The La Paz Department of Bolivia comprises 133,985 square kilometres (51,732 sq mi) with a 2024 census population of 3,022,566 inhabitants. It is situated at the western border of Bolivia, sharing Lake Titicaca with the neighboring Peru. It contains the Cordillera Real mountain range, which reaches altitudes of 6.6 kilometers (22,000 ft). Northeast of the Cordillera Real are the Yungas, the steep eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains that make the transition to the Amazon River basin to the northeast. The capital of the department is the city of La Paz and is the administrative city and seat of government/national capital of Bolivia.
La Paz
| |
|---|---|
 Lake Titicaca in the Andes | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Location of La Paz Department within Bolivia | |
 Provinces of the La Paz Department | |
| Coordinates: 15°00′S 68°21′W / 15.000°S 68.350°W | |
| Country |  Bolivia |
| Capital | Nuestra Señora de La Paz |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Santos Quispe |
| Area | |
• Total | 133,985 km2 (51,732 sq mi) |
| Population (2024 census) | |
• Total | 3,022,566 |
| • Density | 23/km2 (58/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (BOT) |
| HDI (2019) | 0.717[1] high · 6th of 9 |
| GDP (2023) | in 2015 constant values[2] |
| - Total | US$ 8.2 billion Int$ 19.3 billion (PPP) |
| - Per capita | US$ 2,700 Int$ 6,300 (PPP) |
| Website | www |
Provinces
editThe Department of La Paz is divided into 20 provinces (provincias) which are further subdivided into 85 municipalities[3] (municipios) and - on the fourth level - into cantons.
The provinces with their capitals are:
| Province | Area km2 | Population (2012 census) | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abel Iturralde | 42,815 | 18,073 | Ixiamas |
| Aroma | 4,510 | 97,364 | Sica Sica |
| Bautista Saavedra | 2,525 | 16,308 | Charazani |
| Caranavi | 3,400 | 59,365 | Caranavi |
| Eliodoro Camacho | 2,080 | 53,747 | Puerto Acosta |
| Franz Tamayo | 15,900 | 26,997 | Apolo |
| Gualberto Villarroel | 1,935 | 17,782 | San Pedro de Curahuara de Carangas |
| Ingavi | 5,410 | 134,535 | Viacha |
| Inquisivi | 6,430 | 66,346 | Inquisivi |
| José Manuel Pando | 1,976 | 7,381 | Santiago de Machaca |
| José Ramón Loayza | 3,370 | 47,295 | Luribay |
| Larecaja | 8,110 | 86,481 | Sorata |
| Los Andes | 1,658 | 77,579 | Pucarani |
| Manco Kapac | 367 | 27,154 | Copacabana |
| Muñecas | 4,965 | 29,694 | Chuma |
| Nor Yungas | 1,720 | 36,983 | Coroico |
| Omasuyos | 2,065 | 84,484 | Achacachi |
| Pacajes | 10,584 | 55,180 | Coro Coro |
| Pedro Domingo Murillo | 4,705 | 1,663,099 | La Paz |
| Sud Yungas | 5,770 | 105,013 | Chulumani |
| Total: | 133,985 km2 | 2,706,359 | |
| Note: More than 3,770 km2 of Lake Titicaca |
Government
editThe chief executive office of Bolivia's departments (since May 2010) is the Governor; before then, the office was called the Prefect, and until 2006 the prefect was appointed by the President of Bolivia and then the governor is elected by the voters. The current governor, Santos Quispe, was elected on 11 April 2021 and took office on 3 May.
Under the 2009 Constitution, Bolivian departments have an elected legislature, known as the Departmental Legislative Assembly. The La Paz Assembly has 45 members including five indigenous / natives minority representatives.
