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The current flag of Colombia is yellow, blue and red. The yellow represents the richness of the Colombian gold. The blue shows the two oceans which border North and West Colombia. The red has two meanings. The first one is the blood of soldiers of the people who fought and victoriously won the independence. The other is the blood of [[Jesus Christ]], clearly showing the Christian roots of Colombia.
The current flag of Colombia is yellow, blue and red. The yellow represents the richness of the Colombian gold. The blue shows the two oceans which border North and West Colombia. The red has two meanings. The first one is the blood of soldiers of the people who fought and victoriously won the independence. The other is the blood of [[Jesus Christ]], clearly showing the Christian roots of Colombia.


==Etymology of Colombia== Heather and Sam are studying this.
==Etymology of Colombia==
The word "Colombia" comes from the name of [[Christopher Columbus]] (''Cristóbal Colón'' in Spanish, ''Cristoforo Colombo'' in Italian) and was conceived by the revolutionary [[Francisco de Miranda]] as a reference to the New World, especially to all [[the Americas|American]] territories and colonies under [[Spain|Spanish]] and [[Portugal|Portuguese]] rule. The name was then adopted by the [[Greater Colombia|Republic of Colombia of 1819]] formed by the union of Venezuela, New Granada and Ecuador.
The word "Colombia" comes from the name of [[Christopher Columbus]] (''Cristóbal Colón'' in Spanish, ''Cristoforo Colombo'' in Italian) and was conceived by the revolutionary [[Francisco de Miranda]] as a reference to the New World, especially to all [[the Americas|American]] territories and colonies under [[Spain|Spanish]] and [[Portugal|Portuguese]] rule. The name was then adopted by the [[Greater Colombia|Republic of Colombia of 1819]] formed by the union of Venezuela, New Granada and Ecuador.

Revision as of 19:30, 30 October 2006

Republic of Colombia
República de Colombia
Motto: Spanish: Libertad y Orden
English: Liberty and Order
Anthem: Oh, Gloria Inmarcesible!
Location of Colombia
Capital
and largest city
Bogotá
Official languagesSpanish
GovernmentRepublic
• President
Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Independence 
From Spain
• Declared
July 20, 1810
• Recognised
August 7, 1819
• Water (%)
8.8%
Population
• July 2005 estimate
45,600,000 (28th)
• 2005 census
41,468,384
GDP (PPP)2005 estimate
• Total
$337.286 billion (29th)
• Per capita
$7,565 (81st)
HDI (2003)0.785
high (69th)
CurrencyPeso (COP)
Time zoneUTC-5
Calling code57
ISO 3166 codeCO
Internet TLD.co

The Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de Colombiaⓘ, IPA [re'puβ̞lika ð̞e ko'lombja]), is the northwesternmost country of South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil, to the south by Ecuador and Peru, to the North by the Atlantic Ocean and to the west by Panama and the Pacific Ocean. Colombia is also bordered by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia is a large and physically diverse nation. It is the fourth-largest country in South America (after Brazil, Argentina, and Peru), with an area seven times greater than that of New England and almost twice that of France. Its vast territory is one of great physical contrasts, ranging from the towering, snowcapped peaks of the Andes to the hot, humid plains of the Amazon River Basin. Not only is Colombia large in area, but it also has a large population, containing more people than any other South American country except Brazil. The nation's population is not evenly distributed. Most of the people live in the mountainous western third of the country, where Bogotá, the capital, and most of Colombia's other large cities are located. Because this western region has a pleasant climate and rich soil, it is also where most agricultural activity takes place.

Flag of Colombia

The current flag of Colombia is yellow, blue and red. The yellow represents the richness of the Colombian gold. The blue shows the two oceans which border North and West Colombia. The red has two meanings. The first one is the blood of soldiers of the people who fought and victoriously won the independence. The other is the blood of Jesus Christ, clearly showing the Christian roots of Colombia.

Etymology of Colombia

The word "Colombia" comes from the name of Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón in Spanish, Cristoforo Colombo in Italian) and was conceived by the revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a reference to the New World, especially to all American territories and colonies under Spanish and Portuguese rule. The name was then adopted by the Republic of Colombia of 1819 formed by the union of Venezuela, New Granada and Ecuador.

In 1830, when Venezuela and Ecuador separated, the Cundinamarca region which remained became a new country, the Republic of New Granada. In 1863 New Granada changed its name officially to United States of Colombia, and in 1886 adopted its present day name: Republic of Colombia.

History

Main article: History of Colombia

Circa 10000 BC, hunter-gatherer societies existed near present-day Bogotá (at "El Abra" and "Tequendama") which traded with one another and with cultures living in the Magdalena River Valley. Beginning in the first millennium BC, groups of Amerindians developed the political system of "cacicazgos" with a pyramidal structure of power headed by caciques. Within Colombia, the two cultures with the most complex cacicazgo systems were the Tayronas on the Atlantic Coast, and the Muiscas in the highlands around Bogotá, both of which were of the Chibcha language family. The Muisca people are considered to have had one of the most developed political systems in South America, after the Incas.

