Organization of American Countries (OAS)

Country Profile
Plurinational State of Bolivia
Bolivia, officially known as the Plurinational State of Bolivia is a landlocked country
located in western-central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east,
Paraguay and Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west.
Bolivia is a democratic republic that is divided into nine departments. Its geography is
varied from the peaks of the Andes in the West, to the Eastern Lowlands, situated within the
Amazon Basin. It is a developing country, with a Medium Human Development Index score,
and a poverty level of 53%. Its main economic activities include agriculture, forestry, fishing,
mining, and manufacturing goods such as textiles, clothing, refined metals, and refined
petroleum. Bolivia is very wealthy in minerals, especially tin.
Bolivia has been governed by democratically elected governments since 1982, when a
long string of military coups came to an end. The current president is Evo Morales from
Movement Toward Socialism or MAS Party, the first indigenous Bolivian to serve as head of
state. Morales' Movement for Socialism Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the
Peoples party was the first to win an outright presidential majority in four decades, doing so
both in 2005 and 2009.
The Bolivian population, estimated at 10 million, is multiethnic, including
Amerindians, Mestizos, Europeans, Asians and Africans (Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed
white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15%). The main language spoken
is Spanish, although the Guarani, Aymara and Quechua languages are also common, and all
four, as well as 34 other indigenous languages, are official (Spanish (official) 60.7%,
Quechua (official) 21.2%, Aymara (official) 14.6%, Guarani (official), foreign languages
2.4%, other 1.2%). The large number of different cultures within Bolivia has contributed
greatly to a wide diversity in fields such as art, cuisine, literature, and music.
Bolivias estimated 2012 gross domestic product (GDP) totaled $27.43 billion at
official exchange rate and $56.14 billion at purchasing power parity. Economic growth was
estimated to be at about 5.2%, and inflation was estimated at about 6.9%.

Bolivia was rated
"Repressed" by the 2010 Index of Economic Freedom. The growth was accompanied by a
moderate decrease in inequality. A surplus budget of 1.7% (GDP) was obtained by 2012, the
government runs surpluses since Morales administration reflecting a prudent economic
management. Bolivia has a 3.7 percent average tariff rate. The government screens new
foreign investment, and the legal and regulatory systems may be difficult to navigate. The
financial sector remains vulnerable to state interference, with credit to the private sector
expanding slowly. Capital markets are focused on trading in government bonds.
Relations with Chile, strained over inability of the two countries to reach an
agreement that solved theAtacama border dispute, that might have granted Bolivia a
sovereign access to the sea. Bolivia pursues a foreign policy with a heavy economic
component. Bolivia has become more active in the Organization of American States (OAS),
the Rio Group, and in MERCOSUR, with which it signed an association agreement in 1996.
Bolivia promotes its policies on sustainable development and the empowerment of
indigenous people.
Bolivia is a member of the United Nations and some of its specialized agencies and
related programs; OAS; Andean Community; INTELSAT; Non-Aligned Movement;
International Parliamentary Union; Latin American Integration Association ALADI; World
Trade Organization; Rio Treaty; Rio Group; MERCOSUR; and Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia
(URUPABOL, restarted in 1993).
Our Foreign Policy objectives are to develops people for the principle of "Living
Well" through Diplomacy, to promote and achieve a fair, balanced and sustainable
relationship with Mother Earth, in harmony with mother earth, biodiversity, climate change,
food security and sovereignty, the rights of indigenous peoples, the international defense of
chewing the coca leaf, the human right to water and sanitation, protection in international
boundary and transboundary waters, and the right to access to the Pacific Ocean and its
maritime space.
The deepening of our bilateral and multilateral relations and cooperation, mainly with
the countries of America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania on economic, social,
environmental, cultural, energy and other issues, without compromising our national
sovereignty. And the effective participation of civil society organizations and peasant
indigenous peoples in international events.
Rany Setyasari / 1111113000081/ HI 6C - Delegation of Bolivia