Departments of Bolivia

First-level administrative divisions of Bolivia

Departments of Bolivia

* Also known as:
* Departamentos de Bolivia (Spanish)

Category| Unitary state
Location| Plurinational State of Bolivia
Number| 9
Populations| 110,436 (Pando) – 3,412,921 (Santa Cruz)
Areas| 37,620 km2 (14,526 sq mi) (Tarija) – 370,620 km2 (143,098 sq mi) (Santa Cruz)
Government|

* Departmental governments, national government

Subdivisions|

* Provinces

Bolivia is a unitary state consisting of nine departments (Spanish: departamentos). Departments are the primary subdivisions of Bolivia, and possess certain rights under the Constitution of Bolivia. Each department is represented in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly—a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Each department is represented by four Senators, while Deputies are awarded to each department in proportion to their total population.

Out of the nine departments, La Paz was originally the most populous, with 2,706,351 inhabitants as of 2012 but the far eastern department of Santa Cruz has since surpassed it by 2020; Santa Cruz also claims the title as the largest, encompassing 370,621 square kilometres (143,098 sq mi). Pando is the least populated, with a population of 110,436. The smallest in area is Tarija, encompassing 37,623 square kilometres (14,526 sq mi).

## Departments

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Flag  | Department  | ISO 3166-2 code  | Capital city  | Largest city  | Population
(2024)[1] | Area
km2 (sq mi)  | Density per
km2 (sq mi)  | Deputy
seats

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| Beni | B  | Trinidad | 477,441 | 213,564 (82,458)  | 2.24 (5.80)  | 9
| Chuquisaca | H  | Sucre | 600,132 | 51,524 (19,894)  | 11.65 (30.17)  | 11
| Cochabamba | C  | Cochabamba | 2,005,373 | 55,631 (21,479)  | 36.05 (93.37)  | 19
| La Paz | L  | La Paz | El Alto | 3,022,566 | 133,985 (51,732)  | 22.56 (58.43)  | 29
| Oruro | O  | Oruro | 570,194 | 53,588 (20,690)  | 10.64 (27.56)  | 9
| Pando | N  | Cobija | 130,761 | 63,827 (24,644)  | 2.05 (5.31)  | 5
| Potosí | P  | Potosí | 856,419 | 118,218 (45,644)  | 7.24 (18.75)  | 14
| Santa Cruz | S  | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 3,115,386 | 370,621 (143,098)  | 8.41 (21.78)  | 25
| Tarija | T  | Tarija | 534,348 | 37,623 (14,526)  | 14.2 (36.78)  | 9

### Former Departments

[edit]

Flag  | Department  | Capital city  | Largest city  | Population  | Area
km2 (sq mi)  | Fate

|
|
|
|
|
|

| Litoral Department | Antofagasta | 15,000 (1879)  | 154,393 (59,611)  | Incorporated into Chile

## By population

[edit]

Department  | 2024[1] | 2012  | 2001  | 1992  | 1976  | 1950  | 1900  | 1882  | 1854  | 1845  | 1835  | 1831

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Beni | 477,441 | 421,196 | 362,521 | 276,174 | 168,367 | 71,636 | 24,500 | 16,700 | 33,400 | 48,400 | N/A[a]
Chuquisaca | 600,132 | 576,153 | 531,522 | 453,756 | 358,516 | 260,479 | 187,100 | 113,300 | 189,500 | 156,000 | 95,000 | 112,600
Cochabamba | 2,005,373 | 1,758,143 | 1,455,711 | 1,110,205 | 720,952 | 452,145 | 310,600 | 176,800 | 322,900 | 279,000 | 162,400 | 226,700
La Paz | 3,022,566 | 2,706,351 | 2,350,466 | 1,900,786 | 1,465,078 | 854,079 | 406,600 | 312,700 | 471,200 | 412,900 | 373,600 | 348,100
Litoral | N/A[b] | 5,500 | 4,500 | 5,100 | 3,800
Oruro | 570,194 | 494,178 | 391,870 | 340,114 | 310,409 | 192,356 | 82,000 | 111,400 | 91,800 | 95,300 | 111,000 | 84,100
Pando | 130,761 | 110,436 | 52,525 | 38,072 | 34,493 | 16,284 | N/A[c]
Potosí | 856,419 | 823,517 | 709,013 | 645,889 | 657,743 | 509,087 | 310,100 | 234,000 | 250,700 | 243,300 | 226,300 | 192,200
Santa Cruz | 3,115,386 | 2,655,084 | 2,029,471 | 1,364,389 | 710,724 | 244,658 | 163,400 | 94,000 | 120,400 | 75,600 | 54,400 | 43,800
Tarija | 534,348 | 482,196 | 391,226 | 291,407 | 187,204 | 103,441 | 64,700 | 31,500 | 60,000 | 63,800 | 33,000 | 36,200
Other  | N/A  | 6,900 | 7,200 | 4,400 | N/A  | 41,200

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ The Department of Beni was created November 18, 1842
2. ^ The Litoral Department was taken by Chile after the War of the Pacific
3. ^ Pando Department was created 24 September 1938

## See also

[edit]

* Bolivia portal

* ISO 3166-2:BO, the ISO codes for the departments of Bolivia.
* Bolivian autonomy referendums, 2008
* List of Bolivian departments by Human Development Index

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Instituto Nacional de Estadística (2024-08-29). "Somos 11.312.620 bolivianos y Santa Cruz es el departamento que más creció y más poblado" (Página Oficial del Censo de Población y Vivienda Bolivia). CENSO BOLIVIA. Retrieved 2024-09-30.

* 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 from the original (PDF) on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.

## External links

[edit]

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Departments of Bolivia

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* Chuquisaca
* Cochabamba
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* Oruro
* Pando
* Potosí
* Santa Cruz
* Tarija

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