Colombia

Colombia 

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

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

Area

Note: Includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank

Land Boundaries

Total 7,408 km, Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru 2,900 km, Venezuela 2,050 km

Coastline

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

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

Maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela; territorial dispute with Nicaragua over Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank

Climate

Tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands

Terrain

Flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Nevado del Huila 5,750 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

5,150 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment

Note: Only South American country with coastlines on both North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea

PEOPLE

Population

36,813,161 (July 1996 est.)
36,200,251 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

32% (male 5,948,599; female 5,806,450) (July 1996 est.)
32% (male 5,925,600; female 5,784,010) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

64% (male 11,496,931; female 11,890,875) (July 1996 est.)
63% (male 11,245,235; female 11,642,870) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

4% (male 741,788; female 928,518) (July 1996 est.)
5% (male 714,178; female 888,358) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

1.66% (1996 est.)
1.7% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

21.34 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
21.89 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

4.65 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
4.69 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

-0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
-0.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.98 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

25.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
26.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

2.35 children born/woman (1996 est.)
2.4 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

Spanish

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1995 est.)

Labor Force

12 million (1990)

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

CO

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, 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 U.S. procedures was enacted in 1992-93; judicial review of executive and legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive Branch

Legislative Branch

Bicameral Congress (Congreso)

Senate (Senado)

Elections last held 13 March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1998); preliminary results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (102 total) Liberal Party 59, conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and NDF) 31, other 12

House of Representatives (Camara De Representantes)

Elections last held 13 March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1998); preliminary results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (161 total) Liberal Party 89, conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and NDF) 53, AD/M-19 2, other 17

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court of Justice (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

Political Parties and Leaders

Liberal Party (PL), Luis Fernando JARAMILLO; Conservative Party (PC), Jaime ARIAS; New Democratic Force (NDF), Andres PASTRANA Arango; Democratic Alliance M-19 (AD/M-19) is a coalition of small leftist parties and dissident liberals and conservatives; Patriotic Union (UP) is a legal political party formed by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Colombian Communist Party (PCC), Aida ABELLA; National Salvation Movement (MSN) Alvaro GOMEZ Hurtado

Other Political or Pressure Groups

Three insurgent groups are active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC); National Liberation Army (ELN); and dissidents of the recently demobilized People's Liberation Army (EPL/D)

Member of

AG, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G- 3, G-11, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

National Anthem

Flag

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

Overview

Boasting a diversified and stable economy, Colombia has enjoyed Latin America's most consistent record of growth over the last several decades. Gross domestic product (GDP) has expanded every year for more than 25 years, and unlike many other South American countries, Colombia did not default on any of its official debts during the "lost decade" of the 1980s. Since 1990, when Bogota introduced a comprehensive reform program that opened the economy to foreign trade and investment, GDP growth has averaged more than 4% annually. Growth has been fueled in recent years by the expansion of the construction and financial service industries and an influx of foreign capital. Some foreign investors have been deterred by an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure and the violence stemming from drug trafficking and persistent rural guerrilla warfare, but direct foreign investment, especially in the oil industry, is still rising at a rapid rate. Although oil consequently is overtaking coffee as the main legal export, earnings from illicit drugs probably exceed those from any other export. Non-petroleum economic growth has been slowing, however, in part because the tight monetary policies adopted to offset the inflationary impact of high capital inflows and rising government spending have slowed local sales and investment. Business confidence also has been damaged by a political crisis stemming from allegations that senior government officials, including President SAMPER, solicited contributions from drug traffickers during the 1994 election campaign. The slowdown in the growth of labor-intensive industries such as manufacturing has caused a small rise in unemployment and interfered with President SAMPER'S plans to lower the country's poverty rate, which has remained at about 40% despite the expanding economy. Nevertheless, the booming oil sector, growing foreign investment, and the fundamental stability of the economy promise to keep growth positive for the foreseeable future, barring severe, unpredictable shocks from developments in the political or international arenas.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $192.5 billion (1995 est.); $172.4 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

5.3% (1995 est.)
5.7% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$5,300 (1995 est.)
$4,850 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

19.5% (1995 est.)
22.6% (1994 est.)

Unemployment Rate

9.5% (1995)
7.9% (1994 est.)

Budget

Exports

$10.5 billion (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
$8.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$13.5 billion (c.i.f., 1995 est.)
$10.6 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$14 billion (1995 est.)
$12.6 billion (1994 est.)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 3.5% (1995 est.); 5% (1994 est.); accounts for 29% of GDP

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Growth rate 3.8% (1994 est.); accounts for 21.5% of GDP; crops make up two-thirds and livestock one-third of agricultural output; climate and soils permit a wide variety of crops, such as coffee, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseeds, vegetables; forest products and shrimp farming are becoming more important

Illicit Drugs

Illicit producer of coca, opium poppies, and cannabis; about 45,000 hectares of coca under cultivation; the world's largest processor of coca derivatives into cocaine; supplier of cocaine to the U.S. and other international drug markets; active eradication program against narcotics crop

Economic Aid

Currency

1 Colombian peso (Col$) = 100 centavos

Exchange Rates

Colombian pesos (Col$) per US$1 - 1,011.11 (January 1996), 912.83 (1995), 844.84 (1994), 863.06 (1993), 759.28 (1992), 633.05 (1991), 502.26 (1990)

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland Waterways

14,300 km, navigable by river boats

Pipelines

Crude oil 3,585 km; petroleum products 1,350 km; natural gas 830 km; natural gas liquids 125 km

Ports

Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Leticia, Puerto Bolivar, San Andres, Santa Marta, Tumaco, Turbo

Merchant Marine

Airports

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

1.89 million telephones; modern system in many respects

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, includes Marines and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana), National Police (Policia Nacional)

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 10,067,538; males fit for military service 6,774,105; males reach military age (18) annually 346,372 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $2 billion, 2.8% of GDP (1995); $1.2 billion (1992 est.)

History
World Atlas