Economy - overview With its long history of semifeudal social controls, dependence on volatile prices for its mineral exports, and bouts of hyperinflation, Bolivia has remained one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries. However, Bolivia has experienced generally improving economic conditions since the PAZ Estenssoro administration (1985-89) introduced market-oriented policies which reduced inflation from 11,700% in 1985 to about 20% in 1988. PAZ Estenssoro was followed as president by Jaime PAZ Zamora (1989-93) who continued the free-market policies of his predecessor, despite opposition from his own party and from Bolivia's once powerful labor movement. By maintaining fiscal discipline, PAZ Zamora helped reduce inflation to 9.3% in 1993, while GDP grew by an annual average of 3.25% during his tenure. President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993-1997) vowed to advance the market-oriented economic reforms he helped launch as PAZ Estenssoro's planning minister. His successes included the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur) as well as the privatization of the state airline, phone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. Furthermore, SANCHEZ DE LOZADA sponsored legislation creating private social security accounts for all adult Bolivians and capitalized these new accounts with the state's remaining 50% share in the privatized companies. Hugo BANZER Suarez took office in August 1997 and has proclaimed his commitment to the economic reforms of the previous administration.

GDP purchasing power parity - $23.1 billion (1997 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 4.4% (1997 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $3,000 (1997 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 17%
industry: 26%
services: 57% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 7% (1997)

Labor force
total: 2.5 million
by occupation: agriculture NA%, services and utilities NA%, manufacturing, mining and construction NA%

Unemployment rate 10%

Budget
revenues: $3.75 billion
expenditures: $3.75 billion, including capital expenditures of $556.2 million (1995 est.)

Industries mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing

Industrial production growth rate 4% (1995 est.)

Electricity - capacity 786,000 kW (1995)

Electricity - production 2.9 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 370 kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber

Exports
total value: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1997)
commodities: metals 34%, natural gas 9.4%, soybeans 8.4%, jewelry 11%, wood 6.9%
partners: US 22%, UK 9.3%, Colombia 8.7%, Peru 7.4%, Argentina 7.2%

Imports
total value: $1.7 billion (c.i.f. 1997)
commodities: capital goods 48%, chemicals 11%, petroleum 5%, food 5% (1993 est.)
partners: US 20%, Japan 13%, Brazil 12, Chile 7.5% (1996)

Debt - external $4.2 billion (1997)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $588 million (1997)

Currency 1 boliviano ($B) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates bolivianos ($B) per US$1 - 5.3724 (January 1998), 5.2543 (1997), 5.0746 (1996), 4.8003 (1995), 4.6205 (1994), 4.2651 (1993)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Bolivia on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Bolivia Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bolivia Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.