Republic of Colombia

National name: República de Colombia

President: Alvaro Uribe (2002)

Land area: 401,042 sq mi (1,038,699 sq km); total area: 439,736 sq mi (1,138,910 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 43,593,035 (growth rate: 1.5%); birth rate: 20.5/1000; infant mortality rate: 20.4/1000; life expectancy: 72.0; density per sq mi: 109

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Santafé de Bogotá, 7,594,000 (metro. area), 7,185,889 (city proper)

Other large cities: Cali, 2,283,200; Medellín, 1,957,800; Barranquilla, 1,330,400; Cartagena, 901,500

Monetary unit: Colombian Peso

Language: Spanish

Ethnicity/race: mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1%

Religion: Roman Catholic 90%

Literacy rate: 93% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $303.7 billion; per capita $7,100. Real growth rate: 4.3%. Inflation: 4.9%. Unemployment: 10.2%. Arable land: 2%. Agriculture: coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp. Labor force: 20.52 million (2005); agriculture 22.7%, industry 18.7%, services 58.5% (2000 est.). Industries: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower. Exports: $19.3 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers. Imports: $18 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity. Major trading partners: U.S., Venezuela, Ecuador, China, Mexico, Brazil (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 8,768,100 (2003); mobile cellular: 6,186,200 (2003). Radio broadcast stations: AM 454, FM 34, shortwave 27 (1999). Television broadcast stations: 60 (includes seven low-power stations) (1997). Internet hosts: 115,158 (2003). Internet users: 2,732,200 (2003).

Transportation: Railways: total: 3,304 km (2004). Highways: total: 112,998 km; paved: 26,000 km; unpaved: 84,000 km (2000). Waterways: 9,187 km (2004). Ports and harbors: Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Muelles El Bosque, Puerto Bolivar, Santa Marta, Turbo. Airports: 980 (2004 est.).

International disputes: 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.

 

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