Bolivia Travel Guide

Country Facts

Location

South America.

Language

The official language is Spanish, but the main indigenous languages are Quechua, Aymará and Guaraní. English is often spoken by a small number of officials and businesspeople in commercial centres.

Area

1,100,000 sq km (424,164 sq miles).

Time Zone

GMT - 4.

Electricity

110 and 220 volts AC, 50Hz. European two-pin (circular) plugs or US-style, two-pin (perpendicular flat) plugs.

Population

9.5 million (UN estimate 2007).

Population Density

8.4 per sq km.

Capital City

Constitutional: Sucre. Population: 288,290 (2007). Administrative: La Paz. Population: 839,900 (2007).

Government

Democratic republic. Gained independence from Spain in 1825.

Head of State

President Evo Morales since January 2006.

Religion

Primarily Roman Catholic with a Protestant minority and indigenous beliefs.

Recent History

Presidential elections took place in December 2005 against a backdrop of political turmoil and social unrest. Evo Morales, a leftist from Bolivia's native community, won a decisive victory and was inaugurated as president in January 2006, vowing to break with the policies left over from colonial era.

Since taking office, Morales has aligned himself politically with Venezuela and Cuba, moving to nationalize industries and bring the country's wealth of natural gas reserves under state control.

But political instability has continued to mar reform efforts with the gas-rich Santa Cruz region leading calls for autonomy from the La Paz government.

An August 2008 referendum on his government granted Morales a mandate to continue reforms, but left the country divided along economic and ethnic fault lines with little sign of resolution.

Communications

Telephone

Country Code: +591.

Mobile Telephone

Roaming agreements exist with a limited number of international mobile phone companies; travelers are advised to check with their mobile phone service provider. Local chips are freely available for unlocked phones. Coverage is average.

Internet

Widely available in large cities and resorts; there are Internet cafes in main towns.

Media

Media ownership is highly concentrated. Bolivia's media are dominated by privately-run press and broadcasting outlets. Freedom of the press is upheld and self-censorship is usually exercised when dealing with reports of social unrest and political machinations, but attacks on journalists do still occur. Low literacy levels impede upon newspaper readership; radio tends to have precedence.

Post

Airmail to Europe takes three to four days.Mon-Fri 0800-2000, Sat 0900-1800.

Press

• The main papers published in La Paz are El Diario (daily) and La Razón (daily).
• In Santa Cruz, dailies include El Deber and El Mundo.
• In Cochabamba, Los Tiempos is the main daily.

Radio

• Radio stations dealing with news and talk include Radio Fides (Catholic-based), Radio Metropolitana and Radio Panamericana.
• Radio Cadena Nacional (RCN) is the major national radio station.
• Radio Illimani is a popular state-run station.

Public Holidays

Below are listed Public Holidays for the January 2011-December 2012 period:
2010
25 Dec Christmas Day

2011
1 Jan New Year’s Day
5 Mar Carnival
22 Apr Good Friday
1 May Labor Day
23 Jun Corpus Christi
6 Aug Independence Day
1 Nov All Saints’ Day
25 Dec Christmas Day

2012
1 Jan New Year’s Day
16 Feb *Carnival
6 Apr Good Friday
1 May Labor Day
7 Jun Corpus Christi
6 Aug Independence Day
1 Nov All Saints’ Day
25 Dec Christmas Day
* Date to be confirmed.
There are other additional holidays celebrated in individual provinces and towns. For further details, contact the embassy or the Viceministerio de Turismo.

Contact Information

Embassy and Consulate of the Republic of Bolivia in the UK

106 Eaton Square, London SW1W 9AD, UK
Tel: (020) 7235 4255.
Website: www.bolivia.embassyhomepage.com

Embassy of the Republic of Bolivia in the USA

3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC, 20008, USA
Tel: (202) 483 4410 or 232 4827 (consular section).
Website: www.bolivia-usa.org

Viceministerio de Turismo

Avenida Mariscal Santa Cruz, Edificio Cámara de Comercio, Piso 11, La Paz, Bolivia
Tel: (2) 233 4829 or 237 5129.
Website: www.turismobolivia.bo