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Background:
|
 Colombia
was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse
of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being 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 be several
thousand strong in recent years, challenging the insurgents
for control of territory and illicit industries such as the
drug trade and 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. |
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Location:
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Northern South
America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and
Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between
Ecuador and Panama |
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Map references:
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South
America |
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Area:
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total:
1,138,910 sq km
land: 1,038,700 sq km
note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana
Bank, and Serranilla Bank
water: 100,210 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly less
than three times the size of Montana |
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Land boundaries:
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total:
6,004 km
border countries: Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km,
Panama 225 km, Peru 1,496 km (est.), Venezuela 2,050 km |
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Coastline:
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3,208 km
(Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km) |
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Climate:
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tropical along
coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands |
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Terrain:
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flat coastal
lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern
lowland plains |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Cristobal Colon 5,775 m
note: nearby Pico Simon Bolivar also has the same
elevation |
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Natural resources:
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petroleum,
natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds,
hydropower |
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Land use:
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arable land:
1.9%
other: 96.14% (1998 est.)
permanent crops: 1.96% |
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Irrigated land:
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8,500 sq km (1998
est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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highlands subject
to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic
droughts |
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Environment - current issues:
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deforestation;
soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air
pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to:
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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Geography - note:
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only South
American country with coastlines on both North Pacific Ocean
and Caribbean Sea |
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Population:
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42,310,775 (July
2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
31% (male 6,644,080; female 6,489,677)
15-64 years: 63.9% (male 13,171,416; female 13,879,115)
65 years and over: 5% (male 940,762; female 1,185,725)
(2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
25.8 years
male: 24.9 years
female: 26.7 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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1.53% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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21.19
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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5.61 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-0.31 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
21.72 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 17.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 25.69 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 71.43 years
male: 67.58 years
female: 75.41 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.4% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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140,000 (2001
est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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5,600 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Colombian(s)
adjective: Colombian |
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Ethnic groups:
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mestizo 58%,
white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%,
Amerindian 1% |
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic
90% |
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Languages:
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Spanish |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5%
male: 92.4%
female: 92.6% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Republic of Colombia
conventional short form: Colombia
local short form: Colombia
local long form: Republica de Colombia |
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Government type:
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republic;
executive branch dominates government structure |
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Capital:
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Bogota |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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20 July 1810
(from Spain) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day,
20 July (1810) |
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Constitution:
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5 July 1991 |
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Legal system:
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based on Spanish
law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was
enacted in 1992-93; judicial review of executive and
legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with
reservations |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age;
universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002);
Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7 August 2002); note -
the president is both the chief of state and head of
government
head of government: President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since
7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7
August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state
and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet consists of a coalition of the two
dominant parties - the PL and PSC - and independents
elections: president and vice president elected by
popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 May
2002 (next to be held NA May 2006)
election results: President Alvaro URIBE Velez received
53% of the vote; Vice President Francisco SANTOS was elected
on the same ticket |
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Legislative branch:
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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: Senate - last held 10 March 2002 (next to be
held NA March 2006); House of Representatives - last held 10
March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - PL 28, PSC 13, independents and smaller
parties (many aligned with conservatives) 61; House of
Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - PL 54, PSC 21, independents and other parties 91 |
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Judicial branch:
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four coequal,
supreme judicial organs; Supreme Court of Justice or Corte
Suprema de Justical (highest court of criminal law; judges are
selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice
for eight-year terms); Council of State (highest court of
administrative law, judges are selected from the nominees of
the Higher Council of Justice 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); Higher
Council of Justice (administers and disciplines the civilian
judiciary; members of the disciplinary chamber resolve
jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members
are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year
terms) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Conservative
Party or PSC [Carlos HOLGUIN Sardi]; Liberal Party or PL [Camilo
SANCHEZ]; Colombian Communist Party or PCC [Jaime CAICEDO];
Democratic Pole or PDI [Antonio NAVARRO Wolff]
note: Colombia has about 60 formally recognized
political parties, most of which do not have a presence in
either house of Congress |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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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 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Luis Alberto MORENO Mejia
chancery: 2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los
Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto
Rico), and Washington, DC
consulate(s): Atlanta
FAX: [1] (202) 232-8643
telephone: [1] (202) 387-8338 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador William B. WOOD
embassy: Calle 22D-BIS, numbers 47-51, Apartado Aereo
3831
mailing address: Carrera 45 #22D-45, Bogota, D.C., APO
AA 34038
telephone: [57] (1) 315-0811
FAX: [57] (1) 315-2197 |
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Economy - overview:
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Colombia's