Spanish explorers made the first exploration of the Caribbean littoral in 1500 led by Rodrigo de Bastidas. Christopher Columbus navigated near the Caribbean in 1502. In 1508 Vasco Nuñez de Balboa started the conquest of the territory through the region of Urabá. In 1513, he was also the first European to discover the Pacific Ocean which he called Mar del Sur (or "Sea of the South") and which in fact would bring the Spaniards to Peru and Chile. In 1525, the first European city in the American Continent was founded, Santa María la Antigua del Darién in what is today the Chocó Department. The territory's main population was made up of hundreds of tribes of the Chibchan and "Karib", currently known as the Caribbean people, whom the Spaniards conquered through warfare, while resulting disease, exploitation, and the conquest itself caused a tremendous demographic reduction among the indigenous. In the 16th century, Europeans began to bring slaves from Africa.

Since the beginning of the periods of Conquest and Colonization, there were several rebel movements under Spanish rule, most of them either being crushed or remaining too weak to change the overall situation. The last one, which sought outright independence from Spain, sprang up around 1810, following the independence of St. Domingue in 1804 (today known as Haiti), who provided a non-negligeable degree of support to the eventual leaders of this rebellion: Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander. Simon Bolivar had become the first president of Colombia/ Fransisco de Paula Santander was vice president, and when Simon Bolivar stepped down, Santander became the second president of Colombia. The rebellion finally succeeded in 1819, when the territory of the Viceroyalty of New Granada became the Republic of Great Colombia, as a Confederation with Ecuador and Venezuela. Modern day Panama, which subsequently remained a Colombian department until 1903, when it became independent, was also included in this union.

Internal political and territorial divisions led to the secession of Venezuela and Quito (today's Ecuador) in 1830. At this time, the so-called "Department of Cundinamarca" adopted then the name "Nueva Granada", which it kept until 1856 when it became the "Confederación Granadina" (Grenadine Confederation). In 1863 the "United States of Colombia" was created, lasting until 1886, when the country finally became known as the Republic of Colombia. Internal divisions remained, occasionally igniting very bloody civil wars and, eventually, contributing to setting the stage for the U.S.-sponsored secession of Panama in 1903. Soon after, the country achieved a relative degree of political stability, which was interrupted by a bloody conflict which took place between the late 1940s and the early 1950s, known as La Violencia ("The Violence"). Its cause was mainly due to mounting tensions between partisan groups, reignited by the murder of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in April 9th of 1948 an event later known as the Bogotazo, and it claimed the lives of at least 180,000 Colombians.

To replace the previous 1886 document, a new constitution was made in 1991, after being drafted by the Constituent Assembly of Colombia. The constitution included key provisions on political, ethnic, human and gender rights, which have been gradually put in practice, though uneven developments, surrounding controversies, and setbacks have persisted.

In recent decades the country has been plagued by the effects of the influential drug trade and by guerrilla insurgents such as the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), or FARC, and illegal counter-insurgency paramilitary groups such as the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia), or AUC, which along with other minor factions have been engaged in a bloody internal armed conflict. The powerful drug cartels have helped the Colombian balance of trade by creating a steady and substantial influx of foreign currency, mainly U. S. dollars. On the other hand, the druglords have destabilized the government and, in the 1980s, the neighbour country of Panama was invaded by the United States in 1989 to remove strongman General Manuel Noriega because of his alleged links to the drug trade. The different insurgent 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. Since the early 1980s, attempts at reaching a negotiated settlement between the government and the different rebel groups have been made, either failing or achieving only the partial demobilization of some of the parties involved. One of the last such attempts was made during the administration of President Andrés Pastrana Arango, which negotiated with the FARC between 1998 and 2002.

In the late 1990s, President Andrés Pastrana implemented an initiative named Plan Colombia, with the dual goal of ending the armed conflict and promoting a strong anti-narcotic strategy. The most controversial element of the Plan, which also included a smaller number of funds for institutional and alternative development, was considered to be its anti-narcotic strategy, consisting on an increase in aerial fumigations to eradicate coca. This activity came under fire from several sectors, which claimed that fumigation also damages legal crops and has adverse health effects upon population exposed to the herbicides. Critics of the initiative also claim that the plan represents a military approach to problems that have additional roots in the social inequalities of the country.

During the presidency of Alvaro Uribe, who was elected on the promise to apply military pressure on the FARC and other criminal groups, some security indicators have improved, showing a decrease in reported kidnappings (from 3700 in the year 2000 to 1441 in 2004) and a decrease of more than 48% in homicides between July 2002 and May 2005. It is argued that these improvements have favored economic growth. [1]

Analysts and critics inside Colombia agree that there has been a degree of practical improvement in several of the mentioned fields, but the exact reasons for the figures themselves have sometimes been disputed, as well as their specific accuracy. Some opposition sectors have criticized the government's security strategy, claiming that it is not enough to solve Colombia's complex problems and that it has contributed to creating a favorable environment for the continuation of some human rights abuses.

Colombia is also the first nation on the American Continent and the second in the World that developed it's own airline. The national airline of Colombia is Avianca. After Avianca, AeroRepública was introduced.