The most recent governor election results (2021) are as follows:[4]
| Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| Santos Quispe | Together for the Call of the Peoples | 392,132 | 25.18 | 831,816 | 55.23 | |
| Franklin Flores | Movement for Socialism | 618,221 | 39.70 | 674,220 | 44.77 | |
| Rafael Quispe | For the Common Good - We are the People (MDS) | 349,384 | 22.44 | |||
| Félix Patzi | Third System Movement | 67,948 | 4.36 | |||
| Franclin Gutierrez | Front for Victory | 23,519 | 1.51 | |||
| Beatriz Alvarez | Sovereignty and Liberty | 22,625 | 1.45 | |||
| Claudia Bravo Terrazas | National Unity Front | 21,331 | 1.37 | |||
| Juan Choque | Overcome | 16,314 | 1.05 | |||
| Rufo Calle | Christian Democratic Party | 11,033 | 0.71 | |||
| Mateo Laura | Civic Community - Autonomies for Bolivia | 8,578 | 0.55 | |||
| Julio Tito | Patriotic Social Alliance | 7,944 | 0.51 | |||
| Orlando Quispe | Bolivian National Action Party | 6,886 | 0.44 | |||
| Federico Zelada | Movement for Sovereignty | 6,269 | 0.40 | |||
| Santiago Quenta | For my La Paz, United Invincible | 5,025 | 0.32 | |||
| Total | 1,557,209 | 100.00 | 1,506,036 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 1,557,209 | 90.35 | 1,506,036 | 92.90 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 166,386 | 9.65 | 115,092 | 7.10 | ||
| Total votes | 1,723,595 | 100.00 | 1,621,128 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,950,428 | 88.37 | 1,947,828 | 83.23 | ||
| Source: Plurinational Electoral Organ[5] | ||||||
Past executives
edit| Date Began | Date Ended | Prefect/Governor | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Jan 2006 | 10 Aug 2008 | José Luís Paredes Muñoz | Social and Democratic Power | First elected prefect. Elected in Bolivian general election, December 2005, and removed by the 2008 recall election. |
| 12 Aug 2008 | 29 Aug 2008 | Alejandro Zapata (acting, de facto) | ||
| 29 Aug 2008 | 30 May 2010 | Pablo Ramos Sánchez (acting) | MAS-IPSP | Final prefect |
| 30 May 2010 | 31 May 2015 | César Hugo Cocarico Yana | MAS-IPSP | Elected in regional election on 4 April; first elected with the renamed title of governor |
| 31 May 2015 | 3 May 2021 | Félix Patzi | MTS | Elected in regional election |
| Source: worldstatesmen.org | ||||
Demographics
edit| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 1,465,078 | — | |
| 1992 | 1,900,786 | +1.64% | |
| 2001 | 2,350,466 | +2.39% | |
| 2012 | 2,719,344 | +1.33% | |
| 2024 | 3,022,566 | +0.88% | |
| |||
| Source: Citypopulation[6] | |||
Languages
editThe languages spoken in the department are mainly Spanish, Aymara, Quechua and Guaraní. The following table shows the number of people belonging to the recognized group of speakers.[7]
| Language | Department | Bolivia |
|---|---|---|
| Quechua | 158,260 | 2,281,198 |
| Aymara | 1,181,593 | 1,525,321 |
| Guaraní | 1,526 | 62,575 |
| Another native | 4,446 | 49,432 |
| Spanish | 1,973,708 | 6,821,626 |
| Foreign | 70,448 | 250,754 |
| Only native | 257,242 | 960,491 |
| Native and Spanish | 1,027,999 | 2,739,407 |
| Spanish and foreign | 946,650 | 4,115,751 |
Places of interest
editTowns and villages
editReferences
edit- ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Archived from the original on 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
- ^ "TelluBase—BoliviaFact Sheet (Tellusant Public Service Series)" (PDF). Tellusant. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
- ^ www.bolivia.com Archived 2014-10-06 at the Wayback Machine (English)
- ^ "Los partidos combinan perfiles para la Gobernación de La Paz". eju.tv. 24 February 2010. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
- ^ "ELECCIÓN DE AUTORIDADES POLÍTICAS DEPARTAMENTALES, REGIONALES Y MUNICIPALES 2021". computo.oep.org.bo. Archived from the original on 2021-05-22. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
- ^ "Bolivia: Provinces". Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
- ^ obd.descentralizacion.gov.bo Archived 2009-02-18 at the Wayback Machine (Spanish)
External links
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