What is the administrative capital of Bolivia?

La Paz is the administrative capital and seat of government of Bolivia. It is where the country’s executive and legislative branches are based, even though Sucre is Bolivia’s constitutional capital and judicial center.

La Paz became the de facto seat of Bolivia’s national government in 1898. The shift followed political and economic changes after the decline of Potosí’s silver industry and the growing importance of tin mining and commerce in the western highlands. Sucre retained its historical and constitutional status, creating Bolivia’s unusual division of capital functions.

The city’s full name is Nuestra Señora de La Paz, meaning “Our Lady of Peace.” Founded by the Spanish in 1548, La Paz sits in a dramatic canyon near the Altiplano, overlooked by the snow-capped Illimani mountain. At roughly 3,650 metres above sea level, it is widely described as the world’s highest administrative capital. Santa Cruz de la Sierra is Bolivia’s largest city, but it is not the administrative capital.