What is the capital of Bolivia?

The capital of Bolivia is Sucre.

What is the population of Bolivia?

Bolivia has a population of about 12.58 million, the #79 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.

Bolivia covers 1.10M km², ranking #29 by area, with about 11 people per square kilometre.

Which countries border Bolivia?

Bolivia shares a land or maritime border with Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Paraguay.

What is the largest city in Bolivia?

Santa Cruz is the largest city in Bolivia, with a metropolitan population of about 2.10 million.

What is the highest mountain in Bolivia?

The highest summit recorded for Bolivia in YearMaps is Nevado Sajama at 6,542 m (21,463 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.

What is the largest lake in Bolivia?

The largest lake recorded in or bordering Bolivia is Lago Titicaca, at roughly 8,135 km².

Country · South America · BO

Map of Bolivia

Bolivia is a country in South America with its capital at Sucre, home to about 12.58 million people across 1.10M km². The interactive map below plots 69 cities and towns, 11 rivers, 5 lakes and 4 mountain summits recorded for Bolivia in YearMaps.

Population: 12.58 million
Area: 1.10M km²
Capital: Sucre
Continent: South America

About Bolivia

Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. Its geography primarily consists of an Andean region to the west and tropical lowlands to the east and north. The country has a diverse environment, including the vast Amazonian plain, the Gran Chaco, temperate valleys, the high-altitude Altiplano plateau, snow-capped peaks, and mountains, encompassing a wide range of climates and biomes across its regions and cities. It includes part of the Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland in the world, along its eastern border. Bolivia is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west. The seat of government is La Paz, which contains the executive, legislative, and electoral branches of government, while the constitutional capital is Sucre, the seat of the judiciary. While most population and urban centers lie in the Andean region, the largest city and principal industrial center is Santa Cruz de la Sierra, located in the eastern tropical lowlands.

Bolivia is a constitutionally unitary state divided into nine departments. Its geographic Andean-lowland divide is matched by economic and cultural differences such as those associated with the camba and colla demonyms. One-third of the country is within the Andean mountain range. With an area of 1,098,581 square kilometers (424,164 sq mi), Bolivia is the fifth-largest country in South America and, alongside Paraguay, is one of two landlocked countries in the Americas. It is the largest landlocked country in the Southern Hemisphere; it has inland ports accessing the Atlantic Ocean through two river systems: Acre-Purus-Amazon and Paraguay-Paraná. Bolivia had a population of 11.4 million as of the latest census in 2024. It is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, and the descendants of Europeans and Africans. Spanish is the official and predominant language, although 36 indigenous languages also have official status, of which the most commonly spoken are Guaraní, Aymara, and Quechua.

Centuries prior to Spanish colonization, the region formed part of the Tiwanaku polity, which collapsed around 1000 AD. The Colla–Inca War of the 1440s marked the beginning of Inca rule in western Bolivia. The eastern and northern lowlands were inhabited by independent non-Andean Amazonian and Guaraní tribes. Spanish conquistadores arriving from Cusco, Peru and Asunción, Paraguay, forcibly took control of the region in the 16th century.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Bolivia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Geography and Climate of Bolivia

Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simón BOLÍVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825. Much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of coups and countercoups, with the last coup occurring in 1980. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production. In 2005, Bolivians elected Movement Toward Socialism leader Evo MORALES as president -- by the widest margin of any leader since 1982 -- after he ran on a promise to change the country's traditional political class and empower the poor and indigenous majority. In 2009 and 2014, MORALES easily won reelection, and his party maintained control of the legislative branch. In 2016, MORALES narrowly lost a referendum to approve a constitutional amendment that would have allowed him to compete in the 2019 presidential election. A subsequent Supreme Court ruling stating that term limits violate human rights provided the justification for MORALES to run despite the referendum, but rising violence, pressure from the military, and widespread allegations of electoral fraud ultimately forced him to flee the country. An interim government, led by President Jeanine AÑEZ Chávez, held new elections in 2020, and Luis Alberto ARCE Catacora was elected president.