Colombia also has one festival for everyday of the year. During the most famous festivals, such as the Cali Fair, The Barranquilla Carnival, The Iberoamerican Theater Festival and The Flower Festival is when the most tourism comes in to Colombia. Many people also come into Colombia during Christmas time and the Independence of Colombia. This nation also has the 5th greatest amount of tourists on the American Continent, After United States, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Virgin Islands.

Land Use

Colombia has more physical diversity packed into its borders than any other area of comparable size in Latin America. The country is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a region of the world characterized by frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Colombian surface features form complicated patterns. The western third of the country is the most complex. Starting at the shore of the Pacific Ocean in the west and moving eastward at a latitude of 5 degrees north, a diverse sequence of features is encountered. In the extreme west are the very narrow and discontinuous Pacific coastal lowlands, which are backed by the Serranía de Baudó, the lowest and narrowest of Colombia's mountain ranges. Next is the broad region of the Río Atrato/Río San Juan lowland, which has been proposed as a possible alternate to the Panama Canal as a human-made route between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. The chief western mountain range, the Cordillera Occidental, is a moderately high range with peaks reaching up to about 13,000 ft. (4,000 m.). The Cauca River Valley, an important agricultural region with several large cities on its borders, separates the Cordillera Occidental from the massive Cordillera Central. Several snow-clad volcanoes in the Cordillera Central have summits that rise above 18,000 ft. (5,500 m.). The valley of the slow-flowing and muddy Magdalena River, a major transportation artery, separates the Cordillera Central from the main eastern range, the Cordillera Oriental. The peaks of the Cordillera Oriental are moderately high. This range differs from Colombia's other mountain ranges in that it contains several large basins. In the east, the sparsely populated, flat to gently rolling eastern lowlands called llanos cover almost 60 percent of the country's total land area.

This cross section of the republic does not include two of Colombia's regions: the Caribbean coastal lowlands and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, both in the northern part of the country. The lowlands in the west are mostly swampy; the reed-filled marshes of the area are called ciénagas by the people of Colombia. The Guajira Peninsula in the east is semiarid. The Sierra Nevada is a spectacular triangular snowcapped block of rock that towers over the eastern part of this lowland.

Climate. Colombia's proximity to the equator influences its climates. The lowland areas are continuously hot. Altitude affects temperature greatly. Temperatures decrease about 3.5° F. (2° C.) for every 1,000-ft. (300-m.) increase in altitude above sea level.


Rainfall varies by location in Colombia, tending to increase as one travels southward. This is especially true in the eastern lowlands. For example, rainfall in parts of the Guajira Peninsula seldom exceeds 30 in. (75 cm.) per year. Colombia's rainy southeast, however, is often drenched by more than 200 in. (500 cm.) of rain per year. Rainfall in most of the rest of the country runs between these two extremes.

Vegetation. Altitude affects not only temperature, but also vegetation. In fact, altitude is one of the most important influences on vegetation patterns in Colombia. The mountainous parts of the country can be divided into several vegetation zones according to altitude, although the altitude limits of each zone may vary somewhat depending on the latitude.


The tierra caliente (hot land), below 3,300 ft. (1,000 m.), is the zone of tropical crops such as bananas. The tierra templada (temperate land), extending from an altitude of 3,300 to 6,600 ft. (1,000 to 2,000 m.), is the zone of coffee and maize. Wheat and potatoes dominate in the tierra fría (cold land), at altitudes from 6,600 to 10,500 ft. (2,000 to 3,200 m.). In the so-called zona forestada (forested zone), located between 10,500 and 12,800 ft. (3,200 and 3,900 m.), many of the trees have been cut for firewood. Treeless pastures dominate the páramos, or alpine grasslands, at altitudes of 12,800 to 15,100 ft. (3,900 to 4,600 m.). Above 15,100 ft. (4,600 m.), where temperatures are below freezing, is the tierra helada, a zone of permanent snow and ice.

Vegetation also responds to rainfall patterns. A scrub woodland of scattered trees and bushes dominates the semiarid northeast. To the south, savanna (tropical grassland) vegetation covers the Colombian portion of the llanos. The rainy areas in the southeast are blanketed by tropical rain forest. In the mountains, the spotty patterns of precipitation in alpine areas complicate vegetation patterns. The rainy side of a mountain may be lush and green, while the other side, in the rain shadow, may be parched.


Politics

Álvaro Uribe Vélez, President of Colombia

Template:Morepolitics

Executive Branch: Colombia is a republic where the executive branch dominates government structure. Up until recently, the president was elected together with the vice-president by popular vote for a single four-year term, which functioned as both head of government and head of state. However, on October 19, 2005, the Colombian Congress amended the constitution, which now allows Colombian presidents to serve up to two consecutive four-year terms. However department governors, mayors of cities and towns and other executive branch officials are only elected for a three year term, and cannot be immediately reelected.

On May 28 2006, president Álvaro Uribe Vélez was reelected by a vote of 62%, against 22% for Carlos Gaviria Díaz of the Democratic Pole, and 12% for Horacio Serpa Uribe of the Liberal Party.

