The population of La Paz, which was estimated at nearly 1.2 million in 1990, has doubled over the last twenty years. Sixteen percent of Bolivia's population resides in the capital city.

In the city's early years, from late 1700's to late 1800's, the population grew slowly from about 40,000 to 55,000 people.  By 1900 there were around 70,000 people in La Paz, according to the census.   By the middle of the century, La Paz had increased to 320,000 inhabitants.

Massive outmigration occured late1950's/early 1960's from the Altiplano and La Paz to the Cochabamba and Santa Cruz ares in the eastern part of the country.  This was instigated by the MNR party government to help finance the development of commercial agriculture in the Santa Cruz area, in the rainforest.

Bolivia has received relatively few immigrants compared to most contries of the same size. The middle of the 20th Century witnessed the coming of two important groups. These were the gentile German immigrants and Jewish Germans that entered in an effort to make money off the tin boom and seek exile away from Hitler's Nazi Germany. Most of the Jewish Immigrants settled down as farmers in La Paz.

The years since 1950 were marked with a dramatic increase in population, as it nearly doubled by 1970, going from 779,000 to 1.652 million. This great increase was primarily due to reductions in the death rate and a consistantly high birth rate. During this time, the growth of the urban populations far exceeded that of the rural areas.

Today there is a constant, high level of land migration to La Paz, leading to the steady growth of the urban population.  This urban attraction can be attributed to the better standard of living found in the city.

Principal Demographic Indicators for Bolivia 

Indicator	Unit	Year	Data
Total population	Thousands	1995	7,414
Population growth	Percentage	1995	2.43
Life expectancy (total)	Years	1990-1995	59.3
Life expectancy (males)	Years	1990-1995	57.7
Life expectancy (females)	Years	1990-1995	61.0
Average population age	Years	1992	24.22
Mortality rate	Per Thousand	1995	8.4
Birth rate	Per Thousand	1995	33
Infant mortality	Per Thousand Live Births	1995	73.7
Number of households	Million	1992	1.59
Number of people per household	People	1992	4.35
Average retirement age	Years	1993	60.5
Women	Years	1993	57.8
Men	Years	1993	59.4

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica. 
 

Aproximately half of the total population in Bolivia is believed to be of indigenous descent (both Quechua and Aymara), 25-30 percent are mestizo (mixed), and about 15 percent are European. The indigenous people make up the great majority of the population in the poorer parts of the La Paz, such as El Alto. (The Aymara people are the primary indigenous inhabitants of the city)