COUNTRY PROFILES
REGION OF THE AMERICAS
BOLIVIA
Recorded adult per capita consumption (age 15+)
6
Litres of pure alcohol
5
4
Total
Beer
3
Spirits
Wine
2
1
0
1961
1965
1969
1973
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
Year
Sources: FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), World Drink Trends 2003
Last year abstainers
Female 44.6%
Male 23.8%
Total
34.2%
Estimates from key alcohol
experts showing proportion of
adult males and females who had
been abstaining (last year before
the survey). Data is for after year
1995.1
It is estimated that in 1998, 10.01% (approximately 800 785 persons) and 7.8% (approximately 626 247
persons) of the Bolivian population are heavy drinkers and alcohol dependents respectively.2
Youth drinking (last year prevalence)
1999 survey of students aged
3
between 12 and 21 years of age.
Total
54.5%
WHO Global Status Report on Alcohol 2004
© World Health Organization 2004
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COUNTRY PROFILES
REGION OF THE AMERICAS
The same survey also found the rate of lifetime prevalence of alcohol use to be 60.8% and the rate of last month
alcohol use to be 31.5%.3
Traditional alcoholic beverages
Chicha is a clear, yellowish, effervescent, alcoholic beverage prepared from maize. It has a flavour similar to
that of cider. Chicha has been consumed by the Andean Indians for centuries. When prepared from pigmented
maize varieties, its colour varies from red to purple. The alcoholic content of chicha varies between 2 and 12%
(v/v). The traditional production of chicha is a somewhat unique fermentation process in which saliva serves as
the source of amylase for converting starch to fermentable sugars. Malting (germination) of maize kernels to
produce the amylase required for starch conversion is an alternative procedure which is widely used in modern
day processing. Frequently, salivation is combined with malting to yield chichi.4
Unrecorded alcohol consumption
The unrecorded alcohol consumption in Bolivia is estimated to be 3.0 litres pure alcohol per capita for
population older than 15 for the years after 1995 (estimated by a group of key alcohol experts).1
Morbidity, health and social problems from alcohol use
A study by the Department of Hygiene and Industrial Safety in three factories in La Paz found that 7.3% of
absenteeism in the first two days of the work week and 1.2% of work-related accidents were directly related to
the consumption of alcohol.5
According to statistics collected by the La Paz Traffic Department, in 1980, intoxication was the second most
common cause of traffic accidents, being involved in 12.7% of the total number of traffic accidents. This figure
increased to 18.6% in 1986.5
A study conducted in El Alto found that approximately one third of the women surveyed had been forced by
their partner to have sexual intercourse, usually after the man had been drinking. The women claimed that one
of the biggest problems at home is that the men drink too much. Alcohol abuse was identified by the women
surveyed as being a major problem at home, linked to incidences of domestic violence and coercive sex.6
Country background information
Total population 2003
8 808 000
Adult (15+)
5 372 880
% under 15
39
Probability of dying under age 5 per 1000 (2002) Male
Urban
63
Gross National Income per capita 2002
Rural
37
Life expectancy at birth (2002)
Population distribution 2001 (%)
Male
61.8
Female
64.7
78
Female
73
US$
900
Sources: Population and Statistics Division of the United Nations Secretariat, World Bank World Development Indicators database, The
World Health Report 2004
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Alcohol per capita consumption, patterns of drinking and abstention worldwide after 1995. Appendix 2.
European Addiction Research, 2001, 7(3):155–157.
Pages JA. WHO Representative in Bolivia. Personal communication. 29 March 2004.
Del Castillo FA. El uso indebido de drogas en estudiantes de Bolivia 1993–1996–1999. Psicoactiva,
2000, 18:53–70.
Haard NF et al. Fermented cereals: a global perspective. Rome, Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations, 1999 (http://www.fao.org/docrep/x2184e/x2184e07.htm, accessed 25 September
2004).
Pan American Health Organization. Epidemiologic report on the use and abuse of psychoactive
substances in 16 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Bulletin of the Pan American Health
Organization, 1990, 24(1):97–139.
Camacho A. Bolivia: Fertility regulation and its relationship to stability of the couple, sexuality and
quality of life. Proyecto Integral de Salud (www.fhi.org/en/RH/Pubs/wsp/fctshts/Bolivia3.htm, accessed
24 February 2004).
WHO Global Status Report on Alcohol 2004
© World Health Organization 2004
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