Bolivia vs. Brazil
Geography
| Bolivia | Brazil | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Central South America, southwest of Brazil | Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean |
| Geographic coordinates | 17 00 S, 65 00 W | 10 00 S, 55 00 W |
| Map references | South America | South America |
| Area | total: 1,098,581 sq km land: 1,083,301 sq km water: 15,280 sq km | total: 8,515,770 sq km land: 8,358,140 sq km water: 157,630 sq km note: includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo |
| Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Montana | slightly smaller than the US |
| Land boundaries | total: 7,252 km border countries (5): Argentina 942 km, Brazil 3403 km, Chile 942 km, Paraguay 753 km, Peru 1212 km | total: 16,145 km border countries (10): Argentina 1263 km, Bolivia 3403 km, Colombia 1790 km, French Guiana 649 km, Guyana 1308 km, Paraguay 1371 km, Peru 2659 km, Suriname 515 km, Uruguay 1050 km, Venezuela 2137 km |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 7,491 km |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
| Climate | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid | mostly tropical, but temperate in south |
| Terrain | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin | mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m mean elevation: 1,192 m | highest point: Pico da Neblina 2,994 m lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 320 m |
| Natural resources | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower | alumina, bauxite, beryllium, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, niobium, phosphates, platinum, tantalum, tin, rare earth elements, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber |
| Land use | agricultural land: 34.3% (2018 est.) arable land: 3.6% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.2% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 30.5% (2018 est.) forest: 52.5% (2018 est.) other: 13.2% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 32.9% (2018 est.) arable land: 8.6% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 23.5% (2018 est.) forest: 61.9% (2018 est.) other: 5.2% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 3,000 sq km (2012) | 54,000 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | flooding in the northeast (March to April) volcanism: volcanic activity in Andes Mountains on the border with Chile; historically active volcanoes in this region are Irruputuncu (5,163 m), which last erupted in 1995, and the Olca-Paruma volcanic complex (5,762 m to 5,167 m) | recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south |
| Environment - current issues | the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation | deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area; illegal wildlife trade; illegal poaching; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities; wetland degradation; severe oil spills |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping-London Protocol |
| Geography - note | note 1: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru note 2: the southern regions of Peru and the extreme northwestern part of Bolivia are considered to be the place of origin for the common potato, while southeast Bolivia and northwest Argentina seem to be the original development site for peanuts | note 1: largest country in South America and in the Southern Hemisphere; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador; most of the Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetland, extends through the west central part of the country; shares Iguazu Falls, the world's largest waterfalls system, with Argentina note 2: cassava (manioc) the sixth most important food crop in the world - after maize, rice, wheat, potatoes, and soybeans - seems to have originated in the west-central part of Brazil; pineapples are probably indigenous to the southern Brazil-Paraguay region |
| Total renewable water resources | 574 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) | 8.647 trillion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | a high altitude plain in the west between two cordillera of the Andes, known as the Altiplano, is the focal area for most of the population; a dense settlement pattern is also found in and around the city of Santa Cruz, located on the eastern side of the Andes | the vast majority of people live along, or relatively near, the Atlantic coast in the east; the population core is in the southeast, anchored by the cities of Sao Paolo, Brasilia, and Rio de Janeiro |
Source: CIA Factbook
