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 conflict between government forces and anti-government insurgent groups and illegal paramilitary groups - both heavily funded by the drug trade - escalated during the 1990s. The insurgents lack the military or popular support necessary to overthrow the government and violence has been decreasing since about 2002, but insurgents continue attacks against civilians and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence. Paramilitary groups challenge the insurgents for control of territory and the drug trade. Most paramilitary members have demobilized since 2002 in an ongoing peace process, although their commitment to ceasing illicit activity is unclear. The Colombian Government has stepped up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, and now has a presence in every one of its municipalities. However, neighbouring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders.

Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama

4 00 N, 72 00 W

total: 1,138,910 sq km
land: 1,038,700 sq km
water: 100,210 sq km
note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank

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

3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km)

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands

flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains

lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Cristobal Colon 5,775 m
note: nearby Pico Simon Bolivar also has the same elevation

petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower

arable land: 2.01%
permanent crops: 1.37%
other: 96.62% (2005)

9,000 sq km (2003)

highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts

deforestation; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions

only South American country with coastlines on both the North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea

43,593,035 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 30.3% (male 6,683,079/female 6,528,563)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 13,689,384/female 14,416,439)
65 years and over: 5.2% (male 996,022/female 1,279,548) (2006 est.)

total: 26.3 years
male: 25.4 years
female: 27.2 years (2006 est.)

1.46% (2006 est.)

20.48 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

5.58 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

-0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

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: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 20.35 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.25 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 16.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 71.99 years
male: 68.15 years
female: 75.96 years (2006 est.)

2.54 children born/woman (2006 est.)

0.7% (2003 est.)

190,000 (2003 est.)

3,600 (2003 est.)

noun: Colombian(s)
adjective: Colombian

mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1%

Roman Catholic 90%, other 10%

Spanish

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5%
male: 92.4%
female: 92.6% (2003 est.)

conventional long form: Republic of Colombia
conventional short form: Colombia
local long form: Republica de Colombia
local short form: Colombia

republic; executive branch dominates government structure

Bogota

32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, 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

20 July 1810 (from Spain)

Independence Day, 20 July (1810)

5 July 1991

based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted into law in 2004 and is gradually being implemented; judicial review of executive and legislative acts

18 years of age; universal

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 12 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2010); House of Representatives - last held 12 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2010)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSUN 20, PC 18, PL 17, CR 15, PDI 11, other parties 21; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL 36, PSUN 30, PC 29, CR 20, PDA 42, other parties 42

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)

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, an export-oriented growth strategy, and an improved security situation in the country. 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 succeeded in reducing the public-sector deficit below 1.5% 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.

$303.7 billion (2005 est.)

$98.47 billion (2005 est.)

4.3% (2005 est.)

$7,100 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 11.9%
industry: 50.4%
services: 37.7% (2005 est.)

20.52 million (2005)

agriculture: 22.7%
industry: 18.7%
services: 58.5% (2000 est.)

10.2% (2005)

49.2% (2005)

lowest 10%: 7.9%
highest 10%: 34.3% (2004)

53.8 (2005)

4.9% (2005)

19.1% of GDP (2005)

revenues: $46.82 billion
expenditures: $48.77 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)

44.2% of GDP (2005)

coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp

textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds

3% (2005 est.)

50.43 billion kWh (2003)

48.83 billion kWh (2003)

1.082 billion kWh (2003)

48.4 million kWh (2003)

512,400 bbl/day (2005 est.)

270,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

1.492 billion bbl (2005 est.)

6.08 billion cu m (2003 est.)

6.08 billion cu m (2003 est.)

127.6 billion cu m (2005)

$1.3 billion (2005)

$19.3 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers

US 42.1%, Venezuela 9.7%, Ecuador 6% (2004)

$18 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity

US 29.1%, Venezuela 6.5%, China 6.4%, Mexico 6.2%, Brazil 5.8% (2004)

$14.95 billion (2005)

$37.06 billion (30 June 2005 est.)

Colombian peso (COP)

calendar year

7.767 million (2004)

10,400,600 (2004)

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

AM 454, FM 34, shortwave 27 (1999)

60 (includes seven low-power stations) (1997)

.co

386,610 (2005)

3,585,688 (2004)

981 (2005)

total: 100
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 38
914 to 1,523 m: 40
under 914 m: 11 (2005)

total: 881
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 35
914 to 1,523 m: 273
under 914 m: 572 (2005)

2 (2005)

gas 4,360 km; oil 6,134 km; refined products 3,140 km (2004)

total: 3,304 km
standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 3,154 km 0.914-m gauge (2004)

total: 110,000 km
paved: 26,000 km
unpaved: 84,000 km (2000)

18,000 km (2005)

total: 16 ships (1000 GRT or over) 40,463 GRT/55,802 DWT
by type: cargo 13, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 2
registered in other countries: 8 (Antigua and Barbuda 2, Panama 6) (2005)

Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Muelles El Bosque, Puerto Bolivar, Santa Marta, Turbo

Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, includes Naval Aviation, Marines, and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana)

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

IDPs: 2,900,000 - 3,400,000 (conflict between government and FARC; drug wars) (2004)

illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis; world's leading coca cultivator (cultivation of coca in 2004 was 114,100 hectares, virtually unchanged from 2003, but down one-third from its peak of 169,800 ha); producing a potential of 430 mt of pure cocaine; the world's largest producer of coca derivatives; supplying most of the US market and the great majority of cocaine to other international drug markets; important supplier of heroin to the US market; opium poppy cultivation fell 50% between 2003 and 2004 to 2,100 hectares yielding a potential 3.8 metric tons of pure heroin, mostly for the US market; in 2004, aerial eradication treated over 130,000 hectares of coca but aggressive replanting on the part of growers means Colombia remains a key producer; a significant portion of non-US narcotics proceeds are either laundered or invested in Colombia through the black market peso exchange