Location: Central South America, southwest of Brazil.
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.
Highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m.
Lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m.
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Land borders: Total: 7,252 km; border countries: Argentina 942 km; Brazil 3,403 km; Chile 942 km; Paraguay 753 km; Peru 1,212 km.
Major lakes: Fresh water lake(s): Lago Titicaca (shared with Peru) - 8,030 sq km; salt water lake(s): Lago Poopo - 1,340 sq km.
Natural resources: Lithium, tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower.
Land use: Agricultural land: 35.8% (2023 est.); arable land: 5.1% (2023 est.); permanent crops: 0.2% (2023 est.); permanent pasture: 30.5% (2023 est.); forest: 50.6% (2023 est.); other: 13.5% (2023 est.)
Natural hazards: Flooding in the northeast (March to April) volcanism: volcanic activity in Andes Mountains on the border with Chile; historically active volcanoes in this region are Irruputuncu (5,163 m), which last erupted in 1995, and the Olca-Paruma volcanic complex (5,762 m to 5,167 m)
Geographic note: Landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru.
Languages: Spanish (official) 68.1%, Quechua (official) 17.2%, Aymara (official) 10.5%, Guarani (official) 0.6%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2.1%; note - Spanish and all Indigenous languages are official (2012 est.)
Religions: Roman Catholic 65%, Protestant 19.6% (Evangelical (non-specific) 11.9%, Evangelical Baptist 2.1%, Evangelical Pentecostal 1.8%, Evangelical Methodist 0.7%, Adventist 2.8%, Protestant (non-specific) 0.3%), Believer (not belonging to the church) 0.9%, other 4.8%, atheist 1.7%, agnostic 0.6%, none 6.1%, unspecified 1.3% (2023 est.)
Ethnic groups: Mestizo (mixed White and Indigenous ancestry) 68%, Indigenous 20%, White 5%, Cholo/Chola 2%, African descent 1%, other 1%, unspecified 3%; 44% other Indigenous group, predominantly Quechua or Aymara (2009 est.)
Economy: Resource-rich economy benefits during commodity booms; has bestowed juridical rights to Mother Earth, impacting extraction industries; increasing Chinese lithium mining trade relations; hard hit by COVID-19; increased fiscal spending amid poverty increases; rampant banking and finance corruption.

From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.

Bolivia in Numbers

Population: 12.58 million
GDP: US$64.8 billion
GDP per person: US$5,148
Life expectancy: 68.7 years
Population growth: 1.35% a year
Population density: 11 per km²
Urban population: 71.6%
Surface area: 1,098,580 km²
Forest cover: 50.2%
Arable land: 5.6%
Access to electricity: 96.6%
Internet users: 79.7%

Indicators from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). The year under each figure is its reference year.

Bolivia in Depth

History

The region had been occupied for over 2,500 years when the Aymara arrived; however, present-day Aymara associate themselves with the ancient civilization of the Tiwanaku polity, which had its capital at Tiwanaku in western Bolivia. Tiwanaku dates back as early as 1500 BC, when it was a small, agriculturally-based village.

The Aymara community grew to urban proportions between AD 600 and 800, becoming an important regional power in the southern Andes from La Paz. According to early estimates, the city covered approximately 6.5 square kilometers (2.5 square miles) at its peak and had between 15,000 and 30,000 inhabitants.

Geography

Bolivia is located in central South America, between 57°26'–69°38'W and 9°38'–22°53'S. With an area of 1,098,581 square kilometers (424,164 sq mi), Bolivia is the world's 28th-largest country and the fifth largest country in South America, extending from the Central Andes through part of the Gran Chaco, Pantanal and as far as the Amazon rainforest. The geographic center is the Puerto Estrella ("Star Port") on the Río Grande, in Ñuflo de Chávez Province, Santa Cruz Department.

The geography exhibits a great variety of terrain and climates.

Economy

Driven largely by its natural resources, Bolivia has become a regional leader in measures of economic growth, fiscal stability and foreign reserves, although it remains a historically poor country. The estimated 2012 gross domestic product (GDP) totaled $27.43 billion at official exchange rate and $56.14 billion at purchasing power parity. Despite a series of mostly political setbacks, between 2006 and 2009 the Morales administration spurred growth higher than at any point in the preceding 30 years. The growth was accompanied by a moderate decrease in inequality. Under Morales, per capita GDP doubled from US$1,182 in 2006 to US$2,238 in 2012. GDP growth under Morales averaged 5 percent per year, and in 2014 only Panama and the Dominican Republic performed better in all of Latin America.

Demographics

According to the last two censuses the population increased from 8,274,325 (from which 4,123,850 were men and 4,150,475 were women) in 2001 to 10,059,856 in 2012. In the last 50 years the population has tripled, reaching a population growth rate of 2.25%. 70% of the population is concentrated in the departments of La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba. In the Andean Altiplano region the departments of La Paz and Oruro hold the largest percentage of population; in the valley region the largest percentage is held by the departments of Cochabamba and Chuquisaca; while in the Llanos region by Santa Cruz and Beni. At national level, the population density is 8.49, with variations marked between 0.8 (Pando Department) and 26.2 (Cochabamba Department).

