Grade 5 Country Profile
Teacher’s Edition
Country: Bolivia
Map
Flag
Population
9,775,000
Bolivia has the 85th largest population of any country. It is a poor country in South
America. Bolivia has no direct access to the ocean, making economic development
difficult. Also, most of the country is either high mountains or part of the Amazon
jungle. Neither mountains nor jungle is very helpful for agriculture or industry.
Ethnic groups in the country
30 % Quechua
30 % mestizo
25 % Aymara
15 % white
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Religious groups
95 % Roman Catholic (Christian)
5 % Protestant (Christian)
Languages
61 % Spanish (the official language)
21 % Quechua (also an official language)
15 % Aymara
4 % other
Problems with ethnic groups
Over 500 years of history there have been major problems between the ethnic groups.
The white Europeans came and enslaved the native populations. This led to massive
inequality and mistreatment of the native Quechua peoples. For most of its history the
whites held all the political power, keeping the native population in deep poverty, while
the native majority had no political power.
Then the whites began to mix and marry with the Quechua. Over generations their
children became a new ethnic group, the mestizo (mixed). Neither the Quechua nor the
white accepted mestizo as equal.
In the last 40 years armed struggle and almost revolution has been a real danger for
Bolivia. Today, even though a Quechua is President of the country, much ethnic tension
remains. Some areas of the country want to separate and make their own country.
Certain regions of the country also are rich in oil. These feel that the money from the oil
should stay with them. Violent clashes have occurred in the last couple of years as local
governments have called for independence from the national government, and as natives
are fighting for their rights.
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In the last four years tensions between the native populations of the mountains and the
non-natives of the eastern Amazon area have gotten even worse.
Health Data
Here is some date on health in Bolivia.
Criteron
Death Rate:
Infant mortality (babies dying
within one year from birth):
Life expectancy:
Bolivia
7 / 1000
45 / 1000
Sinapore
5 / 1000
2 / 1000
67
82 years
Bolivia
Singapore
Lowest
Highest
health
Health
conditions
Conditions
Education
Education has never been a high priority for Bolivia. Being poor, and the geography making it
difficult to connect the country by road, has meant that each tiny community has been left on its
own to educate its children. The statistics below do not give an accurate representation of
literacy. Those people of Spanish decent live mostly in cities where their children do go to
school. They do learn to read and write. Quechua live mostly in the mountain regions where
access to education is limited. They mostly do not learn to read and write. Further, Quechua
was not a written language. So the numbers below only represent the part of society that has
some chance of schooling, leaving much of the population not included in the statistics.
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Criterion
Bolivia
Literacy (how many can read 87 %
and right)
Expected years spent in school NA
Singapore
92.5 %
11 (http://
www.visionofhumanity. org/gpi/
results/singapore/2008/)
Money spent on education as a 6.4 % This looks like a lot, but 3.7 %
percent of the total amount of it is from a GDP that is less
money produced in the country. than 10 % of that for
Singapore.
Bolivia
Singapore
Lowest
Highest
education
education
Economics
Bolivia is the poorest country in South America. The economics of Bolivia have been controlled
by a very few members of the ruling minority ethnic group. Any investment has been only to
make a quick profit. Nothing was added into building the country.
Foreign companies have been allowed by the government to operate in Bolivia, but this too has
only been to make a quick profit. The native and mestizo populations are employed, but paid
extremely low wages and treated quite badly.
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There is a lot of money made in the country, but the benefit is not evenly shared. Profits from
oil, minerals, and large farm operations goes into the hands of very few people. The majority
live in deep poverty.
Most of the GDP for Bolivia comes from oil and gas exports, and mineral exports. These
industries are owned and operated by either the government or shared with foreign companies.
The general population gets little or no benefit from this money. Therefore the per-capita GDP
figure below is somewhat misleading, as the vast majority of the population is stuck in deep
poverty.
Criterion
Economic diversity (how many
different kinds of economic
activity done)
Bolivia
Oil, gas, minerals.
Agriculture, though large farms
are owned by a very few of the
minority ethnic group
GDP (total money made in the $43.08 billion (92nd in the
country
world)
Population below poverty line 60 %
Per capita income (money made $ 4,500 (148th in the world)
per person)
Singapore
Highly diverse-export oriented,
emphasis on information
technology, electronics, and
pharmaceuticals
$240 billion
Not available for Singapore
$52,000 (9th from top)
Bolivia
Singapore, 9th
Lowest
Highest
income
income
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Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is produced by the United Nations. The Index looks at a
country and considers certain criteria. These are life expectancy, literacy, education, and the
average income per person. The better things are in a country on these criteria the better score a
country will receive. A high score means the country is a good place for the people who live
there. They can live healthy and productive lives. A lower score means things are not so good
for that population.
There are 179 countries on the Human Development Index for 2006. Number 1 country is
Iceland. It is best on the HDI. In last place at 179 is Sierra Leone, an African country that has
suffered terrible wars and other problems.
Countries numbered 1 – 75 are called “High Human Development” countries.
Countries numbered 76 - 153 are called “Medium Human Development” countries.
Countries numbered 154 - 179 are called “Low Human Development” countries.
