Bolivia is officially known as the ‘Plurinational State of Bolivia’*and is a landlocked country in central South America. It is surrounded by Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile and Peru. Bolivia is a Democratic Republic and was named after Simón Bolívar – a Venezuelan political leader.

Historically, the Andean region of Bolivia was a part of the Inca Empire – the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The Spanish conquered this region in the 16^th century. Bolivia struggled for independence, fighting through periods of political instability, dictatorships and economic hardships. Sixteen years of turmoil passed before the Republic was finally proclaimed in 1825.

Bolivia has the lowest GDP per capita in South America, despite being rich in natural resources, such as tin, natural gas, petroleum and gold. The country’s economic situation has been jeopardised by two major crises in the past decade. The first major blow to the Bolivian economy came with a dramatic fall in the price of tin during the early 1980s, which impacted one of Bolivia's main sources of income and one of its major mining-industries. The second major economic blow came in the late 1980s and early 1990s as economic aid was withdrawn by western countries.

The population of Bolivia is estimated at 10 million and is widely diverse, including Amerindians, Mestizos, Europeans, Asians and Africans. Bolivia's ethnic distribution is estimated to be 30% Quechua-speaking and 25% Aymara-speaking Amerindians, although the main language spoken is Spanish. Bolivia is one of the least developed countries in South America - almost two-thirds of its people, many of whom are subsistence farmers, live in poverty.