Guide to Colombia Introduction Background: Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A 40-year insurgent campaign to overthrow the Colombian Government escalated during the 1990s, undergirded in part by funds from the drug trade. Although the violence is deadly and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence, the movement lacks the military strength or popular support necessary to overthrow the government. An anti-insurgent army of paramilitaries has grown to several thousand strong in recent years, challenging the insurgents for control of territory and the drug trade, and also the government's ability to exert its dominion over rural areas. While Bogota steps up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders.
Geography Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama
Geographic coordinates: 4 00 N, 72 00 W
Map references: South America
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km)
Maritime claims: territorial sea
Climate: tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
Terrain: flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 8,500 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: only South American country with coastlines on both the North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea
People Population: 42,954,279 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 1.49% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 20.82 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 5.59 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 2.56 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 190,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 3,600 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, other 10%
Languages: Spanish
Literacy: definition
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: republic; executive branch dominates government structure
Capital: Bogota
Administrative divisions: 32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, Distrito Capital de Bogota*, Bolivar, Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choco, Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta, Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio, Risaralda, San Andres y Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes, Vichada
Independence: 20 July 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 20 July (1810)
Constitution: 5 July 1991
Legal system: based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted into law in 2004; judicial review of executive and legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Senate or Senado (102 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: four roughly coequal, supreme judicial organs; Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (highest court of criminal law; judges are selected by their peers from the nominees of the Superior Judicial Council for eight-year terms); Council of State (highest court of administrative law; judges are selected from the nominees of the Superior Judicial Council for eight-year terms); Constitutional Court (guards integrity and supremacy of the constitution; rules on constitutionality of laws, amendments to the constitution, and international treaties); Superior Judicial Council (administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; resolves jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms)
Political parties and leaders: Colombian Communist Party or PCC [Jaime CAICEDO]; Conservative Party or PSC [Carlos HOLGUIN Sardi]; Democratic Pole or PDI [Samuel MORENO Rojas]; Liberal Party or PL [Juan Fernando CRISTO] note
Political pressure groups and leaders: two largest insurgent groups active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and National Liberation Army or ELN; largest anti-insurgent paramilitary group is United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia or AUC
International organization participation: BCIE, CAN, CDB, CSN, FAO, G-3, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue, and red; similar to the flag of Ecuador, which is longer and bears the Ecuadorian coat of arms superimposed in the center
Economy Economy - overview: Colombia's economy has been on a recovery trend during the past two years despite a serious armed conflict. The economy continues to improve thanks to austere government budgets, focused efforts to reduce public debt levels, and an export-oriented growth focus. Ongoing economic problems facing President URIBE range from reforming the pension system to reducing high unemployment. New exploration is needed to offset declining oil production. On the positive side, several international financial institutions have praised the economic reforms introduced by URIBE, which include measures designed to reduce the public-sector deficit below 2.5% of GDP. The government's economic policy and democratic security strategy have engendered a growing sense of confidence in the economy, particularly within the business sector. Coffee prices have recovered from previous lows as the Colombian coffee industry pursues greater market shares in developed countries such as the United States.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $281.1 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.6% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 20.7 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 30%, industry 24%, services 46% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 13.6% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: 55% (2001)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 57.1 (1996)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.9% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 15.8% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 51.8% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp
Industries: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds
Industrial production growth rate: 4% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production: 44.87 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 41.14 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 618 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 23 million kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 531,100 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption: 252,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Oil - proved reserves: 1.7 billion bbl (2004 est.)
Natural gas - production: 5.7 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 5.7 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 132 billion cu m (2004)
Current account balance: $-1.706 billion (2004 est.)
Exports: $15.5 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers
Exports - partners: US 42.1%, Venezuela 9.7%, Ecuador 6% (2004)
Imports: $15.34 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity
Imports - partners: US 29.1%, Venezuela 6.5%, China 6.4%, Mexico 6.2%, Brazil 5.8% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $11.94 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $38.7 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: NA
Currency (code): Colombian peso (COP)
Currency code: COP
Exchange rates: Colombian pesos per US dollar - 2,628.61 (2004), 2,877.65 (2003), 2,504.24 (2002), 2,299.63 (2001), 2,087.9 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 8,768,100 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 6,186,200 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 454, FM 34, shortwave 27 (1999)
Radios: 21 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 60 (includes seven low-power stations) (1997)
Televisions: 4.59 million (1997)
Internet country code: .co
Internet hosts: 115,158 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 18 (2000)
Internet users: 2,732,200 (2003)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 9,187 km (2004)
Pipelines: gas 4,360 km; oil 6,134 km; refined products 3,140 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Muelles El Bosque, Puerto Bolivar, Santa Marta, Turbo
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 980 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Heliports: 1 (2004 est.)
Military Military branches: Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, includes Naval Aviation, Marines, and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 24 months (2004)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $3.3 billion (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.4% (FY01)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; dispute with Venezuela over maritime boundary and Los Monjes Islands near the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics, guerrilla, and paramilitary activities penetrate all of its neighbors' borders and have created a serious refugee crisis with over 300,000 persons having fled the country, mostly into neighboring states
Refugees and internally displaced persons: IDPs
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis; world's leading coca cultivator (cultivation of coca in 2002 was 144,450 hectares, a 15% decline since 2001); potential production of opium between 2001 and 2002 declined by 25% to 91 metric tons; potential production of heroin declined to 11.3 metric tons; the world's largest processor of coca derivatives into cocaine; supplier of about 90% of the cocaine to the US market and the great majority of cocaine to other international drug markets; important supplier of heroin to the US market; active aerial eradication program; a significant portion of non-US narcotics proceeds are either laundered or invested in Colombia through the black market peso exchange
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
| Weather Statistics | Barranquilla |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | | Mean | 27 C | 27 C | 27 C | 28 C | 28 C | 29 C | 28 C | 28 C | 28 C | 28 C | 28 C | 27 C | | Prcp | 4mm | 2mm | 4mm | 35mm | 104mm | 114mm | 86mm | 112mm | 145mm | 181mm | 97mm | 17mm |
| Source: Global Historical Climatology Network |
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