Legislative branch: Colombia's bicameral parliament is the Congress of Colombia or Congreso, which consists of the 166-seat House of Representatives of Colombia and the 102-seat Senate of Colombia. Members of both houses are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. Colombia is also a member of the South American Community of Nations. With congressmen, Colombia also elects Department deputies, and city councils.

Judicial Branch: In the 1990s, the Colombian judicial system underwent significant reforms and is undergoing a process of migration from an inquisitorial system to an adversarial system. Parts of the coffee growing region of Colombia and Bogotá have already adopted the adversarial system, with the rest of the country following suit starting on January 1, 2006. The judicial system is headed by a Supreme Justice Court and members are appointed by the president and congress.

Geography

The adminitratary orginization of Colombia is divided into 32 departments and 1 distric capital. Here is the link to the departments' information: Departments of Colombia


Cities of Colombia

The national bird of Colombia, the Andean Condor.
View of downtown Bogotá from nearby Monserrate.

Colombia has a total of 22 principal cities, which are listed below in order of importance:

  • Bogotá (La Atenas Suramericana – South America's Athens) - Capital
  • Medellín (La ciudad de la eterna primavera – The City Of Eternal Spring; Also called Capital de la montaña - Capital of the mauntain) - Second Biggest City
  • Cali (La sucursal del cielo – Heaven's Branch; also called La Sultana del Valle - Valley's Sultan)
  • Barranquilla (La puerta de oro de Colombia – Colombia's Golden Gate)
  • Cúcuta (La hermosa villa - The Beautiful Village)
  • Pereira (La querendona, trasnochadora y morena – The Lovely Sleepless Brunette)
  • Ibagué (Capital Músical de Colombia - Colombia's Music Capital)
  • Pasto (Ciudad Sorpresa – The Surprise City)
  • Manizales (La ciudad de las puertas abiertas – The City Of Open Gates)
  • Neiva (Neivayork, La capital bambuquera de América - Capital of bambuquo of America)
  • Armenia (La Ciudad Milagro – The Miracle City)
  • Valledupar (Capital mundial del vallenato – World's Vallenato Capital)
  • Sincelejo (La ciudad de las corralejas - The city of the "bullruns")
  • Montería (La capital ganadera de Colombia - The colombian cattle capital)
  • Popayán (La Ciudad Blanca - The White City)
  • Tunja (La capital del haba, el tejo y la ruana)
  • Quibdó (La perla negra - The black pearl)


Colombia

Table of Contents

How to Cite this Article

The Republic of Colombia, named for the explorer Christopher Columbus, is located in northwestern South America. It is bordered by Panama and the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuela and Brazil to the east, Peru and Ecuador to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Colombia is a large and physically diverse nation. It is the fourth-largest country in South America (after Brazil, Argentina, and Peru), with an area seven times greater than that of New England and almost twice that of France. Its vast territory is one of great physical contrasts, ranging from the towering, snowcapped peaks of the Andes to the hot, humid plains of the Amazon River Basin. Not only is Colombia large in area, but it also has a large population, containing more people than any other South American country except Brazil. The nation's population is not evenly distributed. Most of the people live in the mountainous western third of the country, where Bogotá, the capital, and most of Colombia's other large cities are located. Because this western region has a pleasant climate and rich soil, it is also where most agricultural activity takes place.

The Land Colombia has more physical diversity packed into its borders than any other area of comparable size in Latin America. The country is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a region of the world characterized by frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Colombian surface features form complicated patterns. The western third of the country is the most complex. Starting at the shore of the Pacific Ocean in the west and moving eastward at a latitude of 5 degrees north, a diverse sequence of features is encountered. In the extreme west are the very narrow and discontinuous Pacific coastal lowlands, which are backed by the Serranía de Baudó, the lowest and narrowest of Colombia's mountain ranges. Next is the broad region of the Río Atrato/Río San Juan lowland, which has been proposed as a possible alternate to the Panama Canal as a human-made route between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. The chief western mountain range, the Cordillera Occidental, is a moderately high range with peaks reaching up to about 13,000 ft. (4,000 m.). The Cauca River Valley, an important agricultural region with several large cities on its borders, separates the Cordillera Occidental from the massive Cordillera Central. Several snow-clad volcanoes in the Cordillera Central have summits that rise above 18,000 ft. (5,500 m.). The valley of the slow-flowing and muddy Magdalena River, a major transportation artery, separates the Cordillera Central from the main eastern range, the Cordillera Oriental. The peaks of the Cordillera Oriental are moderately high. This range differs from Colombia's other mountain ranges in that it contains several large basins. In the east, the sparsely populated, flat to gently rolling eastern lowlands called llanos cover almost 60 percent of the country's total land area.

This cross section of the republic does not include two of Colombia's regions: the Caribbean coastal lowlands and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, both in the northern part of the country. The lowlands in the west are mostly swampy; the reed-filled marshes of the area are called ciénagas by the people of Colombia. The Guajira Peninsula in the east is semiarid. The Sierra Nevada is a spectacular triangular snowcapped block of rock that towers over the eastern part of this lowland.

