Bolivia Economy
Is Bolivia a wealthy country?
Bolivia is a resource-rich country with strong growth attributed to captive markets for natural gas exports – to Brazil and Argentina. However, the country remains one of the least developed countries in Latin America because of state-oriented policies that deter investment.
Following an economic crisis during the early 1980s, reforms in the 1990s spurred private investment, stimulated economic growth, and cut poverty rates. The period 2003-05 was characterized by political instability, racial tensions, and violent protests against plans - subsequently abandoned - to export Bolivia's newly discovered natural gas reserves to large Northern Hemisphere markets. In 2005-06, the government passed hydrocarbon laws that imposed significantly higher royalties and required foreign firms then operating under risk-sharing contracts to surrender all production to the state energy company in exchange for a predetermined service fee; the laws engendered much public debate. High commodity prices between 2010 and 2014 sustained rapid growth and large trade surpluses with GDP growing 6.8% in 2013 and 5.4% in 2014. The global decline in oil prices that began in late 2014 exerted downward pressure on the price Bolivia receives for exported gas and resulted in lower GDP growth rates - 4.9% in 2015 and 4.3% in 2016 - and losses in government revenue as well as fiscal and trade deficits.
A lack of foreign investment in the key sectors of mining and hydrocarbons, along with conflict among social groups, pose challenges for the Bolivian economy. In 2015, President Evo MORALES expanded efforts to court international investment and boost Bolivia’s energy production capacity. MORALES passed an investment law and promised not to nationalize additional industries in an effort to improve the investment climate. In early 2016, the Government of Bolivia approved the 2016-2020 National Economic and Social Development Plan aimed at maintaining growth of 5% and reducing poverty.
Bolivia Economy Data
What is the GDP of Bolivia?
| Currency Name and Code | Bolivianos (BOB) |
| GDP - Gross Domestic Product (PPP) | $92,590,000,000 (USD) |
| GDP - official exchange rate | $35,700,000,000 (USD) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 3.7% |
| GDP Per Capita | $7,200.00 (USD) |
| GDP by Sector- agriculture | 13.3% |
| GDP by Sector- Industry | 37.4% |
| GDP by Sector- services | 53.6% |
| GDP - composition, by end use |
Household Consumption: 69.3% Government Consumption: 18.2% Investment in Fixed Capital: 20.4% Investment in Inventories: -1.4% Exports of Goods and Services: 29% Imports of Goods and Services: -35.5% |
| Population Below Poverty Line | 45% |
| Inflation Rate | 3.9% |
| Labor Force | 4,993,000 |
| Labor Force By Occupation- agriculture | 32% |
| Labor Force By Occupation- industry | 20% |
| Labor Force By Occupation- services | 47.9% |
| Unemployment Rate | 7.5% |
| Unemployment - note | Data are for urban areas; widespread underemployment |
| Fiscal Year | Calendar Year |
| Annual Budget | $15,440,000,000 (USD) |
| Budget Surplus or Deficit - percent of GDP | -6.2% |
| Public Debt (% of GDP) | 47% |
| Taxes and other revenues - percent of GDP | 43.3% |
| Major Industries | Mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing, jewelry |
| Industrial Growth Rate | 3.5% |
| Agriculture Products | Soybeans, quinoa, Brazil nuts, sugarcane, coffee, corn, rice, potatoes, chia, coca |
| Exchange Rate per US Dollar | 6.91 |
| Child Labor - % of children ages 5-14 | 26% |
| Child Labor - # of children ages 5-14 | 553,323 |
| Child Labor - note | note: data represents children ages 5-13 |
| Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate | 7.6% |