Discovering the World
Colombia 🇨🇴
Basic facts
Official name: República de Colombia (Republic of Colombia)
Capital city: Bogotá
Population: 52 million (2023)
Demonym: Colombian
Type of government: unitary presidential republic
Head of state and government: Gustavo Petro (President)
Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity): $1.04 trillion (2024)
Gini coefficient of wealth inequality: 54.2% (high) (2020)
Human Development Index: 0.758 (high) (2022)
Currency: Colombian peso (COP)
Fun fact: Medellín was the first city in the world to use cable cars for mass transit.
Etymology
The country’s name comes from Christopher Columbus’s last name.
Geography
Colombia is located in South America and borders the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuela to the east, Brazil to the southeast, Peru to the south, Ecuador to the southwest, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Panama to the northwest.
There are six main climates: hot desert and hot steppe in the northernmost part, dry-winter tropical savanna in the north and east, tropical monsoon in the east, subtropical highland in the west, and tropical rainforest in the rest. Temperatures range from 7 °C (44.6 °F) in winter to 39 °C (102.2 °F) in summer. The average annual temperature is 27 °C (80.6 °F).
The country is divided into 32 departments (departamentos) and one capital district (distrito capital). The largest cities in Colombia are Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, and Cartagena.
History
4000 BCE-1600 CE: Tairona culture
200 BCE-400 CE: Calima culture
200 BCE-1600 CE: Tierradentro culture; Zenú civilization
800-1540: Muisca Confederation
1502-1550: Spanish conquest
1498-1542: Province of Tierra Firme
1542-1717: Viceroyalty of Peru
1717-1810: Viceroyalty of New Granada
1810-1816: United Provinces of New Granada
1810-1825: Colombian War of Independence
1819-1831: Gran Colombia
1831-1858: Republic of New Granada
1858-1863: Granadine Confederation
1863-1886: United States of Colombia
1886-present: Republic of Colombia
1899-1902: Thousand Days’ War
1948-1958: Colombian Civil War
1953: coup d’état
1957: military coup
1964-2016: Colombian internal armed conflict
Economy
Colombia mainly imports from the United States, China, and Mexico and exports to the United States, Panama, and China. Its top exports are crude oil, coffee, and flowers.
It is rich in natural resources, including coal, emeralds, gold, and oil. Services represent 62.1% of the GDP, followed by industry (30.8%) and agriculture (7.2%).
Colombia is a member of the Andean Community, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Organization of American States, the Organization of Ibero-American States, and the Pacific Alliance.
Demographics
50.3% of the population identifies as Mestizo, 26.4% as white, 9.5% as indigenous, and 9% as Black. The main religion is Christianity, practiced by 87% of the population, 70.2% of which is Catholic.
It has a negative net migration rate and a fertility rate of 1.7 children per woman. 77% of the population lives in urban areas. Life expectancy is 79 years and the median age is 27.7 years. The literacy rate is 99.4%.
Languages
The official language of the country is Spanish. English has official status in a group of islands in the Caribbean. The most widely spoken indigenous languages are Emberá, Páez, and Wayuu.
Culture
Colombian culture has African, Caribbean, Native American, and Spanish influences. Members of the extended family are close, and children live near their parents.
Men traditionally wear a cotton shirt, twill pants, a kerchief around the neck, and a brimmed hat. Women wear a cotton blouse with ruffles or lace, a long, flowing skirt (pollera), and sandals.
Architecture
Traditional houses in Colombia have brick and stone walls, tiled roofs, and balconies or verandas.
Cuisine
The Colombian diet is based on corn, fish, meat, potato, rice, and vegetables. Typical dishes include ajiaco (a soup made with chicken and potatoes), arroz de lisa (rice with mullet and onion served in a leaf with a bun made from corn or potato), bandeja paisa (a dish of banana, fried egg, meat, red beans, and rice), carimañolas (meat pies in a torpedo-shaped yuca fritter stuffed with cheese or meat), and torta María Luisa (a layered cake with berry jam between layers and icing sugar on top).
Holidays and festivals
Like other Christian countries, Colombia celebrates Epiphany on January 6, Saint Joseph’s Day on March 19, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Ascension Day, Corpus Christi, Sacret Heart, Saint Peter and Saint Paul on June 29, Assumption Day, All Saints’ Day, Immaculate Conception, and Christmas Day. It also commemorates New Year’s Day and Labor Day.
Specific Colombian holidays include Declaration of Independence on July 20, Battle of Boyacá on August 7, Columbus Day on October 12, and Independence of Cartagena on November 11.
Declaration of Independence
Other celebrations include the Barranquilla Carnival, which is the second-largest carnival celebration in the world; the Flowers Festival, where people create beautiful artwork out of flowers and carry it on their backs, and Vallenato Festival, which features poetry and storytelling.
Flowers Festival
Landmarks
There are nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Chiribiquete National Park, Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, Historic Center of Santa Cruz de Mompox, Los Katíos National Park, Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary, National Archeological Park of Tierradentro, Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments in Cartagena, Qhapaq Ñan, the Andean road system, and San Agustín Archeological Park.
Chiribiquete National Park
Other landmarks include the Cartagena Cathedral; Los Estoraques, which has large brownstone columns; the Monserrate Church; San Felipe de Barajas Castle, and the Tatacoa Desert.
Cartagena Cathedral
Famous people
Amelia Toro - fashion designer
Angela Becerra - poet and writer
Fernando Botero - sculptor
Gabriel García Márquez - writer
James Rodríguez - soccer player
Maluma - singer
Shakira - singer
Sofía Gómez Uribe - freediver
Sofía Vergara - actress
Víctor Gaviria - movie director
Amelia Toro
You can find out more about life in Colombia in this post and this video.
