ing fiscal deficits, all of which hurt
investor confidence. In 2003, violent protests against the
pro-foreign investment economic policies of President SANCHEZ DE
LOZADA led to his resignation and the cancellation of plans to
export Bolivia's newly discovered natural gas reserves to large
northern hemisphere markets. In 2005, the government passed a
controversial natural gas law that imposes on the oil and gas firms
significantly higher taxes as well as new contracts that give the
state control of their operations. Bolivian officials are in the
process of implementing the law; meanwhile, foreign investors have
stopped investing and have taken the first legal steps to secure
their investments. Real GDP growth in 2003-06 - helped by increased
demand for natural gas in neighboring Brazil - was positive, but
still below the levels seen during the 1990s. Bolivia's fiscal
position has improved in recent years, but the country remains
dependent on foreign aid from multilateral lenders and foreign
governments to meet budget shortfalls. In 2005, the G8 announced a
$2 billion debt-forgiveness plan over the next few decades that
should help reduce some fiscal pressures on the government in the
near term.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$27.21 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$10.22 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3.3% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$3,000 (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 12.8%
industry: 36.1%
services: 51.2% (2006 est.)

Labor force:
4.3 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Unemployment rate:
7.8% in urban areas; widespread underemployment (2006 est.)

Population below poverty line:
64% (2004 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.3%
highest 10%: 32% (1999)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
60.6 (2002)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
4.3% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
12.4% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $4.153 billion
expenditures: $3.619 billion; including capital expenditures of $741
million (2006 est.)

Agriculture - products:
soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes;
timber

Industries:
mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco,
handicrafts, clothing

Industrial pro