Bolivia is number 111. So Bolivia is a “Medium Human Development” country, a difficult place
to live, but with the potential to get better. In fact, reforms since 1982 did bring about some
reductions in poverty in the 1990s. The new government since 2005, led by a person from the
majority ethnic group, is trying to improve the quality of life for all peoples.
Political System
Much of Bolivia’s 190 year history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and
countercoups. A coup is when a group violently throws out a government and takes charge itself.
Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of
deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production. In December 2005, Bolivians
elected Movement Toward Socialism leader Evo MORALES president - by the widest margin of
any leader since the restoration of civilian rule in 1982 - after he ran on a promise to change the
country's traditional political class and empower the nation's poor, indigenous majority.
However, since taking office, his programs have made racial and economic tensions worse
between the Indian populations of the Andean west and the non-Indian communities of the
eastern part of the country.
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The norm for Bolivia then is that the political system is unstable and full of tension.
The new constitution defines Bolivia as a “Social Unitarian State”
Government organization
Name: The long-form of the name is “Plurinational State of Bolivia”. This tries to
express that there is more than one ethnic group (nation) as part of the country.
Head of State: A President and a Vice-President are elected by the entire population to
serve a five year term. The current President is Juan Evo Morales (since 22 January
2006). Although the constitution limits the President to only one five-year term, Morales
is currently trying to change the constitution to allow him to be President for a second
term.
Head of Government: In Bolivia the President serves also as head of government.
Cabinet: These heads of government department are appointed by the President.
Legislative: There is a National Congress which has two parts (called Houses). One part
is the Chamber of Senators. The 27 members are elected by popular vote to five-year
terms. The second is the 130 member Chamber of Deputies whose members are elected
to serve five-year terms. 70 of these members are elected from the area where they live,
while 60 are elected from national lists.
Note: The new constitution of 2009 changes the name of the National Congress to
Plurinational Legislative Assembly, and the number of senators will increase to 36.
Internal administrative organization
9 departments, each with a capital city
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As an independent country
Bolivia declared its independence from Spain on 6 August 1825. The war for
independence was led by Simon Bolivar, and the country is named in his honor.
6 August is celebrated as Independence Day.
Joined United Nations Organization
Bolivia joined the United Nations Organization on 14 November 1945. Being so poor
Bolivia has not contributed to international programs or initiatives of the UNO.
Corruption Perceptions Index
This index is produced by a group called Transparency International. It considers a
variety of factors to judge if a country system is considered very honest, very dishonest,
or somewhere in between. Number 1 on the list is the most honest. Number 179 is the
most dishonest (corrupt).
Bolivia is number 102 on the list, same as Nigeria.
Internationally
Bolivia does not contribute to international programs. Instead all of its efforts have been either
focused on relieving poverty in Bolivia itself, or have been non-existent.
Friends
In the former days of ethnic domination by the minority group the greatest friend of
Bolivia was the USA. This is because the minority group allowed American companies
to do pretty much anything they wanted and to take out huge profits from the country.
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Today the majority ethnic group controls the government and is changing that former
policy. Now Bolivia’s greatest friends are Venezuela and Ecuador. Together these
countries are challenging the old system of being told what to do by the USA and are
taking control of their own resources and businesses.
Need to get along with
Bolivia needs to get along with its neighbors. Bolivia has no access to the ocean and
therefore needs to stay on good terms with Peru to allow Bolivian shipping to pass
overland between ports in Peru and Bolivia.
Bolivia also now needs to get along well with Venezuela and Ecuador as those countries
seek to challenge American influence in South America.
Do not get along with
Over 130 years ago Peru took over Bolivian land that was Bolivia’s link to the ocean.
Since that time Bolivia has never let go of the hope of getting that land back. Bolivia
keeps trying to open negotiations to achieve this aim.
The new government of Bolivia does not get alone very well with the USA as Bolivia’s
new policies of keeping control over its oil and gas, and having the profits to help
Bolivia’s people, are seen as hurtful to American business interests.
Cool Stuff
Things we are proud of
Lake Titicaca (highest fresh water lake in the world)
La Paz, highest capital city in the world, seated high in the Andes mountains
Fantastic natural environments, from the beautiful Andes mountains to the jungles of the
east
Glossary
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Cabinet: the group of people in government who are the heads of the different
departments of the government. For example, in Singapore the head of the department of
education is called the Minister of Education.
constitution: this is a set of fundamental laws of a country that tell a government what it
may do. All laws and actions of government must obey the constitution.
corruption: dishonest behavior of people in the country. Examples could include, paying
money to the government to get a favor, paying a police to not get you in trouble.
death rate: looking at average groups of 1000 people, how many of those die in a year
democracy: a political system in which the government is chosen by the population, and
can be changed by a peaceful election in which the population votes
dictatorship: a political system in which the government, often a small group or just one
person, has total political power in a country. The people have no choice.
ethnic group: a group of people who are of the same race
GDP: Gross Domestic Product; the total amount of money made by the country in a year
infant mortality: babies who die within one year of being born
internal administrative organization: the individual sections inside a country. In some
countries these are called states or provinces. For example, California is a state in the
USA. These have their own smaller governments to take care of the business of that
section of the country.
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life expectancy: how long a person is expected to live from the day they are born
per capita: a Latin word meaning “for each head”, we would say for each person
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