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Bolivia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Bolivia: Key Facts

Key facts about Bolivia
Currency	boliviano
Official languages	Spanish, Aymara, Quechua, Guarani
Head of state	Rodrigo Paz
Head of government	Rodrigo Paz
Form of government	parliamentary republic, republic
Calling code	+591
Internet domain	.bo
Highest point	Nevado Sajama
Lowest point	Paraguay River
Established	1825

Facts from Wikidata Q750 (CC0).

History of Bolivia: Empires and States

The atlas records 9 polities whose mapped territory included part of Bolivia, from The Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu) in 1497 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.

Polities that held Bolivia, in chronological order
Polity	Period here	Extent
The Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu)	1497–1539 CE	Most
The Spanish Empire	1540–1852 CE	Nearly all
Gran Colombia	1824–1829 CE	Nearly all
Bolivia	1825–2024 CE	Nearly all
Empire of Brazil	1868–1889 CE	A small part
Brazilian Republic	1890–1966 CE	A small part
Unitary State of Brazil	1932–1945 CE	A small part
Federated Republic of Brazil	1967–1986 CE	A small part
Republic of Brazil	1987–2024 CE	A small part

Historical Maps of Bolivia

Bolivia on the world map in each year one of these states held it:

Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.

Visiting Bolivia

Bolivia is a beautiful, geographically rich, and multiethnic country in the heart of South America, visited for its stunning mountain landscapes and vibrant indigenous culture.

Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Bolivia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Largest Cities in Bolivia

69 cities recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.

Largest Cities in Bolivia
#	Name	Population	Region	Role
1	Santa Cruz	2.10 million	Santa Cruz	Admin-1 capital
2	La Paz	1.59 million	La Paz	National capital
3	Cochabamba	1.00 million	Cochabamba	Admin-1 capital
4	Oruro	246,501	Oruro	Admin-1 capital
5	Santa Ana	234,478	El Beni	Populated place
6	Quillacollo	227,052	Cochabamba	Populated place
7	Sucre	224,838	Chuquisaca	National capital
8	Potosí	179,901	Potosí	Admin-1 capital
9	Tarija	159,269	Tarija	Admin-1 capital
10	Montero	88,616	Santa Cruz	Populated place
11	Trinidad	84,259	El Beni	Admin-1 capital
12	Riberalta	74,014	El Beni	Populated place
13	Cobija	44,437	Acre	Admin-1 capital
14	Villazón	37,215	Potosí	Populated place
15	Bermejo	36,544	Tarija	Populated place
16	Guayaramerín	36,008	El Beni	Populated place
17	Viacha	34,776	La Paz	Populated place
18	Tupiza	28,766	Potosí	Populated place
19	Llallagua	28,069	Potosí	Populated place
20	Camiri	27,961	Santa Cruz	Populated place
21	Punata	26,323	Cochabamba	Populated place
22	San Ignacio	25,391	Santa Cruz	Populated place
23	Puerto Suárez	22,000	Santa Cruz	Populated place
24	San Borja	19,640	El Beni	Populated place
25	Villamontes	18,761	Tarija	Populated place

The other 44 (population, region, role)

Cliza · 15,816 · Cochabamba · Populated place
Ascension · 14,429 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
Uyuni · 12,939 · Potosí · Populated place
Rurrenabaque · 11,749 · La Paz · Populated place
Portachuelo · 11,485 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
Puerto Quijarro · 10,392 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
Roboré · 10,036 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
San Jose · 9,211 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
Challapata · 9,114 · Oruro · Populated place
Achacachi · 8,447 · La Paz · Populated place
Vallegrande · 8,422 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
Aiquile · 8,224 · Cochabamba · Populated place
Reyes · 7,376 · El Beni · Populated place
San Ramón · 6,490 · El Beni · Populated place
San Carlos · 6,353 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
San Matias · 6,352 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
Betanzos · 4,847 · Potosí · Populated place
Uncia · 4,723 · Potosi · Populated place
Camargo · 4,715 · Chuquisaca · Populated place
San Javier · 4,210 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
Apolo · 4,189 · La Paz · Populated place
Quime · 4,045 · La Paz · Populated place
Magdalena · 3,445 · El Beni · Populated place
Charagua · 3,025 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
San Lorenzo · 3,000 · Tarija · Populated place
Samaipata · 2,926 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
Padilla · 2,920 · Chuquisaca · Populated place
Entre Ríos · 2,685 · Tarija · Populated place
Tarabuco · 2,428 · Chuquisaca · Populated place
Baures · 2,422 · El Beni · Populated place
Coroico · 2,361 · La Paz · Populated place
Sorata · 2,190 · La Paz · Populated place
Coro Coro · 1,884 · La Paz · Populated place
Puerto Villarroel · 1,778 · Cochabamba · Populated place
San Rafael · 1,201 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
Puerto Acosta · 1,123 · La Paz · Populated place
Sica Sica · 1,006 · La Paz · Populated place
Cuevo · 953 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
Sabaya · 573 · Oruro · Populated place
Llica · 553 · Potosi · Populated place
Charaña · 197 · La Paz · Populated place
Piso Firme · 72 · Santa Cruz · Populated place
Villa Martin · 10 · Potosi · Populated place
Puerto Heath · 10 · La Paz · Populated place