economy suffers from weak domestic and foreign demand, austere
government budgets, and serious internal armed conflict, but
seems poised for recovery. Other economic problems facing
President URIBE range from reforming the pension system to
reducing high unemployment. Two of Colombia's leading exports,
oil and coffee, face an uncertain future; new exploration is
needed to offset declining oil production, while coffee
harvests and prices are depressed. On the positive side,
several international financial institutions have praised the
economic reforms introduced by URIBE, which includes measures
designed to reduce the public-sector deficit below 2.5% of GDP
in 2004. The government's economic policy and democratic
security strategy have engendered a growing sense of
confidence in the economy, particularly within the business
sector, and GDP growth in 2003 was among the highest in Latin
America. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $262.5 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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3.4% (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $6,300 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
13.9%
industry: 30.3%
services: 55.8% (2003 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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55% (2001) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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7.2% (2003 est.) |
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Labor force:
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18.3 million
(1999 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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services 46%,
agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990) |
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Unemployment rate:
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13.6% (2003 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$24 billion
expenditures: $25.6 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
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Industries:
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textiles, food
processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals,
cement; gold, coal, emeralds |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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4% (2001 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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42.99 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
26%
hydro: 72.7%
other: 1.3% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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39.81 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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210 million kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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40 million kWh
(2001) |
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Oil - production:
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614,400 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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252,000 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - production:
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5.7 billion cu m
(2001 est.) |
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Natural gas - consumption:
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5.7 billion cu m
(2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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coffee, cut
flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans,
oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp |
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Exports:
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$12.96 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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petroleum,
coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers |
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Exports - partners:
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US 44.8%,
Venezuela 9.4%, Ecuador 6.8% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$13.06 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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industrial
equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods,
chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity |
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Imports - partners:
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US 32.7%,
Venezuela 6.7%, Brazil 5.8%, Japan 5.3%, Mexico 5.1%, Germany
4.2% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$38 billion (2003
est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$NA (1995) |
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Currency:
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Colombian peso
(COP) |
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Currency code:
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COP |
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Exchange rates:
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Colombian pesos
per US dollar - 2,877.65 (2003), 2,504.24 (2002), 2,299.63
(2001), 2,087.9 (2000), 1,756.23 (1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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7.766 million
(2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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4,596,600 (2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general
assessment: modern system in many respects
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system;
domestic satellite system with 41 earth stations; fiber-optic
network linking 50 cities
international: country code - 57; satellite earth
stations - 6 Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat; 3 fully digitalized
international switching centers; 8 submarine cables |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 454, FM 34,
shortwave 27 (1999) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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60 (includes
seven low-power stations) (1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.co |
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Internet hosts:
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55,626 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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2 million (2002) |
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Railways:
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total:
3,304 km
standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 3,154 km 0.914-m gauge (2002) |
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Highways:
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total:
110,000 km
paved: 26,000 km
unpaved: 84,000 km (2000) |
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Waterways:
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18,140 km
(navigable by river boats) (April 1996) |
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Pipelines:
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gas 4,360 km; oil
6,134 km; refined products 3,140 km (2003) |
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Ports and harbors:
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Bahia de Portete,
Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Leticia, Puerto
Bolivar, San Andres, Santa Marta, Tumaco, Turbo |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 13
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 35,427 GRT/46,301 DWT
by type: bulk 4, cargo 5, container 1, liquefied gas 1,
petroleum tanker 2
registered in other countries: 16 (2003 est.) |
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Airports:
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980 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 100
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 38
under 914 m: 12 (2003 est.)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 39 |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 880
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 34
under 914 m: 573 (2003 est.)
914 to 1,523 m: 272 |
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Heliports:
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1 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Army (Ejercito
Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, including Naval Aviation,
Marines, and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana) |
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Military manpower - military age:
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18 years of age
(2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
15-49: 11,252,027 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
15-49: 7,495,462 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
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males:
392,656 (2004 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$3.3 billion
(FY01) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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3.4% (FY01) |
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Disputes - international:
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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; maritime boundary dispute
with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian drug
activities penetrate Peruvian border area; the continuing
civil disorder in Colombia has created a serious refugee
crisis in neighboring states, especially Ecuador |
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Illicit drugs:
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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 |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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