The Republic of Bolivia covers an area of 1,098575 sq. km., with a population of 7,400,000 with a growth rate of 2.8. The country has the highest indigenous population where Quechua and Aymara, as well as Spanish, are still widely spoken. Over 90% are Catholic but because of a shortage of priests in the vast rural areas and the marginated barrios of the cities, there remain many who are unevangelized. The country is landlocked and there are isolated country stretches that extend from the eastern Andes across high plateaus before dropping to the dense forest of the Amazon basin and the grasslands of the southeast. The development of the economy relies on the exploration of natural gas for export, which has recently been nationalized, as well as other mineral resources such as tin, zinc and iron ore. The country is one of the poorest in Latin America, where the vast majority eke out a subsistence living farming the land or carrying heavy loads of fruit and vegetables on their backs to the markets for a few Bolivianos per day. The average life expectancy is fifty-one years.

 

*There are currently no active members in Bolivia.