Climate. Colombia's proximity to the equator influences its climates. The lowland areas are continuously hot. Altitude affects temperature greatly. Temperatures decrease about 3.5° F. (2° C.) for every 1,000-ft. (300-m.) increase in altitude above sea level.


Rainfall varies by location in Colombia, tending to increase as one travels southward. This is especially true in the eastern lowlands. For example, rainfall in parts of the Guajira Peninsula seldom exceeds 30 in. (75 cm.) per year. Colombia's rainy southeast, however, is often drenched by more than 200 in. (500 cm.) of rain per year. Rainfall in most of the rest of the country runs between these two extremes.

Vegetation. Altitude affects not only temperature, but also vegetation. In fact, altitude is one of the most important influences on vegetation patterns in Colombia. The mountainous parts of the country can be divided into several vegetation zones according to altitude, although the altitude limits of each zone may vary somewhat depending on the latitude.


The tierra caliente (hot land), below 3,300 ft. (1,000 m.), is the zone of tropical crops such as bananas. The tierra templada (temperate land), extending from an altitude of 3,300 to 6,600 ft. (1,000 to 2,000 m.), is the zone of coffee and maize. Wheat and potatoes dominate in the tierra fría (cold land), at altitudes from 6,600 to 10,500 ft. (2,000 to 3,200 m.). In the so-called zona forestada (forested zone), located between 10,500 and 12,800 ft. (3,200 and 3,900 m.), many of the trees have been cut for firewood. Treeless pastures dominate the páramos, or alpine grasslands, at altitudes of 12,800 to 15,100 ft. (3,900 to 4,600 m.). Above 15,100 ft. (4,600 m.), where temperatures are below freezing, is the tierra helada, a zone of permanent snow and ice.

Vegetation also responds to rainfall patterns. A scrub woodland of scattered trees and bushes dominates the semiarid northeast. To the south, savanna (tropical grassland) vegetation covers the Colombian portion of the llanos. The rainy areas in the southeast are blanketed by tropical rain forest. In the mountains, the spotty patterns of precipitation in alpine areas complicate vegetation patterns. The rainy side of a mountain may be lush and green, while the other side, in the rain shadow, may be parched.

Plants and Animals. Many different kinds of plant and animal life thrive in Colombia. Plant species range from bamboo, rubber trees, coconut palms, and cactus to tropical hardwoods. The lower mountain slopes are home to such animals as peccaries, tapir, monkeys, armadillos, and pumas. Crocodiles, turtles, snakes, and lizards inhabit the lowlands. Egrets, ducks, and herons haunt lowland waters, while toucans, parrots, and parakeets populate treetops in the tropical forests. In the high mountains, condors, buzzards, and eagles soar.


Resources. In many parts of Colombia, the soil is of exceptional quality. This is especially true in areas near volcanoes, where volcanic ash and rock have weathered into particularly rich earth. Soils in areas of very high rainfall and poor drainage are generally inferior. Erosion on sloping land in some regions has been severe and difficult for farmers to control.


Colombia has large mineral deposits, including emeralds, gold, copper, nickel, and iron ore. Colombian mines are thought to have 60 percent of all the coal in South America. More recently, rich deposits of petroleum and natural gas have been found in the eastern lowlands.

Cities Cities are an important part of the country's landscape. More and more people live in Colombian towns and cities with each passing year. Migration is an important cause of the nation's urban growth. Many Colombians are moving from rural areas and small towns to the nation's biggest cities in search of a better way of life. This urbanization is changing the appearance of Colombia and other South American countries.

Bogotá. the nation's capital, is Colombia's largest city. Many tourists make Bogotá their first stop in the country, although the threat of drug-related violence has limited the number of visitors. The possibility of job opportunities originally attracted many of Bogotá's residents to the city. Large numbers of new arrivals live as squatters in slum communities, called zonas piratas, on the edge of the city.


Bogotá is Colombia's most important industrial center, generating about one-third of the country's manufactured goods. The almost endless list of products made in Bogotá's factories includes processed foods and beverages, cigarettes, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, clothing, books, construction materials, plastics, tires, and automobiles.

The city is situated on the eastern side of the Basin of Bogotá, in the Cordillera Oriental, at an altitude of 8,692 ft. (2,650 m.). Due to the high altitude, residents of the city enjoy generally comfortable, even cool, temperatures. Cloudy skies with drizzle are now much more common than they were only several decades ago. Many scientists believe that the increased rainfall is the result of severe air pollution caused by cars and factories.

Cali. The latest population figures show that Cali has become Colombia's second-largest city. Located in the Cauca River Valley at an altitude of 3,378 ft. (1,030 m.), Cali is the center of a prosperous area of irrigated agriculture specializing in sugarcane and rice. The city has an almost perfect climate. Temperatures average close to 77° F. (25° C.), and evenings are cool and pleasant. Cali is a vibrant city with many new industries. A substantial number of U.S. firms have chosen to locate their Colombian headquarters there, rather than in Bogotá. The rise of the Cali drug cartel, however, has created a problem for local and federal law-enforcement officers.


