玻利维亚(Bolivia)
正式名称玻利维亚共和国（Republic of Bolivia）
南美洲西部国家。面积1,098,581平方公里。人口约8,516,000（2001）。首都︰拉巴斯（行政）；苏克雷（司法）。人口主要由三种族群构成：印第安人（艾马拉人和克丘亚人後裔）、印第安人和西班牙人的混血种（梅斯蒂索人），以及西班牙人後裔。语言︰西班牙语、艾马拉语和克丘亚语（均为官方语）。宗教：天主教，还有一些前哥伦布时期的残余宗教。货币︰玻利维亚诺（Bs）。可分为三个主要地理区：西南部高地（或称阿尔蒂普拉诺），的的喀喀湖就位於此，连绵於该国整个西南部；第二地区是安地斯山脉的东、西两个分支，环绕在第一区周围。东部支脉是森林密布的地带，有许多深谷，西部支脉是一座高原，邻近多座火山，其中包括该国最高峰萨哈马山（海拔6,542公尺）。第三地区是该国北部和东部的低地区，面积占国土2/3以上。河流包括瓜波雷、马莫雷、贝尼及皮科马约河上游。经济属发展中的混合型经济，以生产天然气和农作物为主。政府形式为多党制中央集权共和国，两院制。国家元首暨政府首脑是总统。
7～11世纪时，玻利维亚高地是先进的蒂亚瓦纳科文化的所在地，15世纪成为被印加人征服的印第安民族艾马拉人的家园。1530年代，皮萨罗领导西班牙人入侵，推翻了印加帝国。到1600年，西班牙人已经建立了查尔卡斯（今苏克雷）、拉巴斯、圣克鲁斯以及後来的城市科恰班巴，并开始开采波托西的银矿。17世纪时玻利维亚繁荣起来，有一段时期里波托西是美洲最大的城市。到该世纪末，矿藏财富已经乾涸。早在1809年玻利维亚就已开始要求独立，但直到1825年才打败西班牙军队。1884年太平洋战争结束时，把阿塔卡马省割让给智利，1939年又把大厦谷的一大部分割给了巴拉圭，玻利维亚的版图一再缩水。玻利维亚现在是南美洲最穷的国家之一，在20世纪大部分时间里政府都处於不稳定状态。到1990年代，玻利维亚已成为世界上最大的古柯产地之一，从中可提取古柯硷。後来其政府实施根除这种作物的计画，虽然遭到许多以古柯为生的贫苦农民抵制，但取缔行动还是取得很大的成效。
English version：
Bolivia
Nation, western South America. Area: 424,162 sq mi (1,098,579 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 7,767,000. Capitals: La Paz (administrative), Sucre (constitutional). The population consists of three principal groups: Indians, descendants of the Aymara and the Quechua; Indian-Spanish mestizos; and descendants of the Spanish. Languages: Spanish, Aymara, Quechua (all official). Religions: Roman Catholicism (official), vestiges of pre-Columbian religion. Currency: boliviano. Bolivia may be divided into three major regions. The southwestern highlands, or Altiplano, where Lake Titicaca is located, extends through southwestern Bolivia. It is enclosed by the second region, the western and eastern branches of the Andes. Much of the eastern branch is heavily forested terrain, with many deep river valleys; the western branch is a high plateau bordered by volcanoes, including the country's highest peak, Mount Sajama, at 21,463 ft (6,542 m). The third region is a lowland area that comprises the northern and eastern two-thirds of the country; its rivers include the Guaporé, Mamoré, Beni, and upper Pilcomayo. Bolivia has a developing mixed economy based on the production of natural gas and agricultural foodstuffs. A republic with two legislative houses, its head of state and government is the president. The Bolivian highlands were the location of the advanced Tiwanaku culture in the 7th-11th century, and, with its passing, became the home of the Aymara, an Indian group conquered by the Incas in the 15th century. The Incas were overrun by the invading Spanish under Hernando Pizarro in the 1530s. By 1600 Spain had established the cities of Charcas (now Sucre), La Paz, Santa Cruz, and what would become Cochabamba, and had begun to exploit the silver wealth of Potosí. Bolivia flourished in the 17th century, and for a time Potosí was the largest city in the Americas. By the end of the century, the mineral wealth had dried up. Talk of independence began as early as 1809, but not until 1825 were Spanish forces finally defeated. Bolivia shrank in size when it lost Atacama province to Chile in 1884 at the end of the War of the Pacific, and again in 1939 when it lost most of Gran Chaco to Paraguay. One of South America's poorest countries, it was plagued by governmental instability for much of the 20th century. By the 1990s Bolivia had become one of the world's largest producers of coca, from which cocaine is derived. The government subsequently instituted a largely successful program to eradicate the crop, although such efforts were resisted by the many poor farmers who depended on coca.