Bolivia Population
Bolivia had an estimated population of 12,581,843 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 78th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.15% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +1.35% a year.
Bolivia at a glance
How Bolivia's population is changing
Bolivia's population is growing: +1.35% a year, which works out to about +169,667 people per year, or +465 a day. Births (21.0 per 1,000) and deaths (7.2 per 1,000) alone would give +1.39% a year; net migration removes about 3,179 people a year (−0.03%). Roughly one in every 653 people on Earth lives in Bolivia.
Population of Bolivia since 1960
In 1960, Bolivia had 3,702,323 people. By 2025 that was 12,581,843 — 3.4× larger. The fastest growth came between 1970 and 1980, when the population rose by 25%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3,702,323 | — |
| 1970 | 4,590,010 | +24.0% |
| 1980 | 5,758,900 | +25.5% |
| 1990 | 7,130,142 | +23.8% |
| 2000 | 8,606,326 | +20.7% |
| 2010 | 10,182,345 | +18.3% |
| 2020 | 11,816,299 | +16.0% |
| 2025 | 12,581,843 | +6.5% |
Bolivia from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Bolivia at about 887,000 people in 1800; the UN estimates 12,581,847 in 2025 (14× 1800) and projects 17,760,559 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 41% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 887,000 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 1,371,417 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 1,813,429 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 3,089,975 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 8,606,330 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 12,581,847 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 16,110,163 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 17,765,652 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 17,760,559 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Bolivia
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 12,581,843. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 1,980,432 | UN urban centre | 15.74% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Cochabamba | 1,346,672 | UN urban centre | 10.70% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 3 | Oruro | 347,830 | UN urban centre | 2.76% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Sucre | 286,383 | UN urban centre | 2.28% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | Potosí | 243,927 | UN urban centre | 1.94% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 6 | Tarija | 235,198 | UN urban centre | 1.87% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 7 | Sacaba | 180,726 | GeoNames settlement | 1.44% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 8 | Quillacollo | 172,405 | GeoNames settlement | 1.37% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 9 | Montero | 123,020 | UN urban centre | 0.98% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 10 | Trinidad | 113,735 | UN urban centre | 0.90% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
How Bolivia compares
Bolivia has almost the same population as Tunisia (12,348,573).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Bolivia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #76 |  Rwanda | 14,569,341 | +16% | compare → |
| #77 |  Burundi | 14,390,003 | +14% | compare → |
| #79 |  Tunisia | 12,348,573 | −2% | compare → |
| #80 |  South Sudan | 12,188,788 | −3% | compare → |
Compare Bolivia with any country →
Same region (Latin America & Caribbean): Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela.
Explore around Bolivia
Land neighbours (5)
Brazil 212,812,405 · 16.9× the population · compare
Argentina 45,851,378 · 3.6× the population · compare
Peru 34,576,665 · 2.7× the population · compare
Chile 19,859,921 · 1.6× the population · compare
Paraguay 7,013,078 · 1.8× smaller · compare
Bolivia's 5 neighbours together hold 320,113,447 people — 25.4× Bolivia's population. The most populous is Brazil (212,812,405).
In its region
Bolivia is the 10th most populous of the 42 economies in Latin America & Caribbean, holding 1.9% of the region's 666,592,570 people.
Rankings featuring Bolivia
Cities
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Cochabamba, Oruro, Sucre, Potosí, Tarija, Sacaba, Quillacollo — all Bolivia's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Bolivia when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.