Popayán. located south of Cali, is farther up the Cauca River Valley at an altitude of 5,773 ft. (1,760 m.). Founded in 1536 by one of Francisco Pizarro's lieutenants, it was an important town throughout the Spanish colonial period, a fact attested to by the beautiful colonial structures that attract many tourists today. Buildings constructed in Andalusian rococo style line many streets. Old monasteries and cloisters of pure Spanish classical architecture are intermixed with houses with red-tile roofs. Although the city was hit hard by an earthquake in 1983, most of the damage has been repaired.


Medellín. the capital of Antioquia Department and Colombia's third-largest city, was founded by Spanish settlers in 1675. Medellín sits at an altitude of 4,877 ft. (1,487 m.), the rugged terrain of the Cordillera Central isolating it from the rest of Colombia. The original settlers included an unusual group called cristianos nuevos (new Christians), Jews who had been forcibly converted to Christianity in Spain during the Inquisition. Many of these people reverted to Judaism after moving to Medellín. Gold mining and cattle ranching became important activities near the city, and coffee growing spread throughout the region in the late 1800s.


In recent years, the federal government has made extensive improvements in the railroads and highways connecting the city with other parts of Colombia. These factors have spurred heavy investment in the city's industry. Today Medellín's factories produce more than 80 percent of the nation's textiles. The city's industrialists (and members of the local drug cartel) have constructed mansions on large estates. Medellín is a modern city, boasting a recently inaugurated 18-mi. (29-km.) rapid-transit system. Unfortunately, it is also a violent city. Medellín averaged 18 murders per day in 1992—a total of 6,600 for the year, greater than that of any major U.S. city.

Manizales. The city of Manizales is located in the mountains to the southwest of Medellín. Long isolated by rugged mountains, Manizales has grown rapidly since highways were built to connect it with the outside world. The city is often cloudy and rainy, and earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common nearby. Roughly 30 percent of the nation's coffee is grown in the exceptionally fertile soils within a 100-mi. (160-km.) radius of Manizales.


Barranquilla. the largest city on the north coast and Colombia's fourth-largest city, is in the hot, humid lowlands on the west bank of the Magdalena River, 11 mi. (18 km.) from its mouth. Workers must constantly dredge sandbars to allow oceangoing ships access to the city's harbor. Riverboats also load and unload cargo in the harbor, although businesses often ship their more valuable cargo by air, since the trip upstream takes several days. Barranquilla is the site of a major international airport. (In fact, the first airline in the Western Hemisphere started flying from Barranquilla to points inland in 1919.) Barranquilla's excellent transportation connections have made it a major industrial city. The city's Carnival celebration is South America's second most famous, after that of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.


Cartagena. Although the Caribbean coastal port of Cartagena is a relatively small city, its role as a historical site and tourist center far outweighs its modest size. The city was founded in 1533 by the Spaniards, who soon fortified it against attack by sea. Despite the intimidating fortifications, English forces led by Sir Francis Drake successfully attacked Cartagena with 1,300 men in 1586. During the colonial period, Cartagena served as a port through which imports, exports, and mail flowed steadily; it remains an important port for general cargo. Colombia's oil exports, however, flow through Coveñas—site of a large oil refinery—and other ports just to the southwest. Cartagena's old walled city is still a wonderful place to explore. Colorful shops, fine restaurants, excellent hotels, and beautiful beaches all combine to make Cartagena a very popular tourist destination.


Santa Marta. the smallest and easternmost of Colombia's Caribbean ports, was founded in 1525, making it the nation's oldest city. Bananas are an important export. Many wealthy people from Bogotá have built villas in Santa Marta.


Bucaramanga and Cúcuta. Bucaramanga and Cúcuta are situated at an elevation of about 3,300 ft. (1,000 m.) in the Cordillera Oriental near the border with Venezuela. This region has long been an important supplier of cinchona bark, from which pharmaceutical companies extract the antimalarial drug quinine. Today coffee, tobacco, cacao (the source of chocolate), and cattle are more important to the region's economy. Bucaramanga, the capital of Santander Department, is a major agricultural market and service center. Cúcuta, the capital of Norte de Santander Department, is strategically located on the Pan-American Highway only 10 mi. (16 km.) from the Venezuelan border. It is a gateway city and has evolved into a significant transportation center.


Buenaventura. is not a very large city, and yet it is the nation's leading port on the Pacific coast. Most of the people in this part of Colombia are of African descent. Today many of the residents of the area work on the nearby banana plantations. Buenaventura exports bananas and coffee from western Colombia.


Villavicencio. a gateway to the eastern lowlands, is located at the foot of the Cordillera Oriental east of Bogotá. It has grown rapidly during the past several decades.

Ethnic Groups

Statistics can explain much about a people. For example, they reveal that Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and overwhelmingly speakers of Spanish, and that a majority of them are mestizos (of mixed European and Indian descent). About 20 percent of the people are of pure European descent, while another 18 percent are black or of mixed African and European heritage. The ancestors of the black population were brought to Colombia to work as slaves on tropical-lowland plantations during the colonial period. They have contributed much to Colombia's cultural heritage. Some 3 percent of the people are of mixed black and Indian descent. Indians comprise only a tiny percentage of the population.

