Colombia

General Information

Background:

• Due to its strategic geographical location, Colombia is the bridge between South America and the rest of the Americas and the Caribbean.
• One of Latin America's oldest democracies
• Foreign investors entitled to same treatment as local investors
• Foreign investment not subject to government permits
• Free repatriation of profits and capital invested
• Economy on the road to recovery: GDP growth of 3% in year 2000
• Internal market is the fifth largest in Latin America
• High proportion of urban population (over 70%) resulting in significant purchasing power for consumer goods
• World number one exporter of mild coffee
• World number one producer and exporter of emeralds
• Second largest exporter of flowers in the world
• Third biggest exporter of bananas in the world
• Third largest exporter of coal in the world
• Third exporter of oil in Latin America
• Goods exported from Colombia have preferential access to 875 million consumers in countries such as:
  
  
  1. United States under the Andean Tariff Preferences Act (ATPA)
  2. Mexico and Venezuela under the G-3 Agreement
  3. Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia as members of the Andean Community
  4. The European Union (GSP & LDDC)
  5. The Caribbean countries
  6. Chile

Location:

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

Geography

  Colombia

Geographic coordinates:

4 00 N, 72 00 W

Area:

total: 1,138,910 sq km
land: 1,038,700 sq km
note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank
water: 100,210 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly less than three times the size of ????

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:

territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 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: Pico Cristobal Colon 5,775 m
note: nearby Pico Simon Bolivar also has the same elevation

Natural resources:

Petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower

Land use:

arable land: 1.9%
other: 96.14% (1998 est.)
permanent crops: 1.96%

Irrigated land:

8,500 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:

Highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues:

Deforestation; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogotá, from vehicle emissions

Environment - international agreements:

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

Geography - note:

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

People

  Colombia

Population:

42,310,775 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 31% (male 6,644,080; female 6,489,677)
15-64 years: 63.9% (male 13,171,416; female 13,879,115)
65 years and over: 5% (male 940,762; female 1,185,725) (2004 est.)

Median age:

Total: 25.8 years
male: 24.9 years
female: 26.7 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.53% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:

21.19 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:

5.61 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:

-0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

Total: 21.72 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 17.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 25.69 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:

Total population: 71.43 years
male: 67.58 years
female: 75.41 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.59 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.4% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

140,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

5,600 (2001 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: 92.5%
male: 92.4%
female: 92.6% (2003 est.)

Government

  Colombia

Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Colombia
conventional short form: Colombia
local short form: Colombia
local long form: Republica de Colombia

Government type:

Republic; executive branch dominates government structure

Capital:

Bogotá

Administrative divisions:

32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, Distrito Capital de 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 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 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); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
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; election last held 26 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2006)
election results: President Alvaro URIBE Velez received 53% of the vote; Vice President Francisco SANTOS was elected on the same ticket

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 (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006); House of Representatives - last held 10 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PL 28, PSC 13, independents and smaller parties (many aligned with conservatives) 61; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PL 54, PSC 21, independents and other parties 91

Judicial branch:

Four coequal, supreme judicial organs; 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); Higher Council of Justice (administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; members of the disciplinary chamber resolve jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms)

Political parties and leaders:

Conservative Party or PSC [Carlos HOLGUIN Sardi]; Liberal Party or PL [Camilo SANCHEZ]; Colombian Communist Party or PCC [Jaime CAICEDO]; Democratic Pole or PDI [Antonio NAVARRO Wolff]
note: Colombia has about 60 formally recognized political parties, most of which do not have a presence in either house of Congress

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Two largest insurgent groups active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and National Liberation Army or ELN; largest anti-insurgent paramilitary group is United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia or AUC

International organization participation:

BCIE, CAN, Caricom (observer), CDB, FAO, G-3, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

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

  Colombia

Economy - overview:

Colombia's economy suffers from weak domestic and foreign demand, austere government budgets, and serious internal armed conflict, but seems poised for recovery. Other economic problems facing President URIBE range from reforming the pension system to reducing high unemployment. Two of Colombia's leading exports, oil and coffee, face an uncertain future; new exploration is needed to offset declining oil production, while coffee harvests and prices are depressed. On the positive side, several international financial institutions have praised the economic reforms introduced by URIBE, which includes measures designed to reduce the public-sector deficit below 2.5% of GDP in 2004. The government's economic policy and democratic security strategy have engendered a growing sense of confidence in the economy, particularly within the business sector, and GDP growth in 2003 was among the highest in Latin America.

