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ColombiaColombia:''For other uses see Columbia.'' The '''Republic of Colombia''' is a country in north-western South America. It is bound to the north and north-west by the Caribbean Sea, to the east by Venezuela and Brazil, to the south by Ecuador and Peru, and to the west by Panama and the Pacific Ocean. {| border=1 align=right cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 width=300 style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |+<big><big>'''República de Colombia'''</big></big> |- | style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan="2" | {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" | align="center" width="140px" | Image:Colombia flag large.png|125px| | align="center" width="140px" | Image:Colombia_coa.png |- | align="center" width="140px" | (Flag of Colombia|In Detail) | align="center" width="140px" | (Coat of Arms of Colombia|Full size) |} |- | align="center" colspan=2 | <small> ''National motto: Libertad y Orden<br>(Spanish language|Spanish; Liberty and Order)''</small> |- | align=center colspan=2 | image:LocationColombia.png |- | '''Official language''' | Spanish language|Spanish |- | '''Capital''' | Bogotá |- | '''List of Presidents of Colombia|President''' | Álvaro Uribe Vélez |- | '''Area'''<br> - Total <br /> - % water | List of countries by area|Ranked 25th <br /> 1,138,910 square kilometre|km² <br /> 8.8% |- | '''Population''' <br /> - Total (2003) <br /> - Population density|Density | List of countries by population|Ranked 28th <br /> 44,531,434 <br /> 36/square kilometre|km² |- | '''Independence''' <br /> - Declared <br /> - Recognised | From Spain <br />July 20, 1810 <br />August 7, 1819 |- | '''Currency''' | Colombian peso 1 USD = 2333.70 Colombian Pesos |- | '''Time zone''' | UTC -5 |- | '''National anthem''' | ''Oh Gloria Inmarcesible!'' |- | '''Top-level domain|Internet TLD''' | .co |- | '''List of country calling codes|Calling Code''' | 57 |} == History == ''Main article: History of Colombia'' Spain|Spanish explorers arrived in the area around 1500, at which time they encountered many Chibchan and "Karib" or caribe peoples whom they assimilated or killed through warfare, disease, exploitation, and conquest. They soon established settlements that eventually grew into the provinces which were part of the Captaincy General of New Granada. As it became a Viceroyalty in 1717, some other provinces of northwestern South America came under its jurisdiction. An independence movement sprang up around 1810, led by Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander, that finally succeeded in 1819 when the territory of the Viceroyalty of New Granada became the Republic of Gran Colombia. Internal political and territorial divisions led to the secession of Venezuela and Quito (today's Ecuador) in 1830 and the remaining Department of Cundinamarca was renamed New Granada until 1856 when it became the Granadine Confederation. In 1863 it became the United States of Colombia, until 1886 when it finally became the Republic of Colombia. Internal divisions remained, occasionally igniting very bloody civil wars and contributing to the US-sponsored secession of Panama in 1903. The most bloody of these wars occured in the late 1940s and early 1950s, known as La Violencia (the violence). It claimed the lives of at least 180,000 Colombians. Its cause was mainly tensions between partisan groups, and a revolt toward the governance of the Roman Catholic Church and the social and economic elite. In recent decades the country has been plagued by the effects of the influential Illegal drug trade|drug trade and by guerrilla insurgents such as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia|FARC and illegal counter-insurgency paramilitary groups such as Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia|AUC, which along with other minor factions have been engaged in a bloody internal conflict. The different irregular groups often resort to kidnapping and drug smuggling to fund their causes, tend to operate in large areas of the remote rural countryside and can sometimes disrupt communications and travel between different regions. == Politics == ''Main article: Politics of Colombia'' Colombia is a republic where the executive branch dominates government structure. The president, elected together with the vice-president by popular vote for a single four-year term, functions as both head of state and head of government. Colombia's bicameral parliament is the Congress of Colombia|Congress or ''Congreso'', which consists of the 102-seat Senate of Colombia|Senate and the 166-seat House of Representatives of Colombia|Chamber of Representatives. Members of both houses are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. Colombia is a member of the South American Community of Nations. The Colombian judicial system underwent significant reforms in the 1990s, and is undergoing a process of migration from a inquisitorial system to an adversary system. Bogotá and parts of the coffee growing region of Colombia have already adopted the adversary system, with the rest of the country following suit starting on January 1, 2006. == Departments == ''Main article: Departments of Colombia'' Colombia is