Total area: 1,098,580 sq km (424,164 sq mi)
Population (2009 est.): 9,775,246
Historic and judicial capital (2003 est.): Sucre - 204,200
Administrative capital: La Paz - 1,576,100 (metro. area)
Other large cities: Santa Cruz - 1,168,700; Cochabamba - 815,800; El Alto - 728,500; Oruro - 211,700
Currency: Boliviano
Languages: Spanish, Quechua, Aymara (all official)
Religion: Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) 5%
Time zone: GMT-4; DST is not observed
Electricity: AC 230V/50Hz with European type plugs; AC 115V/50Hz with American type plugs are used in La Paz area
Bolivia is a landlocked country in South America, bordering Brazil to the north and east, Peru and Chile to the west, Argentina and Paraguay to the south.
Bolivia is divided into three main regions: a hight plateau, Altiplano, on the west, a fertile valley that lies at altitudes from 1,800 m / 5,900 ft to 2,700 m / 8,850ft and the Oriente - a lowland, tropical area dominated by rain forests and grasslands with lush vegetation in the north and east. The plateau is home to almost half of the population in Bolivia and its average altitude is 3,658 m (12,000 ft). Lake Titicaca, situated at the Bolivian and Peruvian border at the altitude of 3,812 m (12,507 ft), is the highest navigable lake in the world.
