Beni Department
Beni is a redirect to this article. For other meanings, see Beni (disambiguation).
-14-65Coordinates: 14° S, 65° W
The department of Beni is located in the northeast of Bolivia and borders on Brazil. To the northwest lies the department of Pando, to the west La Paz, to the south Cochabamba and to the southeast Santa Cruz. The department covers 213,654 km² (roughly the size of the United Kingdom) in the flat lowlands of the Amazon basin and has (according to the 2012 census) 425,780 inhabitants. The capital is Trinidad. Other cities include Rurrenabaque, Riberalta and Guayaramerín.
The climate is generally tropically warm and humid. During the winter (June/July), however, strong southerly winds, so-called surazos, which originate in Patagonia or Antarctica, can occasionally cause drastic drops in temperature. Beni is water-rich, with numerous lakes and crisscrossed by many rivers, the vegetation consists mainly of tropical rainforest and wet savannah. In January 2014, the state was affected by heavy rainfall (see Extreme rainfall in Bolivia in January 2014). The main economic activities are agriculture, forestry and livestock.
Notable elevations exist only in the far west with some modest foothills of the foothills. The rest is predominantly below 200 m (a.s.l.).
Population
The population of the department has increased about sixfold in the past six decades:
| Year | Inhabitants | Source |
| 1950 | 71 636 | Census |
| 1976 | 168 367 | Census |
| 1992 | 276 174 | Census |
| 2001 | 362 521 | Census |
| 2012 | 421 196 | Census |
Of the 362,521 inhabitants of the Department of Beni at the time of the 2001 census, 249,152 lived in urban areas and 113,369 in rural areas. 32.75 per cent of the inhabitants over 15 years of age (27.79 per cent in urban areas and 44.65 per cent in rural areas) counted themselves as belonging to Indian peoples. According to 2001 census data, 97.41 percent of residents over 6 years of age are proficient in Spanish (99.00 percent in urban and 93.73 percent in rural areas). Spanish is the primary language for 92% of the population and Chimán for 3% (2012 census).
Division according to provinces
Beni is divided into 8 provinces:
| Province | Area | Inhabitants 2001 | Inhabitants 2005 |
| Province of Cercado | 12,276 km² | 82.653 | 92.553 |
| Province of Iténez | 36,576 km² | 18.878 | 20.086 |
| Province of Ballivián | 40,444 km² | 68.174 | 79.318 |
| Mamoré Province | 18,076 km² | 12.397 | 13.534 |
| Province of Marbán | 15,126 km² | 14.454 | 15.658 |
| Moxos Province | 33,316 km² | 21.643 | 23.608 |
| Province of Vaca Díez | 22,434 km² | 116.421 | 132.974 |
| Yacuma Province | 34,686 km² | 27.901 | 29.251 |
Questions and Answers
Q: What is Beni Department?
A: Beni Department is a region in Bolivia.
Q: What is the capital city of Beni Department?
A: The capital city of Beni Department is Trinidad.
Q: What is the geographical composition of Beni Department?
A: Beni Department is mainly covered by rainforest and pampa.
Q: How many species of fish have been found in the rivers of Beni Department?
A: Over 400 species of fish have been found in the rivers of Beni Department.
Q: What is the name of the museum dedicated to Beni's fish fauna in Trinidad?
A: The museum dedicated to Beni's fish fauna in Trinidad is called Museo Ictícola.
Q: Where does Museo Ictícola rank among the similar museums in South America?
A: Museo Ictícola is the third largest of its type in South America.
Q: What is the purpose of Museo Ictícola?
A: Museo Ictícola is dedicated to showcasing and preserving Beni's fish fauna.
