Colombia

republicIndependence 20 July 1810 (from Spain)

Colombia as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 126 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalBogota
LocationNorthern South America, between Panama and Venezuela
1994

Every edition of Colombia

Populationas each edition published it
35.58 million July 1994 est. · 33.08m in 1990
Population growth% a year
1.77% 1994 est. · 1.83% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 25.6 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 71.72 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
2.47 children per woman 1994 est. · 2.9 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
28.3 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 38 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$5,500 1993 est. · $1,500 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
5.1% 1993 est. · 3.3% in 1993

Geography

Northern South America, between Panama and Venezuela

25 fields
Coastline
3,208km
(Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km)
Land boundaries
7,408km
total · Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru 2,900 km, Venezuela 2,050 km
Irrigated land
5,150sq km
(1989 est.)

Location

Northern South America, between Panama and Venezuela

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

1,138,910 sq km

land area

1,038,700 sq km

comparative area

slightly less than three times the size of Montana

note

includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank

continental shelf

not specified

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

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

Natural resources

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

arable land

4%

permanent crops

2%

meadows and pastures

29%

forest and woodland

49%

other

16%

current issues

deforestation; soil damage from overuse of pesticides

natural hazards

highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; periodic droughts

international agreements

  • party to - Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber;
  • signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping

Note

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

People

21 fields
Population
35,577,556
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 1.77% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
22.64Death
4.75Net migration
-0.21

Ethnic divisions

mestizo 58%white 20%mulatto 14%black 4%mixed black-Indian 3%Indian 1%
Labor force
12million
(1990)
Literacy
15and over can read and write
age · (1990 est.)

Infant mortality rate

28.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

72.1 years

male

69.33 years

female

74.95 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.47 children born/woman (1994 est.)

noun

Colombian(s)

adjective

Colombian

Religions

Roman Catholic 95%

Languages

Spanish

total population

87%

male

88%

female

86%

by occupation

services 46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990)

Government

Republic

36 fields

Legislature, 102 seatsone dot, one seat

Liberal Party 59conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and NDF) 31other 12

Legislature, 161 seatsone dot, one seat

Liberal Party 89conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and NDF) 53AD/M-19 2other 17

conventional long form

Republic of Colombia

conventional short form

Colombia

local long form

Republica de Colombia

local short form

Colombia

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

chief of state and head of government

  • President Cesar GAVIRIA Trujillo (since 7 August 1990);
  • President-designate Juan Manuel SANTOS (since NA 1993);
  • election last held 27 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994);
  • results - Cesar GAVIRIA Trujillo (Liberal Party) 47%, Alvaro GOMEZ Hurtado (National Salvation Movement) 24%, Antonio NAVARRO Wolff (AD/M-19) 13%, Rodrigo LLOREDA (Conservative Party) 12%

note

  • a new government will be inaugurated on 7 August 1994;
  • the presidential election of 29 May 1994 resulted in no candidate receiving more than 50% of the total vote and a run-off election to select a president from the two leading candidates was held on 19 June 1994;
  • results - Ernesto SAMPER Pizano (Liberal Party) 50.4%, Andres PASTRANA Arango (Conservative Party) 48.6%, blank votes 1%;
  • Humberto de la CALLE was elected vice president;
  • electing a vice president is a new proceedure that replaces the traditional appointment of president-designates by newly elected presidents

cabinet

Cabinet

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), Constitutional Court, Council of State

Political parties and leaders

  • Liberal Party (PL), Ernesto SAMPER Pizano, president;
  • Conservative Party (PC), Misael PASTRANA Borrero;
  • National Salvation Movement (MSN), Alvaro GOMEZ Hurtado;
  • 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), Carlos ROMERO

Other political or pressure groups

  • three insurgent groups are active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Manuel MARULANDA and Alfonso CANO;
  • National Liberation Army (ELN), Manuel PEREZ;
  • and dissidents of the recently demobilized People's Liberation Army (EPL), Francisco CARABALLO;
  • Francisco CARABALLO was captured by the government in June 1994

Member of

AG, CDB, CG, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-11, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS, ONUSAL, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNPROFOR, UNTAC, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador Gabriel SILVA

chancery

2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

(202) 387-8338

FAX

(202) 232-8643

consulate(s) general

Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Washington

consulate(s)

Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Tampa

chief of mission

Ambassador Morris D. BUSBY

embassy

Calle 38, No. 8-61, Bogota

mailing address

Apartado Aereo 3831, Bogota or APO AA 34038

telephone

[57] (1) 320-1300

FAX

[57] (1) 288-5687

consulate(s)

Barranquilla

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

26 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$5,500
(1993 est.)
Real growth rate
5.1%
(1993 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate 2% (1993 est.); accounts for 21% of GDP
Unemployment rate
7.9%
(1993 est.)

