Santa Cruz: population, poverty, health, education, basic services and economic output

Santa Cruz is a department of Bolivia, the largest of 9 by population. The 2024 census counted 3,122,605 people in Santa Cruz, 27.5% of Bolivia's 11,365,333; it ranks the largest of 9 departments by population.

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz's GDP at market prices was 97.2 billion bolivianos in 2024 (preliminary), 30.2% of Bolivia's total and the highest of 9 departments.
• Health in Santa Cruz: 69.9% of people in Santa Cruz had health coverage (the Unified Health System or an insurance fund) in the 2024 census, below the national figure of 79.1% (the lowest of 9 departments).
• Education in Santa Cruz: The literacy rate for people aged 15 and over in Santa Cruz was 97.6% in the 2024 census, up from 97.4% in 2012 and above the national figure of 95.9% (2nd highest of 9 departments).
• Poverty and living standards in Santa Cruz: 20.5% of the population of Santa Cruz was poor by the unmet basic needs (NBI) measure in the 2024 census, down from 35.5% in 2012 and below the national figure of 29.8% (the lowest of 9 departments).

How departments are governed in Bolivia

Departments (9). Governor and departmental assembly directly elected for five years; some assembly seats chosen by Indigenous peoples by their own procedures. Regional roads, rural electrification, departmental health and development planning.

Every tier of government in Bolivia

Other departments of Bolivia

• La Paz 3,030,917
• Cochabamba 2,016,357
• Potosi 861,292
• Chuquisaca 606,027
• Oruro 571,471
• Tarija 534,210
• Beni 488,260
• Pando 134,194

Up a level: Bolivia · government and power in Bolivia · cities

Sources

• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Bolivia: Censo 2024, tabulados de Educacion: literacy, school attendance, level of instruction and years of study (cuadros 1 to 4), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 40d32703b5ac…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Bolivia: Producto Interno Bruto departamental, cuadro 10.01.03: GDP at market prices by department, 1988-2024 (thousand bolivianos, current prices, preliminary), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 68b31a29c033…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Bolivia: Producto Interno Bruto departamental, cuadro 10.01.02: real growth of GDP by department, 1989-2024 (percent, preliminary), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0c45ef998a97…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Bolivia: Producto Interno Bruto departamental, cuadro 10.01.06: GDP per capita at market prices by department, 1988-2023 (bolivianos, preliminary), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 49fb77f4053c…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Bolivia: Censo 2024, tabulados de Salud: health insurance and coverage, fertility and skilled birth attendance (cuadros 4, 5, 6 and 8), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 7ef0ac4dd55f…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Bolivia: Censo 2024, tabulados de Necesidades Basicas Insatisfechas (NBI): population by poverty condition and NBI components, censuses 2012 and 2024 (cuadros 1 and 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 01b9098442d8…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Bolivia: Censo de Poblacion y Vivienda 2024, tabulados de Poblacion: population and demographic indicators by department (cuadros 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 14), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 8fb22232a3f1…)
• Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE), Bolivia: Censo 2024, tabulados de Servicios Basicos: electricity, water, sanitation, sewerage and cooking fuel (cuadros 2, 7, 9, 11 and 12), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c548d62d0f85…)

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