Bolivia - Country Profile

The Health in the Americas+ country profiles are based on the interagency indicators available as of the dates referenced. In some cases, the values of the indicators may differ from the most recent data available in the country.

Environmental and social determinants of health

In 2000 the total population of Bolivia (the Plurinational State of) was 8 606 326 inhabitants; by 2024 this figure had risen to 12 413 315, representing a 44.2% increase. Regarding the country’s demographic profile, in 2024 people over 65 years of age accounted for 5.6% of the total population, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the year 2000. In 2024, there were 99.6 women per 100 men and 18.9 older people (65 years or older) per 100 children under 15 years of age, as can be seen in the country’s population pyramids, distributed by age group and sex (Figure 1). Considering the population between 15 and 64 years of age to be potentially active (i.e., potential participants in the labor force), this group represented 64.6% of the total population of the country in 2024 (8 015 521 people). When we add these figures to the potentially passive population (3 697 500 under 15 years of age and 700 294 over 65 years of age), the result is a dependency ratio of 54.9 potentially passive people per 100 potentially active people. This ratio was 76.3 in 2000.

Life expectancy at birth in 2024 was 68.7 years, lower than the average for the Region of the Americas and 6.6 years higher that in 2000 (62.1).

Figure 1. Population pyramids of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, years 2000 and 2024

Between 2001 and 2020, the average number of years of schooling in Bolivia (the Plurinational State of) increased by 36.2%, reaching an average of 9.8 years in the latest year for which information is available. The unemployment rate in 2023 was 4.1%. Disaggregated by sex, the rate was 4.8% for women and 3.5% for men. The literacy rate was 99.5% in 2021. In men, this figure was 99.5%; in women, 99.5%. In addition, 36.4% of the population were below the national poverty line in 2021, a decrease from 66.4% in 2000. In 2021, 2.0% of the population was living in poverty, defined as the percentage of the population with an income of less than US$ 2.15 per day; this is below the regional average of 2.6%.

During the period 2000-2022, the country improved its score on the Human Development Index, with an increase of 11.7% (from a score of 0.625 to a score of 0.698); during the same period, the index rose 14.6% internationally and 11.2% in Latin America (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Human Development Index in the Region of the Americas, 2022

In 2021, public expenditure on health accounted for 5.88% of gross domestic product (GDP) (Figure 3) and 17.1% of total public expenditure, while out-of-pocket spending on health accounted for 22.74% of total health expenditure.

Figure 3. Domestic general government health expenditure as percentage of gross domestic product, 2021

Digital coverage

In 2021, 66.0% of the population had an internet connection, representing a considerable increase from 2000, when 1.4% of the population had an internet connection.

Health situation

Maternal and child health

Between 2003 and 2022, infant mortality in Bolivia (the Plurinational State of) decreased from 54 to 20.44 deaths per 1000 live births, a decrease of 62.1% (Figure 4). The percentage of low-weight births (less than 2500 g) increased from 4.0% to 5.4% between 2001 and 2022. While exclusive breastfeeding in the child population up to 6 months of age was 53.6% in 2008 and 60.4% in 2018 (the latest year for which information is available).

Regarding the immunization strategy, measles vaccination coverage was 69.0% in 2022, a decrease of 31 percentage points from 2000.

Figure 4. Infant mortality per 1000 live births, 1998–2022

The maternal mortality ratio in 2020 was estimated at 160.9 deaths per 100 000 live births, representing a 43.3% reduction compared to the estimated value in 2000 (Figure 5). In relation to fertility, it is estimated that in 2024 women had an average of 2.5 children throughout their reproductive lives. In the specific case of adolescent fertility, there was a 31.7% decrease, from 94.3 live births per 1000 women aged 15 to 19 years in 2000 to 64.4 in 2024. In 2022, 98.2% of births were attended by skilled birth personnel.

Figure 5. Maternal mortality per 100 000 live births, 2000–2020

Communicable diseases

In 2022, there were 66 new cases of tuberculosis per 100 000 population in Bolivia (the Plurinational State of). In 2019, the overall tuberculosis mortality rate (age-adjusted and per 100 000 population) was 10.7 (8.2 in women and 13.4 in men).

In 2022, the estimated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection incidence rate (new diagnoses) was 28.2 per 100 000 population. The age-adjusted mortality rate for HIV was 1.7 per 100 000 population in 2019. It should be noted that during the 2000-2019 period this indicator decreased by 92.1%. In 2022, there were one reported cases of human rabies in the country.

Noncommunicable diseases and risk factors

In the Plurinational State of Bolivia in 2023, the prevalence of tobacco use among people aged 15 and older was 11.3%. In the same age group, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 65.1% in 2022.

In 2015, the reported prevalence of arterial hypertension (high blood pressure) among people aged 18 years or older was 17.9%, a decrease of 3.6 percentage points compared to 2000 (21.5%). The prevalence of diabetes mellitus, which stood at 6.4% in 2000, increased to 8% in 2014.

Mortality

In 2019, the adjusted rate of potentially avoidable premature mortality in the Plurinational State of Bolivia was 317.1 deaths per 100 000 population, a decrease of 32.9% from a rate of 472.5 in 2000. This meant that, in 2019, the rate in the country was 39.9% higher than the average rate reported for the Region of the Americas as a whole. Among potentially preventable premature deaths, the rate for preventable causes was 153.7 per 100 000 population in 2019, which is 12.1% higher than the regional average rate; and the rate for treatable causes was 163.4 per 100 000 population, compared to the regional average of 89.6.

The overall age-adjusted mortality rate was 7.9 per 1000 population in 2019, a decrease of 21.6% compared to 2000 (10.1 deaths per 1000 population).

When deaths are categorized into three main groups, it is observed that, in 2019, the age-adjusted mortality rate from communicable diseases was 136.8 per 100 000 population (141.3 per 100 000 in men and 132.0 per 100 000 in women), while the age-adjusted mortality rate from noncommunicable diseases was 584.4 per 100 000 population (598.8 per 100 000 in men and 572.4 per 100 000 in women). The rate of age-adjusted mortality from external causes was 69.9 per 100 000 population (101.4 per 100 000 in men and 39.4 per 100 000 in women), including road traffic accidents (23.2 per 100 000 population), homicides (9.7 per 100 000 population), and suicides (6.8 per 100 000 population). In 2000, the percentage distribution of causes was 53.2% for noncommunicable diseases, 38.3% for communicable diseases, and 8.5% for external causes; in 2019, the percentages were 72.7%, 18.6%, and 8.7%, respectively (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Proportional mortality in the Plurinational State of Bolivia, 2000 and 2019

Cancer mortality

Regarding cancer mortality from tumors, in 2019, the adjusted mortality rate from prostate cancer was 11.5 per 100 000 men; lung cancer, 10.3 per 100 000; and colorectal cancer, 4.7 per 10 000. In women, these values were 9 deaths per 100 000 for breast cancer; 5.4 per 100 000 for lung cancer; and 3.6 per 100 000 for colorectal cancer.

The sources of the interagency indicators used in this profile can be found in this table.

For the latest data on health indicators for the Region of the Americas, be sure to visit the PAHO Core Indicators portal.