People and Government
More than 50 per cent of the people are Indians; about 30 per cent are a mixture of Indian and Spanish, called cholos or mestizos; about 15 per cent are white. The Indians are mostly farmers or laborers. Many cholos have joined the whites in commercial and professional work. Spanish, Quechua and Aymará are the primary languages in Bolivia.
In 2001 Bolivia's population was 8,274,325. The overall density was about 20 persons per square mile (7.5 per km2), or one-fourth that of the United States. Due a continuing migration of the rural poor to the major cities of Bolivia, less than half of the people live in rural areas.
There is freedom of religion. Nearly all of the people are Roman Catholic.
Primary education is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 7 and 14. Lack of teachers and transportation, however, makes the law hard to enforce. Bolivia has a literacy rate of about 87 per cent.
Since 1972 all universities in Bolivia have been administered together as the University of Bolivia. There are universities at Sucre (the former San Francisco Xavier University, founded in 1624), La Paz, Cochabamba, Oruro, and various other cities.
Bolivia gained independence in 1825, and since then has had over 16 constitutions. The constitution of 1967, revised in 1994, provides for a government divided into executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The president is chosen by popular election for a five-year term and appoints his cabinet. The two-house national legislature, called the Congress, is composed of senators and deputies, elected directly for five-year terms.
There are nine departments in Bolivia, which have been divided for the purposes of local government, which is headed by a popularly elected prefecto (governor). The department is made up of 94 provinces, each of which is further divided into municipalities. There are a number of political parties in Bolivia, which are highly influenced by indigenous groups, labor organizations, and the top businessmen of the country. Suffrage is granted to married Bolivians if they are 18 years old, though unmarried Bolivians have to be at least 21 years old to be able to vote.
The judiciary consists of a supreme court, district courts, provincial courts, and local courts. The justices of the supreme court are appointed by the Congress.
The Bolivian defense force consists of an army, a small air force, and a small navy that also maintains patrol boats on the inland rivers. Bolivian men who are 18 years or older may be drafted for service.
