Bolivia

Sucre / La Paz serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Bolivia, positioned in South America. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, El Alto — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. La Paz sits in a canyon at 3,650 metres above sea level — the world's highest administrative capital — where altitude sickness greets visitors while residents navigate steep streets in the world's most extensive urban cable car network, a system of gondolas that transformed commuting in a city impossible to traverse by road.

With a population of approximately 12.1M, Bolivia is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The principal languages spoken are Spanish, Quechua, Aymara, which reflect the country's cultural heritage and open doors to a wide international community. Internationally, Bolivia is reached via the dialling code +591. Bolivia's indigenous majority — Aymara and Quechua peoples who constitute over 60% of the population — achieved unprecedented political representation with Evo Morales's 2006 election as the first indigenous president in South American history, a shift that rewrote the country's constitution to recognise 36 official languages.

Bolivia spans 1,098,581 km², in the South America subregion of Americas. Geographically centred around 17.0°S, 65.0°W, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Americas convention.

The official currency is the Bolivian boliviano (Bs.), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Bolivia's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC-04:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.

The emblematic dish of Bolivia is Salteñas. Bolivian cuisine reflects its altitude and indigenous heritage — salteñas (juice-filled pastries eaten as morning breakfast), api morado (purple corn hot drink against the cold), and fricasé (pork stew with chuño freeze-dried potatoes developed by Andean people 2,000 years ago at altitudes where no refrigerator could function).

Football holds a special place in the heart of Bolivia's national identity. Football occupies Bolivia's heart, but the national team's home advantage at the Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz at 3,637 metres is so extreme that FIFA briefly banned international matches there in 2007 — a decision reversed after protests from Bolivian players who argued altitude was simply their home terrain.

The highest point in Bolivia is Nevado Sajama, rising to 6,542 metres above sea level. Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat, a blinding white expanse of 10,582 square kilometres left by a prehistoric lake that dried 40,000 years ago — so flat it serves as a calibration surface for satellite altimeters, and so reflective after rain that sky and earth become indistinguishable.