10 Facts About Bolivia You May Not Know

Many people know that Bolivia is a Spanish-speaking country. They may even recall learning its location in geography class when they were younger, but a surprising amount know very little about this interesting and amazingly diverse country in South America.

We’ve compiled this list of 10 Facts You May Not Know About Bolivia. Enjoy!

1.  Lake Titicaca, which lies along the border of Peru and Bolivia, is the highest lake in the world that you can navigate. Located in the Andes Mountains, Lake Titicaca exists at 12,382.5 feet above sea level!
2. Bolivia has three official languages – Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara. There are over 26 language groups, many of which are indigenous languages stemming from the Incan Empire.
3. Brazil, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Paraguay all border Bolivia, making it a landlocked country.
4. Bolivia is home to the world’s largest iron ore mine, called the Cerro Mutún.
5. Bolivia has one of the most diverse climates in the world! The western third of the country is in the cool, semi-arid Andes Mountains. Traveling to the eastern part of the country you will find warm and humid weather as you enter the Amazon Rain Forest basin. Farther south, you will encounter the lowlands, home to farmland, alpacas, and rural villages.
6.  Bolivia is home to 40% of the animal and plant life in the world. It ranks 7^th among countries with the most species of birds, and 4^th among countries with the most species of butterflies.
7. Bolivia is about three times the size of Montana.
8. There is a gem that you can’t find anywhere else in the world except Bolivia, called ‘bolivianita’ (ametrine). Bolivianita occurs when citrine and amethyst combine, resulting in a gem that is part yellow and part purple.
9. While we live in states, the people of Bolivia live departments. There are nine – Pando, La Paz, Beni, Oruro, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Potosí, Chuquisaca, and Tarija.
10. Bolivia celebrates its Independence Day on August 6, honoring the day it declared its independence from Spain in 1825.

Learn More About LATCOM

LATCOM is a non-profit mission that seeks to spread the Gospel in Bolivia and across Latin America by motivating, equipping, and training people within their own countries to become Christian leaders. A large portion of our work takes place in Bolivia, and we send teams down to work alongside these leaders. Visit our website to learn more about LATCOM, and be sure to ‘like’ us on Facebook and ‘follow’ us on Twitter!