Besides its economic backwardness, Bolivia has also been plagued with a history of inept and short-lived governments. Since it gained independence from Spain in 1825, there have been more than 190 different regimes, a record which no other country can match.
玻國原為西班牙殖民地，一八二五年獨立，立國一百十七年來，正式的政變已有一百九十多次。這種政局不穩的現象，使得玻國在國際上名噪一時；也使得外國與玻國的外交上作的進行，及各類合作項目的推展，較他國困難。