More than two-thirds of all Colombians live in urban areas—a figure significantly higher than the world average. The literacy rate (88 percent) in Colombia is also well above the world average, and the rate of population growth is slightly higher than the world average. Also, a large proportion of Colombians are young, largely because of recent decreases in the infant mortality rate. While 33 percent of the people are 14 years of age or younger, just 4 percent are aged 65 or older.


Economy

Main article: Economy of Colombia

After experiencing decades of steady growth (average GDP growth exceeded 4% in the 1970-1998 period), Colombia experienced a recession in 1999 (the first full year of negative growth since 1929), and the recovery from that recession was long and painful. Colombia's economy suffers from weak domestic and foreign demand, austere government budgets, and serious internal armed conflicts. The IMF Economic Indicators published on September 2006, forecast the Colombian GDP to reach US$149.869 billion in 2007. Inflation has been below 6% for 2004 and 2005, and is expected to remain below 5% during 2006. Colombia's main exports include manufactured goods (41.32% of exports), petroleum (28.28%), coal (13.17%), and coffee (6.25%). Colombia is also the largest exporter of plantains to the United States. All imports, exports, and the general trade balance are in record levels, and the inflow of export dollars has resulted in substantial revaluation of the Colombian Peso.

File:1000 Peso Schein Kolumbien Vorne.jpg
Colombian 1.000 peso bill front

The problems facing the country range from pension system problems to drug dealing to high unemployment. Several international financial institutions have praised the economic reforms introduced by current President Alvaro Uribe, which include measures designed to bring the public-sector deficit below 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP). The government's economic policy and its controversial democratic security strategy have engendered a growing sense of confidence in the economy, and GDP growth in 2003 was among the highest in Latin America.

Colombia Stock Exchange

Demographics

File:Cartagena Beach.jpg
Cartagena, one of the most popular tourism destinations in the country
Main article: Demographics of Colombia

With approximately 47 million people in 2006 [2], Colombia is the third-most populous country in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico. Movement from rural to urban areas was very heavy in the middle of the 20th century, but has since tapered off. The urban population increased from 31% of the total population in 1938, to 57% in 1951 and about 70% by 1990. Currently the figure is about 77%. Thirty cities have a population of 100,000 or more. The nine eastern lowlands departments, constituting about 54% of Colombia's area, have less than 3% of the population and a density of less than one person per square kilometer (two persons per sq. mi.). Colombia's total population in 2015 is projected to be more than 52 million. [3]

The country has a diverse population that reflects its colourful history and the peoples that have populated here from ancient times to the present. The historic amalgam of the different main groups are the basics of Colombia's current demographics:European immigrants, Indigenous Natives, African slaves, Asians, Middle Easterners and Others Recent immigrants. Many of the indigenous peoples were absorbed into the mestizo population, but the remaining 700,000 currently represent over 85 distinct cultures. The European immigrants were primarily Spanish colonists, but a small number of other Europeans (Italian, Polish, German, French, Swiss and in smaller numbers Belgian, Lithuanian, Dutch, English and Croatian communities) immigrated during the Second World War and the Cold War. For example, former Bogota mayor Antanas Mockus is the son of Lithuanian immigrants. The Africans were brought as slaves, mostly to the coastal lowlands, beginning early in the 16th century, and continuing into the 19th century. After abolition, a national ideology of mestizaje encouraged the mixing of the indigenous, European and Afro-Colombian communities into a single mestizo ethnic identity [4]. Colombia has the largest population of African origin in Latin America after Brazil, representing approximately 27% of the population.[citation needed]

Other immigrant populations include Asians and Middle Easterners, particularly Lebanese, Jordanians, Chinese, and Japanese and Koreans

Even though Colombia is a predominantly urban country, farming may be the most important sector of the nation's economy. Although the internal value of manufactured products is somewhat greater than that of farm products, agricultural commodities generate more export income. Moreover, the agricultural sector employs more than one-fourth of all workers.

Colombians are particularly famous for the quality of their coffee, which was the nation's dominant export until 1990. Colombia's leading coffee-growing districts enjoy near-perfect physical conditions for growing coffee. A combination of excellent soils, moderate rainfall, and cool temperatures in the temperate zones between the altitudes of 3,300 and 6,600 ft. (1,000 and 2,000 m.) in several mountainous areas of Colombia provide the sort of environmental conditions needed for high-quality arabica coffee.

Colombians grow and process their coffee with great care on farms they call fincas or cafetales. Many of these farms are located in the Cordillera Oriental and the Cordillera Central. Coffee farmers usually place their coffee trees in the shade of other, taller trees. Since coffee berries ripen over a period of four weeks or more, plantation workers carefully harvest the trees several times, picking each berry at its peak of ripeness. They place these berries in tanks of water; the bad ones float and are removed. The good ones are sent to the coffee mill, where machines remove the outer covering and pulp that surround the two beans in each coffee berry. The workers then spread the coffee beans out on large concrete platforms to dry. The process is completed when the beans are bagged for shipment.

Coffee temporarily recaptured first place from oil as Colombia's leading export in the mid 1990s, owing to high prices for coffee in the world market. However, because of diversification, coffee will never again dominate the country's economy to the extent that it did in the past.

