Departments of Bolivia

Departments of Bolivia
Departamentos de Bolivia(Spanish)
Departments of Bolivia; Departamentos de Bolivia(Spanish)
Category	Unitary State
Location	Plurinational State of Bolivia
Number	9
Populations	110,436 (Pando) – 2,706,359 (La Paz)
Areas	37,620 km2 (14,526 sq mi) (Tarija) – 370,620 km2 (143,098 sq mi) (Santa Cruz)
Government	Department government, National government;
Subdivisions	Province;

Bolivia is a unitary state consisting of nine departments. Departments are the primary subdivisions of Bolivia, and possess certain rights under the Constitution of Bolivia. Each department is represented in the federal Plurinational Legislative Assembly—a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Each department is represented by four Senators, while Deputies are awarded to each state in proportion to their total population.

Out of the nine departments, La Paz is the most populous, with 2,706,351 inhabitants as of 2012; Pando is the least populous, with a population of 110,436. The largest department by area is Santa Cruz, encompassing 370,621 square kilometres (143,098 sq mi), while the smallest is Tarija, encompassing 37,623 square kilometres (14,526 sq mi).

Departments

Departments of Bolivia
State	Abbr.	Capital	Largest city	Population (2012)	Area km² (mi²)	Density km² (mi²)	Deputy seats
Beni	B	Trinidad	Trinidad	421,196	213,564 (82,458)	1.97 (0.76)	9
Chuquisaca	H	Sucre	Sucre	576,153	51,524 (19,894)	11.18 (4.32)	11
Cochabamba	C	Cochabamba	Cochabamba	1,758,143	55,631 (21,479)	31.6 (12.2)	19
La Paz	L	La Paz	El Alto	2,706,351	133,985 (51,732)	20.2 (7.8)	29
Oruro	O	Oruro	Oruro	494,178	53,588 (20,690)	9.22 (3.56)	9
Pando	N	Cobija	Cobija	110,436	63,827 (24,644)	1.73 (0.67)	5
Potosí	P	Potosí	Potosí	823,517	118,218 (45,644)	6.97 (2.69)	14
Santa Cruz	S	Santa Cruz de la Sierra	Santa Cruz de la Sierra	2,655,084	370,621 (143,098)	7.16 (2.76)	25
Tarija	T	Tarija	Tarija	482,196	37,623 (14,526)	12.82 (4.95)	9