Colombia Country Information

Background:

Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A 40-year insurgent campaign to overthrow the Colombian Government escalated during the 1990s, undergirded in part by funds from the drug trade. Although the violence is deadly and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence, the movement lacks the military strength or popular support necessary to overthrow the government. An anti-insurgent army of paramilitaries has grown to several thousand strong in recent years, challenging the insurgents for control of territory and the drug trade, and also the government's ability to exert its dominion over rural areas. While Bogota steps up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders.

 

Capital	Bogotá
Largest city	Bogotá
Offical languages	Spanish language
Government
• President	Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Area
• Total	1,138,910 km² (25th) (Est.)
Population
• 2003 Est.	44,531,434 (28th)
GDP (PPP)	2004 Est.
• Total	$281.1 billion (not ranked)
• Per capita	$6,600 (not ranked)
Currency	Peso
Population bellow poverty line	55% (2001)
Time zone
• Summer (DST)	UTC -5
Industries	textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds
Calling code	+57
Language Requirements:	Spanish Translation Requirements - Documents, labels and texts must be translated into Spanish.