Highest Mountains in Bolivia

4 mountains recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.

Highest Mountains in Bolivia
#	Name	Elevation	Feet	Region
1	Nevado Sajama	6,542 m	21,463 ft	South America
2	Nevado Illimani	6,402 m	21,004 ft	South America
3	Serrania de Santiago	1,555 m	5,102 ft	South America
4	Cerro San Miguel	830 m	2,723 ft	South America

Largest Lakes in Bolivia

5 lakes recorded. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake.

Largest Lakes in Bolivia
#	Name	Surface Area	Type
1	Lago Titicaca	8,135 km²	Lake
2	Lago Poopó	1,558 km²	Alkaline Lake
3	Laguna Ragaguado	315 km²	Lake
4	Laguna Huaitunas	284 km²	Lake
5	Lago Concepción	166 km²	Lake

Rivers in Bolivia

11 rivers recorded. Listed alphabetically. A river is listed where its mapped reach lies, so long rivers appear under more than one country.

See all 11 rivers →

Rivers in Bolivia
Name	Type	Also Flows Through
Beni	River	—
Bermejo	River	Argentina
Grande	River	—
Guaporé	River	Brazil
Madeira	River	Brazil
Madre de Dios	River	Peru
Mamoré	River	—
Pilcomayo	River	Argentina, Paraguay
San Martin	River	—
San Miguel	River	—

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Bolivia

8 World Heritage Sites recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Bolivia
#	Name	Inscribed	Type	Criteria
1	Potosí	1987	Cultural	(ii) (iv) (vi)
2	Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos	1990	Cultural	(iv) (v)
3	Historic City of Sucre	1991	Cultural	(iv)
4	El Fuerte de Samaipata	1998	Cultural	(ii) (iii)
5	Noel Kempff Mercado National Park	2000	Natural	(ix) (x)
6	Pantanal	2000	Natural	(vii) (ix) (x)
7	Tiwanaku	2000	Cultural	(iii) (iv)
8	Inca road system	2014	Cultural	(ii) (iii) (iv) (vi)

Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Bolivia

11 mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.

See all 11 mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms →

Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Bolivia
#	Name	Area	Type	Region
1	South America	17.91M km²	Continent	South America
2	Amazon Basin	4.65M km²	Basin	South America
3	Gran Chaco	690,714 km²	Plain	South America
4	Andes	549,211 km²	Range/mtn	South America
5	Altiplano	339,339 km²	Plateau	South America
6	Yungas	166,334 km²	Foothills	South America
7	Planalto Do Mato Grosso	162,718 km²	Plateau	South America
8	Pantanal	129,097 km²	Wetlands	South America
9	Cordillera Real	53,365 km²	Range/mtn	South America
10	Cordillera Oriental	24,985 km²	Range/mtn	South America

States and Provinces of Bolivia

7 first-level divisions with their own map.

Countries Bordering Bolivia

Land and maritime neighbours.

More Maps in South America

Bolivia: Quick Answers

What is the capital of Bolivia?: The capital of Bolivia is Sucre.
What is the population of Bolivia?: Bolivia has a population of about 12.58 million, the #79 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.
How big is Bolivia?: Bolivia covers 1.10M km², ranking #29 by area, with about 11 people per square kilometre.
Which continent is Bolivia in?: Bolivia is in South America.
Which countries border Bolivia?: Bolivia shares a land or maritime border with Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Paraguay.
What is the largest city in Bolivia?: Santa Cruz is the largest city in Bolivia, with a metropolitan population of about 2.10 million.
What is the highest mountain in Bolivia?: The highest summit recorded for Bolivia in YearMaps is Nevado Sajama at 6,542 m (21,463 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.
What is the largest lake in Bolivia?: The largest lake recorded in or bordering Bolivia is Lago Titicaca, at roughly 8,135 km².

Interactive Map of Bolivia