Environment—current issues: deforestation (an estimated 2 million
hectares of forest land have been lost from 1958-85); water
pollution; inadequate means for waste disposal present health risks
for many urban residents

Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear
Test Ban

Geography—note: landlocked; lies between Argentina, Bolivia, and
Brazil

People

Population: 5,434,095 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 39% (male 1,086,107; female 1,049,833)
15-64 years: 56% (male 1,528,127; female 1,517,213)
65 years and over: 5% (male 116,761; female 136,054) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.65% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 31.87 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 5.23 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.09 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)