Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between
Panama
and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and
Panama
Geographic coordinates: 4 00 N, 72 00 W
Map references: South America, Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
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
Area - comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Land boundaries:
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
Coastline: 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km)
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
Terrain: flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains,
eastern
lowland plains
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Nevado del Huila 5,750 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold,
copper,
emeralds, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 4%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 39%
forests and woodland: 48%
other: 8% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 5,300 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes;
periodic droughts
Environment - current issues: deforestation; soil damage from overuse of
pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the
Sea, Marine
Dumping
Geography - note: only South American country with coastlines on both North
Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea
People
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Population: 39,685,655 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 32% (male 6,463,195; female 6,310,723)
15-64 years: 63% (male 12,206,095; female 12,854,682)
65 years and over: 5% (male 832,986; female 1,017,974) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.68% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 22.85 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 5.73 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
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: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.28 years
male: 66.43 years
female: 74.27 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.69 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Colombian(s)
adjective: Colombian
Ethnic groups: mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed
black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 90%
Languages: Spanish
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.3%
male: 91.2%
female: 91.4% (1995 est.)
Government
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Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Colombia
conventional short form: Colombia
local long form: Republica de Colombia
local short form: Colombia
Data code: CO
Government 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, 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, Distrito Capital de Santa fe de Bogota*, 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 US
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
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Andres PASTRANA (since 7 August 1998); Vice President
Gustavo BELL Lemus (since 7 August 1998); note - the president is both
the chief of
state and head of government
head of government: President Andres PASTRANA (since 7 August 1998); Vice
President Gustavo BELL Lemus (since 7 August 1998); note - the president
is both
the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election
last held
31 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2002); vice president elected by popular
vote
for a four-year term in a new procedure that replaces the traditional designation
of
vice presidents by newly elected presidents; election last held 31 May
1998 (next to
be held NA May 2002)
election results: no candidate received more than 50% of the total vote,
therefore,
a run-off election to select a president from the two leading candidates
was held 21
June 1998; Andres PASTRANA elected president; percent of vote - 50.3%;
Gustavo
BELL elected vice president; percent of vote - 50.3%
Legislative branch: 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 (163 seats;
members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held NA March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2002);
House of Representatives - last held NA March 1998 (next to be held NA
March
2002)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PL 50%, PSC 24%,
smaller
parties (many aligned with conservatives) 26%; seats by party - PL 58,
PSC 28,
smaller parties 16; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party
- PL 52%,
PSC 17%, other 31%; seats by party - PL 98, PSC 52, indigenous parties
2, others
11
Judicial branch: 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
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Alliance-April 19 Movement or
AD/M-19 is
a coalition of small leftist parties and dissident liberals and conservatives
[Carlos
Franco ECHAVARRIA, Antonio NAVARRO Wolff, Otty PATINO, Carlos Alonso LUCIO];
Liberal Party or PL [Jose Fernando BAUTISTA]; New Democratic Force or NDF
[leader
NA]; Patriotic Union or UP is a legal political party formed by Revolutionary
Armed
Forces of Colombia or FARC and Colombian Communist Party or PCC [Aida ABELLA];
Social Conservative Party or PSC [Dr. Eugenio MERLANO de la Ossa]
Political pressure groups and leaders: two largest insurgent groups active
in
Colombia - National Liberation Army or ELN; and Revolutionary Armed Forces
of
Colombia or FARC
International organization participation: BCIE, CAN, Caricom (observer),
CCC,
CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G- 3, G-11, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol,
IOC,
IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Luis Alberto MORENO Mejia
chancery: 2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 387-8338
FAX: [1] (202) 232-8643
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New
Orleans,
New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Washington, DC
consulate(s): Atlanta
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Curtis Warren KAMMAN
embassy: Calle 22D-BIS, numbers 47-51, Apartado Aereo 3831
mailing address: APO AA 34038
telephone: [57] (1) 315-0811
FAX: [57] (1) 315-2197
Flag description: 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
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Economy - overview: Colombia is poised for moderate growth in the next
several
years, marking an end to the severe 1999 recession when GDP fell by about
5%.
President PASTRANA's well-respected economic team is taking steps to keep
the
recovery on track, such as lowering interest rates and shoring up the financial
system. In its loan agreement with the IMF, the administration has pledged
to take
additional steps to restore growth, reduce inflation, and improve the public
sector's
fiscal health. Many challenges to sustainable growth remain, however.
Unemployment reached a record 20% in 1999 and may remain high, contributing
to
the extreme inequality in income distribution. Colombia's leading exports,
oil and
coffee, face an uncertain future: new exploration is needed to offset a
pending
decline in oil production, and the coffee harvest has dropped off because
of aging
plantations and natural disasters. The lack of public security is a key
concern for
investors, making progress in the government's peace negotiations with
insurgent
groups an important driver of economic performance. Colombia is looking
for
international financial assistance to boost economic recovery and peace
prospects.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $245.1 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -5% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,200 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 19%
industry: 26%
services: 55% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: 17.7% (1992 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 46.9% (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.2% (1999)
Labor force: 16.8 million (1997 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: services 46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990)
Unemployment rate: 20% (1999 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $22 billion
expenditures: $24 billion including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Industries: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages,
chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds
Industrial production growth rate: -7% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production: 45.02 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 30.11%
hydro: 69.25%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.64% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 41.963 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 94 million kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn,
sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp
Exports: $11.5 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)
Exports - commodities: petroleum, coffee, coal, gold, bananas, cut flowers
Exports - partners: US 39%, EU 24%, Andean Community 15%, Japan 2% (1998)
Imports: $10 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)
Imports - commodities: industrial equipment, transportation equipment,
consumer
goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity
Imports - partners: US 35%, EU 20%, Andean Community 15%, Japan 7% (1998)
Debt - external: $35 billion (1998 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $40.7 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Colombian peso (Col$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: Colombian pesos (Col$) per US$1 - 1,925.63 (January 2000),
1,756.23 (1999), 1,426.04 (1998), 1,140.96 (1997), 1,036.69 (1996), 912.83
(1995)
Fiscal year: calendar year