Overview

Colombia's economic growth has recovered steadily since 1991 as President GAVIRIA'S sweeping economic reform measures have taken hold. Market reforms have included trade and investment liberalization, labor and tax overhauls and bureaucratic streamlining, among other things. Furthermore, conservative fiscal and monetary policies have helped to steadily reduce inflation to 23% and unemployment to about 7% in 1993.

The rapid development of oil, coal, and other nontraditional industries has helped offset the decline in coffee prices. A major oil find in 1993 in eastern Colombia may provide an extra $3 billion annually to the economy by 1997. Increased foreign investment and even greater domestic activity have been hampered, however, by a troublesome rural insurgency, a decrepit energy and transportation infrastructure, and drug-related violence.

Agriculture also has encountered problems in adjusting to fewer subsidies, greater competition, and the collapse of the international coffee agreement, which has kept world coffee prices at near-record lows in 1991-93. Business construction was a leading sector in 1993. The substantial trade deficit in 1993 was the result of a strong peso that inhibited exports and a liberalized government policy that spurred imports.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $192 billion (1993 est.)

revenues

$11 billion

expenditures

$12 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.2 billion (1993 est.)

Exports

$6.9 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)

commodities

petroleum, coffee, coal, bananas, fresh cut flowers

partners

US 39%, EC 25.7%, Japan 2.9%, Venezuela 8.5% (1992)

Imports

$6.7 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.)

commodities

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

partners

US 36%, EC 18%, Brazil 4%, Venezuela 6.5%, Japan 8.7% (1992)

External debt

$17 billion (1992)

capacity

10,193,000 kW

production

36 billion kWh

consumption per capita

1,050 kWh (1992)

Industries

textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, metal products, cement; mining - gold, coal, emeralds, iron, nickel, silver, salt

Agriculture

  • growth rate 2.7% (1993 est.) accounts for 21% 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, and cannabis;
  • about 37,100 hectares of coca under cultivation;
  • the world's largest processor of coca derivatives into cocaine in 1992;
  • supplier of cocaine to the US and other international drug markets

recipient

  • US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.6 billion;
  • Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.3 billion;
  • Communist countries (1970-89), $399 million

Currency

1 Colombian peso (Col$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates

Colombian pesos (Col$) per US$1 - 921.20 (January 1994), 863.06 (1993), 759.28 (1992), 633.05 (1991), 502.26 (1990), 382.57 (1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

15 fields

Networkskm

Railroads
3,386Inland waterways
14,300
Railroads: ; 3,236 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track (2,611 km in use), 150 km 1.435-meter gauge · Inland waterways: , navigable by river boats

Railroads

3,386 km; 3,236 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track (2,611 km in use), 150 km 1.435-meter gauge

total

128,717 km (1989)

paved

10,330 km

unpaved

gravel/earth 118,387 km

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, Covenas, San Andres, Santa Marta, Tumaco

Merchant marine

27 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 211,777 GRT/335,763 DWT, bulk 7, cargo 11, container 6, oil tanker 3

total

1,369

usable

1,156

with permanent-surface runways

73

with runways over 3,659 m

1

with runways 2,440-2,659 m

9

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

205

Telecommunications

  • nationwide radio relay system;
  • 1,890,000 telephones;
  • broadcast stations - 413 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 28 shortwave;
  • 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations and 11 domestic satellite earth stations

Defense Forces

Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, including Marines), | Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana), National Police (Policia | Nacional)

3 fields

Branches

Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, including Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana), National Police (Policia Nacional)

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 9,639,080;
  • fit for military service 6,507,935;
  • reach military age (18) annually 354,944 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $1.2 billion (1992 est.)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Colombia.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/colombia/1994.

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