Bolivia Population

Bolivia's fertility has been falling but remains higher than in much of South America, keeping its population relatively young. A large Indigenous population and the contrast between the highlands and lowlands shape its demographic geography. The country is moving through its transition more slowly than its neighbours.

Bolivia is home to about 12.7 million people in 2026, the 79th largest population of any country. In South America, where it lies, that future is driven by fertility, longevity and the movement of people across its borders. It packs in roughly 12 people per square kilometre.

Bolivia is projected to keep growing until about 2087, when its population peaks at roughly 17.9 million before a gradual decline sets in, leaving it near 17.8 million by 2100.

At roughly 2.52 births per woman, fertility remains above replacement, though it has been trending down.

The median age is set to climb from about 25 today to roughly 41 by 2100, while life expectancy, near 69 years, keeps rising. That ageing slowly changes everything from the size of the workforce to the cost of care and pensions.

These figures follow the UN's medium variant, the most widely cited scenario. The low and high variants, driven mainly by differing fertility assumptions, fan out into a wide range by 2100, so treat each number as a central estimate rather than a precise forecast.