coipasa . Sometimes known as Uyuni Salt Flat in English, Salar de Uyuni steals the spotlight in many National Geographic photos. It is located in Potosí Department and surrounded by communities such as Ayque, Calo, Carpas, Chuvica, Coqueza, and of course Uyuni. Salar de Coipasa is sometimes filled with water and therefore also called Lago de Coipasa; it is located north of Salar de Uyuni in Oruro Department. The Abuná River (Río Abuná) forms the northern border with Brazil, while Río Iténez straddles the northeastern Bolivia-Brazil border.

Bolivia is one of seven South American countries straddling the Andes Mountains. Some of the country's major Andes sub-ranges include the Cordillera Central, Cordillera Occidental (west), Cordillera Oriental (east), Cordillera de los Frailes, and Cordillera de Lípez. Located near the northern Chilean border in Oruro Department, Nevado Sajama is Bolivia's highest peak and is currently a non-active (extinct) stratovolcano. The peak features an elevation of 6,542 meters and 21,463 feet and is the obvious highlight of Parque Nacional Sajama (Sajama National Park). Other volcanoes include Acotango (potentially active), Cerro Guacha, Cerro Lípez, Iru Phutunqu (potentially active), Paruma (potentially active), Umurata, and Zapaleri.

This post was updated with more information on April 5th, 2016.