Demographics ofBolivia
Boliviapopulation pyramid in 2020
Population	11,312,620 (2024 census)[1]
Density	11.36/km2 (2024 est.)
Growth rate	1.2% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	16.3 per 1,000 pop. (2024 est.)
Death rate	5.2 per 1,000 pop. (2024 est.)
Life expectancy	68.87 years (2014)
• male	65.4 years (2013)
• female	71.1 years (2013)
Fertility rate	2.06 children born/woman (2024 census)
Infant mortality rate	22.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2024)
Net migration rate	−1.00 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Age structure
0–14 years	30.30% (2024 est.)
15–64 years	64.77% (2024 est.)
65 and over	4.93% (2024 est.)
Sex ratio
Total	0.99 male/female (2012)
Under 15	1.05 male/female (2012)
15–64 years	0.96 male/female (2012)
65 and over	0.88 male/female (2012)
Nationality
Nationality	Bolivian
Major ethnic	Mixed (N/D)
Minor ethnic	Native (40.58%)[2] Quechua (18.52%) Aymara (17.22%) Chiquitano (1.27%) Guaraní (0.85%) Others (2.48%) White (15.0%)[3] Spanish (N/D) German (N/D) Italian (N/D) Others (N/D) Black (0.23%)[2] East Asian (N/D) Japanese (N/D) Others (N/D) Others (N/D)
Language
Official	Spanish (44.89%) Quechua (25.08%) Aymara (16.77%) Guarani (0.69%) 34 other native languages
Spoken	Languages of Bolivia

Thedemographic characteristics of the population ofBolivia are known from censuses, with the first census undertaken in 1826 and the most recent in 2024. TheNational Institute of Statistics of Bolivia (INE) has performed this task since 1950. The population of Bolivia in 2024 reached 11 million for the first time in history. The population density is 11.36 inhabitants per square kilometer, and the overalllife expectancy in Bolivia at birth is 68.2 years. The population has steadily risen from the late 1800s to the present time. The natural growth rate of the population is positive, which has been a continuing trend since the 1950s; in 2012, Bolivia'sbirth rate continued to be higher than the death rate. Bolivia is in the third stage ofdemographic transition. In terms of age structure, the population is dominated by the 15–64 segment. The median age of the population is 23.1, and the gender ratio of the total population is 0.99 males per female.

Bolivia is inhabited mostly byMestizo,Quechua andAymara, while minorities include 37indigenous groups (0.3% average per group). Spanish,Quechua,Aymara,Guarani languages, as well as 34 other native languages are the official languages of Bolivia. Spanish is the most-spoken language (60.7%) within the population. The main religions of Bolivia are theCatholic Church (81.8%),Evangelicalism (11.5%), andProtestantism (2.6%). There is aliteracy rate of 91.2%. An estimated 7.6% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) is spent on education. The average monthly household income wasBs.1,378 ($293) in 1994. In December 2013 theunemployment rate was 3.2% of the working population. The average urbanization rate in Bolivia is 67%.

The first true estimate of the population of Bolivia came in 1826, in which 997,427 inhabitants were estimated. This number was calculated from the 1796 census organized byFrancisco Gil de Taboada, which consisted of several Bolivian cities.^[4] The first modern census was completed in 1831, and ten have been completed since then. The organizer of Bolivia's censuses has changed throughout the years—Andrés de Santa Cruz (1831), The Bolivian Statistical Office (1835, 1854, 1882), The Bolivian Statistical Commission (1845), The National Immigration Bureau and The Statistics and Geographic Propaganda (1900), and The Department of Statistics and Censuses (1950)—with the INE conducting the census since 1976.^[4] The national census is supposed to be conducted every ten years, however, the 2012 census was late because of "climatic factors and the financing." The 2012 census was conducted on 21 November 2012, in which 10,027,254 inhabitants were in the country. The estimated cost of the census was $50 million.^[5][6]

