Exposure to outdoor air pollution in Bolivia
Bolivia: Exposure to outdoor air pollution was 40.6 µg/m³ in 2024. ▲ Rising
Exposure to outdoor air pollution in Bolivia, 1998–2024
Source: SatPM, Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in µg/m³.
Analysis
Bolivia recorded 40.6 µg/m³ for exposure to outdoor air pollution in 2024. That is the highest value across all 27 years on record.
That represents a change of up 36.2% on the previous year and up 64.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, exposure to outdoor air pollution in Bolivia peaked at 40.6 µg/m³ in 2024 and was at its lowest, 23.6 µg/m³, in 2013.
Bolivia ranks 17th of 241 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Exposure to outdoor air pollution in Bolivia, year by year
| Year | µg/m³ | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 24.1 µg/m³ | — |
| 1999 | 24.3 µg/m³ | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 24.7 µg/m³ | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 24.2 µg/m³ | -2.0% |
| 2002 | 26.4 µg/m³ | +9.1% |
| 2003 | 26.2 µg/m³ | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 30.8 µg/m³ | +17.6% |
| 2005 | 30.1 µg/m³ | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 25.8 µg/m³ | -14.3% |
| 2007 | 31.2 µg/m³ | +20.9% |
| 2008 | 25.8 µg/m³ | -17.3% |
| 2009 | 24.2 µg/m³ | -6.2% |
| 2010 | 34.5 µg/m³ | +42.6% |
| 2011 | 26.9 µg/m³ | -22.0% |
| 2012 | 25.1 µg/m³ | -6.7% |
| 2013 | 23.6 µg/m³ | -6.0% |
| 2014 | 24.7 µg/m³ | +4.7% |
| 2015 | 25.2 µg/m³ | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 26.8 µg/m³ | +6.3% |
| 2017 | 26.3 µg/m³ | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 24.4 µg/m³ | -7.2% |
| 2019 | 26.3 µg/m³ | +7.8% |
| 2020 | 28.8 µg/m³ | +9.5% |
| 2021 | 26.7 µg/m³ | -7.3% |
| 2022 | 28.6 µg/m³ | +7.1% |
| 2023 | 29.8 µg/m³ | +4.2% |
| 2024 | 40.6 µg/m³ | +36.2% |
Bolivia compared with similar countries
- Bolivia's 40.6 µg/m³ is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24.7 µg/m³, 1.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Bolivia's 40.6 µg/m³ is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 13.75 µg/m³, 3.0× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 24.2 µg/m³ | 24.1 µg/m³ | 24.3 µg/m³ | 2 |
| 2000s | 26.94 µg/m³ | 24.2 µg/m³ | 31.2 µg/m³ | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.38 µg/m³ | 23.6 µg/m³ | 34.5 µg/m³ | 10 |
| 2020s | 30.9 µg/m³ | 26.7 µg/m³ | 40.6 µg/m³ | 5 |
Countries ranked near Bolivia
More environment data for Bolivia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -6.2 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.09 Percentage change (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 11.44 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 2.42 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 2.89 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is exposure to outdoor air pollution in Bolivia?
- Exposure to outdoor air pollution in Bolivia was 40.6 µg/m³ in 2024, according to SatPM, Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest exposure to outdoor air pollution recorded in Bolivia?
- The highest recorded value was 40.6 µg/m³ in 2024.
- What is the lowest exposure to outdoor air pollution recorded in Bolivia?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.6 µg/m³ in 2013.
- How does Bolivia rank for exposure to outdoor air pollution?
- Bolivia ranks 17th out of 241 countries with data for 2024.
- Is exposure to outdoor air pollution rising or falling in Bolivia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 64.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bolivia data come from?
- The figures come from SatPM, Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Exposure to outdoor air pollution. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual population-weighted average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air, measured in micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m³). Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less, which can pose significant health risks.