Economic growth
Bolivia's pattern of growth has been accelerating in recent years, and preliminary figures for 2008 put GDP growth at 6.1% - the highest rate for many years. The main driver of growth has been the strength of external demand for Bolivian exports, notably natural gas and minerals. However, future growth will depend on international prices and levels of new investment. Public sector investment has been lagging due to a lack of capacity to spend the amounts budgeted.
Inflation
Inflation was high in 2007 and 2008 with consumer prices increasing by 11.8% from December 2007 to December 2008. Several factors contributed to this inflation, including spikes in international food and oil prices. Preliminary figures for 2009 show inflation to have declined significantly, with 12 month price increases from June 2008 to June 2009 at just 2.1%.
Exports
Like other Latin American commodity producing countries Bolivia has benefited from high world prices, particularly for gas and minerals. Preliminary figures for 2008 put total exports of Bolivian goods and services at US$6.95 billion.
Imports
Imports have increased with the rise in exports, but at a slower rate. Total imports of goods and services in 2008 were US$5.68 billion, helping to produce a trade surplus of US$1.27 billion.
Current account
Bolivia enjoyed a healthy current account surplus of around 12% of GDP from 2006 to 2008. This compares with a deficit of 5.3% of GDP in 2000. The improvement in the current account - a good proxy for the country's international solvency - reflects its better trade position as well as lower interest payments on the foreign debt.
Reserves
The improvement in Bolivia's external accounts has led to a rapid increase in the level of gross international reserves in the banking system. At September 2009, these figures stood at US$8.5 billion.
Foreign Direct Investment
Net foreign direct investment bottomed out in 2005 at US$-242 million and has since increased year on year to US$508 million in 2008. This includes significant investment by trans-national oil and gas companies and investment in large-scale mining projects.
Foreign debt
In spite of debt relief, Bolivia remains saddled with onerous debt obligations. At the end of 2008, gross external debt stood at US$5.913 billion. However, Bolivia’s increased GDP growth means that there has been a significant reduction proportional to the size of the Bolivian economy, from 95.4% of GDP in 2003 to 35.5% in 2008.
Economic performance 2003-2008
|
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008*
|
|
GDP US$m
Annual growth %
Growth per cap %
|
8,082
2.7
0.4
|
8,773
4.2
1.9
|
9,549
4.4
2.2
|
11,452
4.8
2.6
|
13,120
4.6
2.4
|
16,674
6.1
4.0
|
|
Exports US$m
Imports US$m
|
|
|
|
4,352
3,459
|
4,957
4,143
|
6,948
5,680
|
|
Current account US$m
|
|
337.5
|
622.4
|
1,317
|
1,591
|
2,015
|
|
As % of GDP
|
|
3.85
|
6.52
|
11.50
|
12.13
|
12.8
|
|
Trade balance US$m
International reserves US$m
Net Foreign Direct Investment US$m
|
1,096
195
|
1,272
62
|
1,798
-242
|
892
3,193
278
|
815
5,319
362
|
1267
7,722
508
|
|
Consumer prices (Percentage variation Dec. – Dec.)
|
3.9
|
4.6
|
4.9
|
4.9
|
11.7
|
11.8**
|
|
Gross External Debt US$m
|
7,709
|
7,562
|
7,666
|
6,278
|
5,386
|
5,913
|
|
As % of GDP
|
95.4
|
86.2
|
80.3
|
54.8
|
41.1
|
35.5
|
Source: ECLAC (CEPAL) Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2008-2009
*Most data for 2008 is based on preliminary figures
**12 month variation to June 2009: 2.1%
See also: Bolivia's Economy - An Update
Bolivians choose the euro
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