With a population of 10.0 million in 2012, Boliviaranks 87th in the world by population.^[7] Its population density is 9.13 inhabitants per square kilometer. The overalllife expectancy in Bolivia is 65.4. Thetotal fertility rate is 2.87 children per mother. Since 1950, theWorld Health Organization (WHO) estimates the birth rate exceeded the death rate of the country.^[8] The population of Bolivia has been increasing since 1900, and has only had a negative per annum growth rate twice in its history (1835 and 1882). Bolivia is in the third stage ofdemographic transition. There were 562,461 immigrants in Bolivia in 2012, with the most (40.5%) coming fromArgentina.^[9] In 2008, there were 48,809 marriages in Bolivia, and 5,887 divorces throughout the country in 2011.^[10][11]

^[14][16]

(c) = Census results.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and Crude Birth Rate (CBR):^[17]

Source:UN World Population Prospects^[18]

According to a genetic study done on Bolivians, average values of Native American, European and African ancestry are 86%, 12.5%, and 1.5%, in individuals from La Paz and 76.8%, 21.4%, and 1.8% in individuals from Chuquisaca; respectively.^[20]

The vast majority of Bolivians aremestizo (with the indigenous component higher than the European one), although the government has not included the cultural self-identification "mestizo" in the November 2012 census.^[21] There are approximately three dozen native groups totaling approximately half of the Bolivian population – the largest proportion of indigenous people in the Americas. Exact numbers vary based on the wording of the ethnicity question and the available response choices. For example, the 2001 census did not provide the racial category "mestizo" as a response choice, resulting in a much higher proportion of respondents identifying themselves as belonging to one of the available indigenous ethnicity choices. Mestizos are distributed throughout the entire country and make up 26% of the Bolivian population, with the predominantly mestizo departments being Beni, Santa Cruz, and Tarija. Most people assume theirmestizo identity while at the same time identifying themselves with one or more indigenous cultures. A 2018 estimate of racial classification put mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian) at 68%, indigenous at 20%, white at 5%,cholo at 2%, black at 1%, other at 4%, while 2% were unspecified; 44% attributed themselves to some indigenous group, predominantly the linguistic categories ofQuechuas orAymaras.^[19]White Bolivians comprised about 14% of the population in 2006, and are usually concentrated in the largest cities:La Paz,Santa Cruz de la Sierra andCochabamba, but as well in some minor cities likeTarija andSucre. The ancestry of whites and the white ancestry of mestizos lies most notably Spain, Italy, Germany, andCroatia. In theSanta Cruz Department, there are several dozen colonies of German-speakingMennonites from Russia totaling around 40,000 inhabitants (as of 2012^[update]).^[22]

Afro-Bolivians, descendants ofAfrican slaves who arrived in the time of theSpanish Empire, inhabit thedepartment of La Paz, and are located mainly in the provinces ofNor Yungas andSud Yungas. Slavery was abolished in Bolivia in 1831.^[23] There are also important communities ofJapanese (14,000^[24]) and Lebanese (12,900^[25]).

Indigenous peoples, also called"originarios" ("native" or "original") and less frequently,Amerindians, could be categorized by geographic area, such asAndean, like theAymaras andQuechuas (who formed the ancientInca Empire), who are concentrated in the western departments ofLa Paz,Potosí,Oruro,Cochabamba andChuquisaca. There also are ethnic populations in the east, composed of theChiquitano,Chané,Guaraní andMoxos, among others, who inhabit the departments ofSanta Cruz,Beni,Tarija andPando.

There are small numbers of European citizens from Germany, France, Italy and Portugal, as well as from other countries of the Americas, as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, the United States, Paraguay, Peru, Mexico and Venezuela, among others. There are important Peruvian colonies inLa Paz,El Alto andSanta Cruz de la Sierra.

There are around 140,000Mennonites in Bolivia of Friesian, Flemish and German ethnic origins.^[26][27]

A few Bolivians carry some Middle Eastern ancestry, mainly from Syria and Lebanon.