divided into 32 departments (''departamentos''): <table border="0"><tr><td> * Amazonas Department|Amazonas (Leticia) * Antioquia (Medellín) * Arauca (Arauca, Arauca|Arauca) * Atlántico (Barranquilla) * Bolívar Department|Bolívar (Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena) * Boyacá (Tunja) * Caldas (Manizales) * Caquetá (Florencia) * Casanare (Yopal) * Cauca (Popayán) * Cesar (Valledupar) * Chocó (Quibdó) * Córdoba Department|Córdoba (Montería) * Cundinamarca (Bogotá) * Guainía (Puerto Inírida) * Guajira Department|Guajira (Riohacha) * Guaviare (San José del Guaviare) </td><td valign="top"> * Huila Department|Huila (Neiva) * Magdalena (Santa Marta) * Meta Department|Meta (Villavicencio) * Nariño (Pasto) * Norte de Santander (Cúcuta) * Putumayo Department|Putumayo (Mocoa) * Quindío (Armenia, Colombia|Armenia) * Risaralda (Pereira) * San Andrés and Providencia (San Andrés) * Santander Department|Santander (Bucaramanga) * Sucre Department|Sucre (Sincelejo) * Tolima (Ibagué) * Valle del Cauca (Cali) * Vaupés (Mitú) * Vichada (Puerto Carreño) </td></tr></table> Additionally, there is one capital district (''distrito capital''), Bogotá|Bogotá D.C.. == Economy == ''Main article: Economy of Colombia'' 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 Alvaro Uribe range from reforming the pension system to reducing high unemployment. Two of Colombia's leading exports, petroleum and Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia|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 include measures designed to reduce the public-sector deficit below 2.5% of Gross domestic product|GDP in 2004. The government's economic policy and its controversial 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. == Demographics == ''Main article: Demographics of Colombia'' Colombia has a diverse population that reflects its colourful history and the peoples that have populated her from ancient, to colonial and modern times. The historic amalgam of three main groups; Amerindians, Spain|Spanish colonists, and imported African slaves, are the basis of Colombia's current demographics. Race mixing between these three was widespread and has produced distinct groups that now constitute much of the population. The country's largest ethnic group are known as mestizos (58%) and are the result of intermingling between Spaniards and Amerindians. Whites are mainly descendants of the Spanish colonists, and constitute the largest minority (20%) followed closely by Mulattos (14%) which are descended from the unions of Spaniards and African slaves. The remainder of the population comprises unmixed descendants of African slaves (4%) and zambos who descend from the mixture of African slaves and Amerindians (3%). Today, only about 1% of the people can be identified as fully Amerindian on the basis of language and customs. The predominant religion in Colombia is Roman Catholicism. Colombia is the third most populous country in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico. == Culture == ''Main article: Culture of Colombia' * List of universities in Colombia * List of Colombians * Cinema of Colombia * Music of Colombia * List of people on stamps of Colombia == Miscellaneous topics == * Communications in Colombia * Transportation in Colombia * Military of Colombia * Foreign relations of Colombia * List of cities in Colombia * Street children * Palenquero == External links == * [http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/colombia/ LANIC] Colombia page of the Latin American Network Information Center * [http://www.gobiernoenlinea.gov.co PEC] – Official governmental portal (in Spanish) * [http://cne.presidencia.gov.co Palacio de Nariño] – Official presidential site (in Spanish) * [http://www.coinvertir.com Coinvertir] - Corporación Invertir en Colombia. * [http://www.proexport.gov.co Proexport] - Entidad encargada de la promoción comercial de las exportaciones. * [http://www.banrep.gov.co Banco de la República]. * [http://camara.ccb.org.co Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá]. * [http://wikitravel.org/en/article/Colombia] Wiki travel guide in formation * [http://numismondo.com/pm/col/ Colombia Paper Money] - Colombia Paper Money Issues from 1813 to 2001 * [http://www.ejercito.mil.co Ejército Nacional de Colombia] - Official Army site (in Spanish and English) * [http://www.armada.mil.co Armada Nacional de Colombia] - Official Navy site (in Spanish and English) * [http://www.fac.mil.co Fuérza Aérea Colombiana] - Official Air Force site (in Spanish) {{South_America}} Category:Colombia Category:South American countries ar:كولومبيا bn:কলম্বিয়া ca:Colòmbia cy:Colombia da:Colombia de:Kolumbien et:Colombia es:Colombia eo:Kolombio fr:Colombie gl:Colombia ko:콜롬비아 id:Kolombia ia:Colombia it:Colombia he:קולומביה la:Columbia lv:Kolumbija lt:Kolumbija ms:Colombia zh-min-nan:Colombia nl:Colombia nds:Kolumbien ja:コロンビア no:Colombia pl:Kolumbia (państwo) pt:Colômbia qu:Kulumbiya ru:Колумбия sa:कोलोम्बिया sk:Kolumbia sl:Kolumbija sr:Колумбија fi:Kolumbia sv:Colombia tr:Kolombiya uk:Колумбія yi:קאָלאָמביע zh:哥伦比亚 First page | Prev | Next | Last page | This article on Colombia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. 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