Santa Cruz de la Sierra in the context of "Asunción"

Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco, warm valleys, high-altitude Andean plateaus, and snow-capped peaks, encompassing a wide range of climates and biomes across its regions and cities. It includes part of the Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland in the world, along its eastern border. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay to the southeast, Argentina to the south, Chile to the southwest, and Peru to the west. The seat of government is La Paz, which contains the executive, legislative, and electoral branches of government, while the constitutional capital is Sucre, the seat of the judiciary. The largest city and principal industrial center is Santa Cruz de la Sierra, located on the Llanos Orientales (eastern tropical lowlands), a mostly flat region in the east of the country with a diverse non-Andean culture.

The sovereign state of Bolivia is a constitutionally unitary state divided into nine departments. Its geography varies as the elevation fluctuates, from the western snow-capped peaks of the Andes to the eastern lowlands, situated within the Amazon basin. One-third of the country is within the Andean mountain range. With an area of 1,098,581 km (424,164 sq mi), Bolivia is the fifth-largest country in South America after Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Colombia, and, alongside Paraguay, is one of two landlocked countries in the Americas. It is the largest landlocked country in the Southern Hemisphere. Bolivia had a population of 11.4 million as of the latest census in 2024. It is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, and the descendants of Europeans and Africans. Spanish is the official and predominant language, although 36 indigenous languages also have official status, of which the most commonly spoken are Guaraní, Aymara, and Quechua.

La Paz (Spanish: [la ˈpas]; lit. 'the peace'), officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara: Chuqi Yapu Aymara pronunciation: [ˈtʃoqɛ ˈjapʊ]), is the seat of government of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, it is the third-most populous city in Bolivia. Its metropolitan area, which includes the neighboring city of El Alto, and other smaller towns, is the second most populous urban area in Bolivia, with a population of 2.2 million, after Santa Cruz de la Sierra with a population of 2.3 million. The city is also the capital of the department of the same name.

Located in west-central Bolivia 68 km (42 mi) southeast of Lake Titicaca, La Paz is set in a canyon created by the Choqueyapu River. It is in a bowl-like depression, part of the Amazon basin, surrounded by the high mountains of the Altiplano. Overlooking the city is the triple-peaked Illimani. Its peaks are always snow-covered and can be seen from many parts of the city. At an elevation of roughly 3,650 m (11,975 ft) above sea level, La Paz is the highest administrative capital city in the world. Due to its altitude, the city has an unusual subtropical highland climate, with rainy summers and dry winters.

Cochabamba (Aymara: Quchapampa; Quechua: Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 661,484 according to the 2024 Bolivian census. Its name is from a compound of the Quechua words qucha "lake" and pampa, "open plain." Residents of the city and the surrounding areas are commonly referred to as cochalas or, more formally, cochabambinos.

It is known as the "City of Eternal Spring" or "The Garden City" because of its spring-like temperatures all year round. It is also known as "La Llajta," which means "town" in Quechua. It is the largest urban center between the higher capital of La Paz and Santa Cruz de la Sierra in the tropical plains of the east. It sits south-west of the Tunari mountains, and north of the foothills of the Valle Alto. In antiquity, the area featured numerous lakes, which gave the city its name. Many of these lakes have since disappeared to urban development, but Coña Coña and Alalay lakes are extant examples. It has been a populated settlement since the Pre-Inca period, and is today an important cultural, educational, political, and commercial centre.

According to the National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia (INE), a city is classified as an area where the city limits are identifiable, and its local government is recognized. Bolivia has 1,384 cities. As of 21 November 2012, the date of the most-recent national census, 53 cities have a population of at least 10,000 in Bolivia, as enumerated by the INE. These 53 cities have a population of 6,162,346, accounting for 61.4% of the country's population. The largest city is Santa Cruz de la Sierra, with a population of 1,441,406, a 29.4% increase from the last census date of 5 September 2001. La Guardia had the highest percentage increase, 801.5%, from 2001 to 2012.

From 2001 to 2012, Bolivia had a population increase of 21.1%. Of the 53 cities, 42 had a higher increase than 21.1%, 8 had lower increase and 3 had a small decrease. The three cities that had a negative population growth from 2001 to 2012 are La Paz (−4.1%), Yacuíba (−4.2%), and Santa Ana del Yacuma (−5.4%). With the exception of the Department of La Paz, each department's capital city is the largest city in its respective department. The Department of Santa Cruz has the most cities (18), and Pando and Chuquisaca have the least (1).

Santa Cruz (Spanish pronunciation: [ˌsanta ˈkɾus]) is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia, occupying about one-third (33.74%) of the country's territory. With an area of 370,621 km (143,098 sq mi), it is slightly smaller than Japan or the US state of Montana. It is located in the eastern part of the country, sharing borders in the north and east with Brazil and with Paraguay in the south.

In the 2024 census, it had an estimated population of 3.1 million, making it the most populated department. Its capital city is Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The department is one of the wealthiest departments in Bolivia, with huge reserves of natural gas. Besides, it has experienced the highest increase of economic growth during the last 50 years in Bolivia and South America.

The Piraí River is a river of Bolivia. Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia's largest city by population, is located on this river. The Piraí is a major tributary of Yapacaní River.

Warnes is a town in Bolivia, named after Colonel Ignacio Warnes, a military leader in the South American war of independence. It is located 24 kilometers north of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.