Distribution ofQuechua people by municipality.

Distribution ofAymara people by municipality.

Map showing the area of indigenous peoples in Bolivia

Distribution of otherBolivian indigenous peoples by municipality.

TheIndigenous peoples of Bolivia can be divided into two categories of ethnic groups: the Andeans, who are located in theAndeanAltiplano and the valley region; and the lowland groups, who inhabit the warm regions of central and eastern Bolivia, including the valleys of Cochabamba Department, the Amazon Basin areas of northern La Paz Department, and the lowland departments of Beni, Pando, Santa Cruz, and Tarija (including theGran Chaco region in the southeast of the country). Large numbers of Andean peoples have also migrated to form Quechua, Aymara, and intercultural communities in the lowlands.

• Andean ethnicities
  • Aymara people. They live on the high plateau of the departments of La Paz, Oruro and Potosí, as well as some small regions near the tropical flatlands.
  • Quechua people. They mostly inhabit the valleys inCochabamba andChuquisaca. They also inhabit some mountain regions inPotosí andOruro. They divide themselves into different Quechua nations, as the Tarabucos, Ucumaris, Chalchas, Chaquies, Yralipes, Tirinas, among others.
  • Uru people
• Ethnicities of the Eastern Lowlands
  • Guaraníes: made up of Guarayos, Pausernas,Sirionós,Chiriguanos,Wichí, Chulipis, Taipetes,Tobas, and Yuquis.
  • Tacanas: made up of Lecos, Chimanes, Araonas, and Maropas.
  • Panos: made up of Chacobos, Caripunas, Sinabos, Capuibos, and Guacanaguas.
  • Aruacos: made up of Apolistas, Baures,Moxos,Chané, Movimas, Cayabayas, Carabecas, and Paiconecas (Paucanacas).
  • Chapacuras: made up of Itenez (More), Chapacuras, Sansinonianos, Canichanas, Itonamas, Yuracares, Guatoses, andChiquitanos.
  • Botocudos: made up of Bororos and Otuquis.
  • Zamucos: made up ofAyoreos.

The officiallanguages of Bolivia are Spanish^[28] (60.7%),Quechua^[28] (21.2%),Aymara^[28] (14.6), andGuaraní^[28] (0.6%), plus another 33 native languages.^[28] Originally only Spanish, Aymara, and Quechua were the official languages until the2009 Constitution was passed.^[29][30] According to the 2001 census, 60.7% of the population over six years old are able to speak Spanish and/or speaks it as a native language.

In a 2012Gallup poll, 87% answered affirmatively when asked "Is religion important in your daily life?"^[31] Christianity is the largest religion in Bolivia, withRoman Catholicism being the largest denomination.^[32]

• National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia (2012)."Bolivia Caracteristicas de Populacion y Vivienda: Censo Nacional de Populacion y Vivienda 2012" [Bolivia Characteristics of Population and Housing: National Censo of Population and Housing 2012](PDF) (PDF) (in Spanish). Bolivian National Institute of Statistics. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 9 February 2014. Retrieved19 January 2014.
• Díaz-Domínguez, Alejandro (2009)."Nota Metodológica: Midiendo Religión en Encuestas de Latinoamérica" [Methodological Note: Measuring Religion Polls in Latin America](PDF).Perspectivas desde el Barómetro de las Américas (PDF) (in Spanish) (29). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 24 June 2010. Retrieved19 January 2014.
• Israel, Debra (1994)."Impact of Increased Access and Price on Household Water Use in Urban Bolivia"(PDF) (PDF).Indiana State University. Retrieved19 January 2014.

• Indigenous Peoples distribution mapArchived 4 November 2020 at theWayback Machine – BolivianMinistry of Health and Sports [es]Virtual Public Health LibraryArchived 1 November 2008 at theWayback Machine official website

• Demographics of Bolivia

• CS1 Spanish-language sources (es)
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