Colombia

• highlands subject to volcanic eruptions;
• occasional earthquakes;
• periodic droughts

• deforestation;
• soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides;
• air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions

party to:

Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Law of the Sea

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:

0.78 male(s)/female

total population:

0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

noun:

Colombian(s)

adjective:

Colombian

conventional long form:

Republic of Colombia

conventional short form:

Colombia

local long form:

Republica de Colombia

local short form:

Colombia

name:

Bogota

geographic coordinates:

4 36 N, 74 05 W

time difference:

UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 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

• based on Spanish law;
• a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted into law in 2004 and is gradually being implemented;
• judicial review of executive and legislative acts

chief of state:

• President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002);
• Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7 August 2002);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7 August 2002)

cabinet:

Cabinet consists of a coalition of the two dominant parties - the PL and PSC - and independents

elections:

• president and vice president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held 28 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2010)

election results:

President Alvaro URIBE Velez reelected president; percent of vote - Alvaro URIBE Velez 62%, Carlos GAVIRIA Diaz 22%, Horacio SERPA Uribe 12%, other 4%

• four roughly coequal, supreme judicial organs;
• Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (highest court of criminal law; judges are selected by their peers from the nominees of the Superior Judicial Council for eight-year terms);
• Council of State (highest court of administrative law; judges are selected from the nominees of the Superior Judicial Council 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);
• Superior Judicial Council (administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; resolves jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms)

• Clandestine Communist Party of Colombia or PCC [Jaime CAICEDO];
• Colombian Conservative Party or PC [Carlos HOLGUIN Sardi];
• Alternative Democratic Pole or PDA [Samuel MORENO Rojas];
• Liberal Party or PL [Cesar GAVIRIA];
• Social National Unity Party or PSUN [Juan Manuel SANTOS]

note: Colombia has about 60 formally recognized political parties, most of which do not have a presence in either house of Congress

• two largest insurgent groups active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and National Liberation Army or ELN;
• largest illegal paramilitary group, a roughly organized umbrella group of disparate paramilitary forces, is United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia or AUC

chief of mission:

Ambassador Carolina BARCO Isakson

chancery:

2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 387-8338

FAX:

[1] (202) 232-8643

consulate(s) general:

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador William B. WOOD

embassy:

Calle 22D-BIS, numbers 47-51, Apartado Aereo 3831

mailing address:

Carrera 45 #22D-45, Bogota, D.C., APO AA 34038

telephone:

[57] (1) 315-0811

FAX:

[57] (1) 315-2197

• 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

agriculture:

22.7%

industry:

18.7%

services:

58.5% (2000 est.)

lowest 10%:

7.9%

highest 10%:

34.3% (2004)

• coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables;
• forest products;
• shrimp

general assessment:

modern system in many respects

domestic:

• nationwide microwave radio relay system;
• domestic satellite system with 41 earth stations;
• fiber-optic network linking 50 cities

international:

• country code - 57;
• satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat;
• 3 fully digitalized international switching centers;
• 8 submarine cables

total:

3,304 km

standard gauge:

150 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

3,154 km 0.914-m gauge (2005)

total:

110,000 km

paved:

26,000 km

unpaved:

84,000 km (2000)

total:

17 ships (1000 GRT or over) 42,413 GRT/58,737 DWT

by type:

cargo 13, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 3

registered in other countries:

7 (Antigua and Barbuda 2, Panama 5) (2006)

males age 18-49:

10,212,456

females age 18-49:

10,561,562 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

6,986,228

females age 18-49:

8,794,465 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

389,735

females age 18-49:

383,146 (2005 est.)

• Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank;
• dispute with Venezuela over maritime boundary and Los Monjes Islands near the Gulf of Venezuela;
• Colombian-organized illegal narcotics, guerrilla, and paramilitary activities penetrate all of its neighbors' borders and have created a serious refugee crisis with over 300,000 persons having fled the country, mostly into neighboring states

• illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis;
• world's leading coca cultivator (cultivation of coca in 2004 was 114,100 hectares, virtually unchanged from 2003, but down one-third from its peak of 169,800 ha);
• producing a potential of 430 mt of pure cocaine;
• the world's largest producer of coca derivatives;
• supplying most of the US market and the great majority of cocaine to other international drug markets;
• important supplier of heroin to the US market;
• opium poppy cultivation fell 50% between 2003 and 2004 to 2,100 hectares yielding a potential 3.8 metric tons of pure heroin, mostly for the US market;
• in 2004, aerial eradication treated over 130,000 hectares of coca but aggressive replanting on the part of growers means Colombia remains a key producer;
• a significant portion of non-US narcotics proceeds are either laundered or invested in Colombia through the black market peso exchange