About Colombia
ABOUT COLOMBIA
Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged after the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A decades-long conflict between government forces, paramilitaries, and antigovernment insurgent groups heavily funded by the drug trade, principally the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), escalated during the 1990s. More than 31,000 former United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitaries demobilized by the end of 2006, and the AUC as a formal organization ceased to operate. In the wake of the paramilitary demobilization, illegal armed groups arose, whose members include some former paramilitaries. After four years of formal peace negotiations, the Colombian Government signed a final peace accord with the FARC in November 2016, which was subsequently ratified by the Colombian Congress. The accord calls for members of the FARC to demobilize, disarm, and reincorporate into society and politics. The accord also committed the Colombian Government to create three new institutions to form a 'comprehensive system for truth, justice, reparation, and non-repetition,' to include a truth commission, a special unit to coordinate the search for those who disappeared during the conflict, and a 'Special Jurisdiction for Peace' to administer justice for conflict-related crimes. Despite decades of internal conflict and drug-related security challenges, Colombia maintains relatively strong and independent democratic institutions characterized by peaceful, transparent elections and the protection of civil liberties.
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GOVERNMENT
President: Ivan Duque Marquez
Vice President: Marta Lucia Ramirez
Government Type: Unitary Presidential Republic
Capital: Bogota
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GEOGRAPHY
Area Total: 1,138,910 sq km
Land: 1,038,700 sq km
Water: 100,210 sq km
Climate: tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
Natural Resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower
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PEOPLE & SOCIETY
Population: 50.4 million (July 2021 est.)
Population Growth: 1.04% (2021 est.)
Ethnicity: Mestizo and White 87.6%, Afro-Colombian includes Mulatto, Raizal, and Palenquero) 6.8%, Amerindian 4.3%, unspecified 1.4% (2018 est.)
Language: Spanish (official)
Religion: Christian 92.3% (predominantly Roman Catholic), other 1%, unspecified 6.7% (2020 est.)
Urbanization Urban population: 81.7% of total population (2021)
Rate of Urbanization: 1.01% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Source: The World Factbook
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