The Colombia Portal

Republic of Colombia
República de Colombia  (Spanish)
Location of Colombia (dark green)in South America (grey)
Location of Colombia (dark green)

in South America (grey)

CapitalBogotá
4°35′N 74°4′W / 4.583°N 74.067°W / 4.583; -74.067
ISO 3166 codeCO

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country located in South America, with insular regions in North America. Colombia's mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuela to the east, Brazil to the southeast, Peru and Ecuador to the south and southwest, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Panama to the northwest. Colombia is divided into 32 departments. The Capital District of Bogotá is the country's largest city hosting the main financial and cultural hub. Other urban areas include Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, Pereira, Santa Marta, Cúcuta, Ibagué, Villavicencio and Manizales. It covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers (440,831 sq mi) and has a population of around 52 million. Its rich cultural heritage—including language, religion, cuisine, and art—reflects its history as a colony, fusing cultural elements brought by immigration from Europe and the Middle East, with those brought by the African diaspora, as well as with those of Indigenous civilizations that predate colonization. Spanish is the official language, although Creole, English and 64 other languages are recognized regionally.

Colombia has been home to many Indigenous peoples and cultures since at least 12,000 BCE. The Spanish landed in La Guajira in 1499, and by the mid-16th century had colonized much of present-day Colombia, and established the New Kingdom of Granada. Independence from the Spanish Empire was declared in 1810, with what is now Colombia emerging as the United Provinces of New Granada. After a Spanish reconquest, Colombian independence was secured and the Gran Colombia period began in 1819. The new polity experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation (1858) and then the United States of Colombia (1863), before becoming a centralised republic in 1886. With the backing of the US and France, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, resulting in Colombia's present borders. Beginning in the 1960s, the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict and political violence, both of which escalated in the 1990s. Since 2000, there has been improvement in security, stability, and rule of law, as well as economic growth and development.

Colombia is recognized for its healthcare system, being the best healthcare in the Americas according to the World Health Organization and 22nd in the world. Its diversified economy is the third-largest in South America, with macroeconomic stability and favorable long-term growth prospects. The country is one of the most progressive in the world in LGBT rights, gender equality, animal rights, and human rights, having legalized same-sex adoption, same-sex marriage, legality of abortion, legality of euthanasia, and animal rights protections.

Colombia is one of the world's seventeen megadiverse countries; it has the highest level of biodiversity per square mile in the world, and second-highest level overall. Its territory encompasses the Amazon rainforest, highlands, grasslands and deserts. Colombia is a member of global and regional organizations including the UN, the WTO, the OECD, the OAS, the CIVETS, the Pacific Alliance and the Andean Community; it is a NATO Global Partner and a major non-NATO ally of the United States. (Full article...)

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The COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia was a part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached Colombia on 6 March 2020.

Up to January 2022, four waves affected Colombia: Infections and deaths peaked in August 2020, again in January 2021 following the Christmas holidays, reached new highs between April and June 2021, and a fourth wave was confirmed in late December 2021 following the arrival of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. (Full article...)

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Córdoba in 2017

Piedad Esneda Córdoba Ruiz (25 January 1955 – 20 January 2024) was a Colombian lawyer and politician who served as a senator from 1994 to 2010. A Liberal Party politician, she also served as a member of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia for Antioquia from 1992 to 1994.

An outspoken critic of the administration of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez (20022010), she was twice investigated by the Inspector General, which resulted in her being stripped of her seat in Congress in 2005 and again in 2010 and being banned from holding public office for 18 years. In 2016, the Supreme Court overruled both decisions based on a lack of evidence. (Full article...)

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Largest cities

 
 
Largest cities or towns in Colombia
According to the 2018 Census[2]
Rank Name Department Pop. Rank Name Department Pop.
1BogotáDistrito Capital7,387,40011IbaguéTolima492,554
2MedellínAntioquia2,382,39912VillavicencioMeta492,052
3CaliValle del Cauca2,172,52713Santa MartaMagdalena455,299
4BarranquillaAtlántico1,205,28414ValleduparCesar431,794
5CartagenaBolívar876,88515ManizalesCaldas405,234
6CúcutaNorte de Santander685,44516MonteríaCórdoba388,499
7SoachaCundinamarca655,02517PereiraRisaralda385,838
8SoledadAtlántico602,64418NeivaHuila335,994
9BucaramangaSantander570,75219PastoNariño308,095
10BelloAntioquia495,48320ArmeniaQuindío287,245
  1. "ARC" stands for "Armada Nacional de la República de Colombia."
  2. "Largest cities" (PDF). Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE). Retrieved 10 February 2020.

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