The 2008 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency (ebook reader 8 inch .txt) 📕

Democracy (exiled) other: Buddhist clergy; ethnic Nepalese organizations leading militant antigovernment campaign; Indian merchant community

International organization participation:

ADB, BIMSTEC, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IMF,
Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, NAM,
OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:

none; note - the Permanent Mission to the UN for Bhutan has consular jurisdiction in the US; address: 763 First Avenue, New York, NY 10017; telephone [1] (212) 682-2268; FAX [1] (212) 661-0551 consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:

the US and Bhutan have no formal diplomatic relations, although informal contact is maintained between the Bhutanese and US Embassy in New Delhi (India)

Flag description:

divided diagonally from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle is yellow and the lower triangle is orange; centered along the dividing line is a large black and white dragon facing away from the hoist side

Economy
Bhutan

Economy - overview:

The economy, one of the world's smallest and least developed, is based on agriculture and forestry, which provide the main livelihood for more than 60% of the population. Agriculture consists largely of subsistence farming and animal husbandry. Rugged mountains dominate the terrain and make the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult and expensive. The economy is closely aligned with India's through strong trade and monetary links and dependence on India's financial assistance. The industrial sector is technologically backward, with most production of the cottage industry type. Most development projects, such as road construction, rely on Indian migrant labor. Model education, social, and environment programs are underway with support from multilateral development organizations. Each economic program takes into account the government's desire to protect the country's environment and cultural traditions. For example, the government, in its cautious expansion of the tourist sector, encourages visits by upscale, environmentally conscientious tourists. Detailed controls and uncertain policies in areas such as industrial licensing, trade, labor, and finance continue to hamper foreign investment. Hydropower exports to India had a major impact on growth in 2007.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$3.359 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$1.308 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

22.4% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$5,200 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 22.3% industry: 37.9% services: 39.8% (2006)

Labor force:

NA note: major shortage of skilled labor

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 63% industry: 6% services: 31% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate:

2.5% (2004)

Population below poverty line:

31.7% (2003)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Budget:

revenues: $272 million expenditures: $350 million note: the government of India finances nearly three-fifths of Bhutan's budget expenditures (2005)

Fiscal year:

1 July - 30 June

Public debt:

81.4% of GDP (2004)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

4.9% (2007 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

14% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$381.1 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$220.3 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

$169.9 million (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products:

rice, corn, root crops, citrus, foodgrains; dairy products, eggs

Industries:

cement, wood products, processed fruits, alcoholic beverages, calcium carbide, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:

9.3% (1996 est.)

Electricity - production:

4.475 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

528.8 million kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports:

3.644 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

11 million kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 0.1% hydro: 99.9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Oil - production:

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:

1,250 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

0 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:

1,152 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:

$116 million (2007 est.)

Exports:

$350 million f.o.b. (2006)

Exports - commodities:

electricity (to India), cardamom, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit, precious stones, spices

Exports - partners:

India 58.6%, Hong Kong 30.1%, Bangladesh 7.3% (2007)

Imports:

$320 million c.i.f. (2006)

Imports - commodities:

fuel and lubricants, grain, aircraft, machinery and parts, vehicles, fabrics, rice

Imports - partners:

India 74.5%, Japan 7.4%, Sweden 3.2% (2007)

Economic aid - recipient:

$941.2 million; note - substantial aid from India (2006)

Debt - external:

$713.3 million (2006)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Currency (code):

ngultrum (BTN); Indian rupee (INR)

Currency code:

BTN; INR

Exchange rates:

ngultrum (BTN) per US dollar - 41.487 (2007), 45.279 (2006), 44.101 (2005), 45.317 (2004), 46.583 (2003) note: the ngultrum is pegged to the Indian rupee

Communications
Bhutan

Telephones - main lines in use:

29,900 (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

149,400 (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: urban towns and district headquarters have telecommunications services domestic: very low teledensity; domestic service is very poor especially in rural areas; wireless service available since 2003 international: country code - 975; international telephone and telegraph service via landline and microwave relay through India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 0, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2007)

Radios:

37,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

1 (2007)

Televisions:

11,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.bt

Internet hosts:

9,046 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

NA

Internet users:

40,000 (2007)

Transportation
Bhutan

Airports:

2 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)

Roadways:

total: 8,050 km paved: 4,991 km unpaved: 3,059 km (2003)

Military
Bhutan

Military branches:

Royal Bhutan Army (includes Royal Bodyguard and Royal Bhutan Police) (2008)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 190,104 females age 16-49: 167,289 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 146,063 females age 16-49: 131,193 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 7,847 female: 7,530 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

1% of GDP (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues
Bhutan

Disputes - international:

Bhutan cooperates with India to expel Indian Nagaland separatists; lacking any treaty describing the boundary, Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a common boundary alignment to resolve territorial disputes arising from substantial cartographic discrepancies, the largest of which lie in Bhutan's northwest and along the Chumbi salient

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Bolivia

Introduction
Bolivia

Background:

Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and countercoups. 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 majority. However, since taking office, his controversial strategies have exacerbated racial and economic tensions between the Amerindian populations of the Andean west and the non-indigenous communities of the eastern lowlands.

Geography
Bolivia

Location:

Central South America, southwest of Brazil

Geographic coordinates:

17 00 S, 65 00 W

Map references:

South America

Area:

total: 1,098,580 sq km land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly less than three times the size of Montana

Land boundaries:

total: 6,940 km border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,423 km, Chile 860 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 1,075 km

Coastline:

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:

none (landlocked)

Climate:

varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid

Terrain:

rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m

Natural resources:

tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower

Land use:

arable land: 2.78% permanent crops: 0.19% other: 97.03% (2005)

Irrigated land:

1,320 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

622.5 cu km (2000)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 1.44 cu km/yr (13%/7%/81%) per capita: 157 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

flooding in the northeast (March-April)

Environment - current issues:

the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:

landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru

People
Bolivia

Population:

9,247,816 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 33.5% (male 1,580,887/female 1,519,960) 15-64 years: 61.8% (male 2,800,457/female 2,912,375) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 192,701/female 241,436) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 22.6 years male: 21.9 years female: 23.3 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.383% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

22.31 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

7.35 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

-1.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 49.09 deaths/1,000 live births male: 52.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 45.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 66.53 years male: 63.86 years female: 69.33 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.67 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

4,900 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

fewer than 500 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and yellow fever water contact disease: leptospirosis (2008)

Nationality:

noun: Bolivian(s) adjective: Bolivian

Ethnic groups:

Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%,
Aymara 25%, white 15%

Religions:

Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5%

Languages:

Spanish 60.7% (official), Quechua 21.2% (official), Aymara 14.6% (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% (2001 census)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 86.7% male: 93.1% female: 80.7% (2001 census)

Education expenditures:

6.4% of GDP (2003)

Government
Bolivia

Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia
local long form: Republica de Bolivia
local short form: Bolivia

Government type:

republic

Capital:

name: La Paz (administrative capital) geographic coordinates: 16 30 S, 68 09 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Sucre (constitutional capital)

Administrative divisions:

9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Beni, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija

Independence:

6 August 1825 (from Spain)

National holiday:

Independence