GDP:

Purchasing power parity - $262.5 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

3.4% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:

Purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

Agriculture: 13.9%
Industry: 30.3%
Services: 55.8% (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line:

55% (2001)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 44% (1999)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

57.1 (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

7.2% (2003 est.)

Labor force:

18.3 million (1999 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

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

Unemployment rate:

13.6% (2003 est.)

Budget:

Revenues: $24 billion
Expenditures: $25.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Industries:

textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds

Industrial production growth rate:

4% (2001 est.)

Electricity - production:

42.99 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 26%
hydro: 72.7%
other: 1.3% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:

39.81 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:

210 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:

40 million kWh (2001)

Oil - production:

614,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:

252,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:

NA

Oil - imports:

NA

Oil - proved reserves:

1.8 billion bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:

5.7 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

5.7 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

132 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

Agriculture - products:

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

Exports:

$12.96 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:

petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers

Exports - partners:

US 44.8%, Venezuela 9.4%, Ecuador 6.8% (2002)

Imports:

$13.06 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:

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

Imports - partners:

US 32.7%, Venezuela 6.7%, Brazil 5.8%, Japan 5.3%, Mexico 5.1%, Germany 4.2% (2002)

Debt - external:

$38 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:

$NA (1995)

Currency:

Colombian peso (COP)

Currency code:

COP

Exchange rates:

Colombian pesos per US dollar - 2,877.65 (2003), 2,504.24 (2002), 2,299.63 (2001), 2,087.9 (2000), 1,756.23 (1999)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Communications

  Colombia

Telephones - main lines in use:

7.766 million (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

4,596,600 (2002)

Telephone system:

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

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 454, FM 34, shortwave 27 (1999)

Television broadcast stations:

60 (includes seven low-power stations) (1997)

Internet country code:

.co

Internet hosts:

55,626 (2002)

Internet users:

2 million (2002)

Transportation

  Colombia

Railways:

total: 3,304 km
standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 3,154 km 0.914-m gauge (2002)

Highways:

total: 110,000 km
paved: 26,000 km
unpaved: 84,000 km (2000)

Waterways:

18,140 km (navigable by river boats) (April 1996)

Pipelines:

gas 4,360 km; oil 6,134 km; refined products 3,140 km (2003)

Ports and harbors:

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

Merchant marine:

total: 13 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 35,427 GRT/46,301 DWT
by type: bulk 4, cargo 5, container 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 2
registered in other countries: 16 (2003 est.)

Airports:

980 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 100
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 38
under 914 m: 12 (2003 est.)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 39

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 880
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 34
under 914 m: 573 (2003 est.)
914 to 1,523 m: 272

Heliports:

1 (2003 est.)

Military

  Colombia

Military branches:

Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, including Naval Aviation, Marines, and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana)

Military manpower - military age:

18 years of age (2004 est.)

Military manpower - availability:

males age 15-49: 11,252,027 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:

males age 15-49: 7,495,462 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:

males: 392,656 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:

$3.3 billion (FY01)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:

3.4% (FY01)

Transnational Issues

  Colombia

Disputes - international:

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; maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian drug activities penetrate Peruvian border area; the continuing civil disorder in Colombia has created a serious refugee crisis in neighboring states, especially Ecuador

Illicit drugs:

Illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis; world's leading coca cultivator (cultivation of coca in 2002 was 144,450 hectares, a 15% decline since 2001); potential production of opium between 2001 and 2002 declined by 25% to 91 metric tons; potential production of heroin declined to 11.3 metric tons; the world's largest processor of coca derivatives into cocaine; supplier of about 90% of the cocaine to the US market and the great majority of cocaine to other international drug markets; important supplier of heroin to the US market; active aerial eradication program; a significant portion of non-US narcotics proceeds are either laundered or invested in Colombia through the black market peso exchange

Information Source: CIA - The World Factbook