Disputes - international:
approximately 100,000 Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal, 90% of
whom reside in seven UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees
camps, place decades-long strains on Nepal

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003

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@Bolivia

Introduction Bolivia

Background:
Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away
from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has
consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and counter-coups.
Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in the 1980s,
but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty,
social unrest, and drug production. Current goals include attracting
foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, resolving
disputes with coca growers over Bolivia's counterdrug efforts,
continuing the privatization program, and waging an anticorruption
campaign.

Geography Bolivia

Location:
Central South America, southwest of Brazil

Geographic coordinates:
17 00 S, 65 00 W

Map references:
South America