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| INFORMATION ABOUT COLOMBIA | COLOMBIA, THE GATEWAY TO LATIN AMERICA | 
| Colombia is located in the middle of the Western hemisphere, on the northern coast of the South American continent. Colombia’s Caribbean coast is closer to Miami than Miami is to New York.
| COLOMBIA, THE COUNTRY
| Colombia is the size of Texas and California combined. Its 42 million people make it the third most populous country in Latin America.
Colombia is a land of diverse geography, and is the only South American nation to border both the Caribbean (one thousand miles of coastline) and the Pacific Ocean (six hundred miles). Three mountain chains, or cordilleras, of the Andes divide the country – and it is in the Andes that 70% of the country’s population live. Much of its south and eastern region of Colombia is part of the Amazon basin, and is comprised of dense tropical forests.
Colombia is approximately the size of Texas and California combined (440,720 square miles)
Colombia is home to some of the world’s most complex and fragile ecosystems, ranking first in the world in terms of diversity in animal life, and second in plant life. It covers just 1% of the world’s land surface, yet boasts 10% of all the world’s total flora and fauna.
Natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper and emeralds.
The country is divided into 32 departments (some English translations use the word "provinces", others use "state" for our word "departamentos") 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, Bogotá Distrito Capital*, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes and Vichada.
Colombia achieved independence from Spain in 1819.
The country is governed by a national constitution, amended on July 5, 1991.
Colombia has three branches of Public Power: The Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary.
Colombia has a democratically-elected representative system with a strong executive branch. The President is elected to a non-renewable, four-year term. The President is both the chief of state and head of government, and is elected on a national ticket with a Vice President.
There is a bicameral legislature consisting of a 102-member Senate and a 165-member House of Representatives. Both chambers are directly elected to four-year terms.
Colombia’s judicial system is composed of: Supreme Court, Attorney General, Superior Council of the Judiciary, Constitutional Court and State Council. A new criminal code modeled after U.S. procedures was enacted in 1992-93. There is judicial review of executive and legislative acts. The Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia) is the highest court of criminal law, and judges are selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for eight-year terms.
The two largest political organizations are the Partido Social Conservador, and the Partido Liberal, which holds majorities in both houses of Congress.
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| HOME TO A DIVERSE GEOGRAPHY AND ENVIRONMENT
| Colombia is the only country in South America to have both a Pacific and Caribbean coast. The rugged Andes Mountains form a geographic spine down the center of Colombia, dividing the country from north to south. To the west and east of the Andes are fertile plains where most of the population (95%) live and work. The eastern and southern portions of the country are covered with the dense, tropical forests of the Amazon. These forests are among the world’s most valuable natural resources. They are home to 10% of the world’s biodiversity (second only to that of neighboring Brazil). Only 5% of the country’s population lives in the Amazon region, where there is very little economic infrastructure. A total of 58% of the territory is located in the Amazon region.
Colombia is a land of diverse geography, and is the only South American nation to border both the Caribbean (one thousand miles of coastline) and the Pacific Ocean (six hundred miles).
Three mountain chains, or cordilleras, of the Andes divide the country – and it is in the Andes that 70% of the country’s population live.
Much of its south and eastern region of Colombia is part of the Amazon basin, and is comprised of dense tropical forests.
Colombia is approximately the size of Texas and California combined (440,720 square miles).
Colombia is home to some of the world’s most complex and fragile ecosystems, ranking first in the world in terms of diversity in animal life, and second in plant life. It covers just 1% of the world’s land surface, yet boasts 10% of all the world’s total flora and fauna.
Natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper and emeralds.
| VERY URBAN COUNTRY
| More than 70% of Colombians live in just 10 cities.
| DIVERSE ETHNIC POPULATION
| Colombia is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the Western Hemisphere. The country has 85 different ethnic groups, creating a true melting pot of European, indigenous and Afro-Caribbean populations. Indigenous peoples own 24% of the national territory.
| SOURCE OF ENERGY FOR AMERICA AND THE WORLD
| Colombia has vast mineral and energy resources, which are being explored and developed for economic benefit. Colombia has over 37 billion barrels of oil potential and is currently the largest foreign provider of coal to the United States. Colombia is the fifth largest supplier of foreign oil to the United States.
| STABLE DEMOCRACY
| Colombia is Latin America’s oldest and most stable democracy. It has experienced peaceful changes of Government every four years over the last half century. Government leaders have been elected by the people through free, fair and competitive elections. Colombia has a free, competitive press.
| Why are most of the things you hear about Colombia so negative?
| The truth is that Colombia has "two faces." One is a country of extraordinary natural beauty and hard-working, warm and industrious people – people who succeed at growing some of the world’s finest coffee and fresh flowers, who are renowned artists, writers and musicians. Colombians have created a stable democracy and a strong, growing economy. They have courageously stood up to the violence and terrorism of guerrilla groups and drug traffickers. But Colombia is also a country with problems stemming from a complex and difficult history of violence. Colombia’s troubles can begin to be explained by the vast, under populated "frontier land" that characterizes the eastern and southern regions of the country. These are difficult to access and historically there has existed very little, if any, State presence in the form of public institutions, roads, schools and utilities. This creates a breeding ground for the international illegal drug trade that fuels Colombia’s situation today. Many people define Colombia’s problem as a "civil war." This is incorrect. The population is not divided into armed camps fighting for competing political and social agendas. What exists in Colombia is a history of violence and armed conflict between guerrilla organizations, illegal self-defense forces, narco-traffickers and the Government. The guerrillas and self-defense forces, which the U.S. State Department brands as international terrorists, number less than 30,000 people in a nation of 42 million. But unlike in other countries where guerrilla movements have existed, Colombia’s violent actors are well financed by huge profits from the global illegal drug trade.
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Colombian Services, consulting for business and personal needs in Colombia, Bogota apartments for rent, Bogota bed and breakfast
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