Bolivia is a country near the centre of South America. It lacks a seacoast and has great natural barriers to transportation. In western Bolivia, the majestic, snow-capped Andes Mountains surround a high, dry plateau. A vast lowland plain spreads over the north and east. Tropical rain forests thrive in the northern part of the plain, and grasslands and swamps sprawl across much of the east. Largely hilly country lies between the Andes Mountains and the lowland plain. Bolivia is rich in natural resources and is a leading producer of tin. However, frequent wars, revolutions, and a series of unstable governments have hampered the country's economic growth. As a result, Bolivia remains a developing country with one of the lowest standards of living in the Western Hemisphere.

American Indians were the first people to live in what is now Bolivia. During the 1500's, Spain conquered the Indians and the Spanish ruled the region until 1825, when Bolivia won its independence. The new country was named after Simon Bolívar, a Venezuelan general who helped Bolivia and several other South American countries win their freedom from Spain. Today, mestizos (people of mixed white and Indian ancestry) make up about 30 percent of the population and about 60 percent of the people are of unmixed Indian ancestry. Bolivia has a population of about 8 million with about half of the people living in rural areas. Almost a million people live in La Paz, the actual capital and Bolivia's largest city; however Sucre, where the Supreme Court meets, is the official capital.

Bolivia has four major land regions: the Andean Highlands, the Yungas, the Valles, and the Oriente. The Andean Highlands cover much of western Bolivia. A high plateau called the Altiplano lies between two craggy ranges of the Andes Mountains; about 40 percent of Bolivia's people live on the largely barren Altiplano, many of them in La Paz. The world's highest navigable lake, Lake Titicaca, is partly in the northern Altiplano and partly in Peru, at an altitude of 3800 metres above sea level. The Yungas make up a small region northeast of the Andean Highlands, with steep hills, narrow gorges and subtropical forests on the hillsides. Few people live here. The Valles lie in south-central Bolivia with gently sloping hills and broad valleys, open grasslands and many farms cover. The Oriente is a vast lowland plain that spreads across northern and eastern Bolivia; tropical rain forests flourish in the north while open grasslands, large farms, swamps, and shrubby forests cover much of the rest of it. Wide, sluggish rivers flow through the Oriente; many of its rivers form part of the Amazon River system.

Bolivia is a developing country but has a wealth of natural resources: plentiful minerals, pastureland, timber, and fertile soil. Mining accounts for about 13 percent of Bolivia's GDP and employs about 3 percent of all workers. Tin is Bolivia's most important mineral, but it is declining in significance. However, the nation still ranks among the world's leading tin producers. Agriculture accounts for about 32 percent of Bolivia's GDP. Farmers on the Altiplano grow potatoes, wheat, and a grain called quinoa. They raise llamas and alpacas for their wool. The Yungas and the Valles regions yield bananas, beans, cacao, coffee, and corn. Another important crop of the Yungas is coca, from which the drug cocaine is made. Bolivia is one of the world's leading producers of coca. In the Oriente, farmers raise cattle and grow cotton, rice, and sugar cane.

American Indians lived in what is now Bolivia as long as 10,000 years ago. About A.D. 100, a major Indian civilisation developed in the Tiahuanaco region near Lake Titicaca. The Tiahuanaco Indians built gigantic monuments and carved statues out of stone. Their civilisation declined rapidly during the 1200's. By the late 1300's, a warlike tribe called the Aymara controlled much of western Bolivia. The Inca Indians of Peru defeated the Aymara during the 1400's and made Bolivia part of their huge empire. The Inca forced their religion, customs, and language, Quechua, on the Bolivian Indians. During the 1530's, Spain conquered the Inca and made Bolivia a Spanish colony called Upper Peru or Charcas. Spanish colonists soon began to settle in Bolivia and establish large estates called haciendas. After silver was discovered in the mountains near Potosí in 1545, Spaniards poured into Bolivia by the thousands.

Bolivia has had a very stormy past since then with numerous coups, rebellions and wars. Over the years, Bolivia lost more than half its territory. The losses resulted from war or treaties with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru. One of the worst losses followed Bolivia's defeat in the War of the Pacific (1879-1883). In this war, Chile seized Bolivia's nitrate-rich land along the Pacific Ocean. Bolivia has been without a coastline ever since. War broke out in 1932 between Bolivia and Paraguay over ownership of the Gran Chaco, a large lowland plain bordering the two countries. Bolivia was defeated in 1935. It gave up most of the disputed land under a settlement arranged in 1938. Great political disorder followed Bolivia's defeat in the Chaco War. From 1936 to 1952, Bolivia had 10 presidents as one political leader after the other seized control of the government. Six of the presidents were military officers supported by the army. In January 2006 Evo Morales, an Aymara Indian, was sworn in as Bolivia's president: the first time since the Spanish conquest that a native, non-European or mestizo ruler had been chosen.