Bolivia Geography - 2024

Location

Central South America, southwest of Brazil

Geographic coordinates

17 00 S, 65 00 W

Map references

South America

Area

total: 1,098,581 sq km

land: 1,083,301 sq km

water: 15,280 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than three times the size of Montana

Area comparison map:

Land boundaries

total: 7,252 km

border countries (5): Argentina 942 km; Brazil 3,403 km; Chile 942 km; Paraguay 753 km; Peru 1,212 km

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

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

Elevation

highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m

lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m

mean elevation: 1,192 m

Natural resources

lithium, tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower

Land use

agricultural land: 34.3% (2018 est.)

arable land: 3.6% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 30.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 52.5% (2018 est.)

other: 13.2% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

2,972 sq km (2017)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lago Titicaca (shared with Peru) - 8,030 sq km

salt water lake(s): Lago Poopo - 1,340 sq km

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km), Paraná (2,582,704 sq km)

Major aquifers

Amazon Basin

Population distribution

a high altitude plain in the west between two cordillera of the Andes, known as the Altiplano, is the focal area for most of the population; a dense settlement pattern is also found in and around the city of Santa Cruz, located on the eastern side of the Andes

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)

Geography - note

note 1: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru

note 2: the southern regions of Peru and the extreme northwestern part of Bolivia are considered to be the place of origin for the common potato, while southeast Bolivia and northwest Argentina seem to be the original development site for peanuts