La Paz is the capital of the La Paz department and the seat of government of Bolivia. With an altitude of 3200 to 4100 m, it is the highest seat of government in the world. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bolivia.

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Like many other Latin American cities, La Paz suffers from major traffic problems and air pollution. To counteract this, then-President Evo Morales decided to build urban cable cars, so-called Telefericos. The project was realized in cooperation with an Austrian company. The transport capacity of the system is currently around 30,000 people per hour.