Bananas are another of Colombia's important export crops. The major banana-growing area in the western part of the Caribbean coast ships most of the harvest out of the small port of Turbo. Bananas are also grown near Buenaventura. Most Colombian bananas are exported to the United States.

Like bananas, sugarcane is a crop best suited for the hot and rainy conditions of the lowlands. The Cauca River Valley near the city of Cali has almost perfect conditions for sugarcane cultivation.

Other traditional Colombian crops include rice and cotton, which are grown in lowland areas. Wheat, barley, potatoes, and vegetables are important in many highland areas. Government attempts to stop peasants from growing illegal drugs have had little success, however, because no other crop is as profitable. The activities of drug traffickers and a campaign of economic sabotage by leftist guerillas have had a negative impact on the economy. Between 1995 and 2004, more than 1 million peasants were displaced by the civil war.

Cut flowers are a relatively new product on the Colombian agricultural scene. Farmers growing flowers need quick and easy access to a major international airport. They ship these flowers by refrigerated air express, mainly to the United States, shortly after cutting them. Florists in the United States can sell imported Colombian roses for less than $10 a dozen, while roses grown in the United States may cost twice as much. One of Colombia's most important flower-growing districts is in the Cundinamarca Basin, near Bogotá and within easy reach of the city's international airport. Another important industry grows flowers for seed. A packet of hybrid petunia seeds found on a rack in a U.S. garden center may well have come from flowers grown in Colombia.

Stock Raising. Cattle have been an important part of the Colombian economy since the Spaniards introduced them early in the colonial period. The city of Medellín was the market and service center for one of Colombia's earliest cattle-ranching districts. Today, however, the Caribbean coastal lowlands and the sparsely settled llanos in the northeastern part of the country have emerged as the nation's leading cattle-ranching areas.


Land Reform. Poor people in rural Colombia have long suffered from an inequitable land-tenure system. A small number of wealthy people own vast estates, while the many poorer persons have little or no land.


The Colombian government has responded to this problem by encouraging the colonization of the hot and rainy southeastern lowlands. Most of Colombia's land-starved farmers live in mountainous regions at relatively high altitudes. They have little experience with tropical-lowland environments and are therefore reluctant to move their families to such areas, even with the inducement of free land.

The government has also implemented a land-reform program. In 1961, a government agency—the Columbian Institute of Agrarian Reform (INCORA)—was created to administer the new program. However, because of legal disputes over land that has been identified as possibly subject to expropriation, few needy farmers have benefited from the program.

Mining. The Cerrejón mine, located on the Guajira Peninsula, has one of the world's largest deposits of high-quality coal. The coal, which lies near the surface, is removed using strip-mining methods. The deposit is also close to the Caribbean coastline. The mining company ships the coal through a port specially constructed for that purpose at Bahía de Portete. None of this coal is shipped inland so that it might be combined with iron ore in the country's largest steel mill. That mill—located in the Cordillera Oriental, several hundred miles north of Bogotá—uses coal from mines located elsewhere in the country.


Recent discoveries of petroleum and natural gas have turned Colombia into an exporter of these commodities. These deposits have been most thoroughly exploited in the eastern lowland. As a result, a whole network of pipelines has been constructed to bring the oil to refineries and ports in the western third of the country.

Colombia is also the world's largest exporter of emeralds. Its gold and copper mines have long been productive, but nickel ore has become more economically important.

Transportation and Trade. Colombia's first cities were Caribbean ports that had good access to Spain by sea. Some of the earliest settlements in the interior were located close to the Magdalena, Cauca, or Atrato rivers, which provided easy connections to the coast.


The rugged terrain in the mountainous western third of the country, where most of Colombia's people live, has posed a serious challenge to the nation's engineers and construction workers in the struggle to upgrade the highways and rail lines connecting major metropolitan areas. Often workers must unload cargo from one mode of transportation, such as riverboats, and reload it onto another, such as trucks, to complete the journey to its destination. Such transfers are expensive and have hindered the country's economic development. Only about 10 percent of Colombia's road system is paved. The railway system is mainly narrow gauge. The difficulty of traveling on the ground was one factor that encouraged Colombians to develop their air-transportation network as early as they did.

Colombia's chief trading partners are the United States, Germany, Venezuela, and Japan. In 1993, Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico signed an agreement to eliminate all tariffs on trade among themselves within 20 years. That same year, Colombia also signed a similar agreement with Chile.


Religion

Eighty percent of the population practices Roman Catholicism. Another 9% is divided mainly amongst the Protestant, Mormon, Jewish and Muslim religions. Thirteen percent of the population declares itself to be non-religious. One percent of Colombians practice indigenous religions.

Culture

Santa Marta aquarium.
Main article: Culture of Colombia

People

Entertainment

Sports

Tourism

Ecotourism

Museums

Transportation

Colombia has a network of national highways maintained by the Instituto Nacional de Vías or INVIAS (National Institute of Roadways) government agency. The Pan-American Highway travels through Colombia, connecting the country with Venezuela to the east and Ecuador to the south. [5]

Miscellaneous topics

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