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Country Guide > South America > Colombia | |
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General Information Area 1,141,748 sq km (440,831 sq miles).
Population 44,583,577 (official estimate 2003). Population Density 39.0 per sq km. Capital Santa Fe de Bogotá. Population: 6,260,862 (1999). Geography Colombia is situated in South America, bordered to the north by the Caribbean, to the northwest by Panama, to the west by the Pacific Ocean, to the southwest by Ecuador and Peru, to the northeast by Venezuela and to the southeast by Brazil. The Andes Mountains extend into the country in three ranges running south to north, dipping finally into the lowlands of the Caribbean coast. Along the southern part of the Pacific coast run wide, marshy lowlands rising to a relatively low but rugged mountain chain. East of this range, the southwestern coastal lowlands extend in a low trough running from the port of Buenaventura on the Pacific coast to the Caribbean. East of this rise the slopes of the Western Cordillera which, with the Central Cordillera range, runs north to the Caribbean lowlands from Ecuador, separated by a valley, filled in the south by volcanic ash to a height of 2500m (8202ft). Further north lies the fertile Cauca Valley, which extends to Cartago where it becomes a deep gorge running between the Cordilleras to the Caribbean lowlands. The Eastern Cordillera, the longest range, rises north of the Ecuadorean border and runs north then northeast towards Venezuela. Flat grassy prairies in the east along with the jungles and towering rainforests of the Amazon make up over half the country’s area. There are also two small islands, San Andrés and Providencia, located 700km (430 miles) north of the Colombian coast, that have belonged to Colombia since 1822. Government Republic. Gained independence from Spain in 1819. Head of State and Government: President Álvaro Uribe Vélez since 2002. Language Spanish is the official language. Local Indian dialects and some English, French, German and Italian are also spoken. Religion Christianity, with 92 per cent Roman Catholic; small Protestant and Jewish minorities. Time GMT - 5. Electricity Mostly 110 volts AC, 60Hz. American-style two-pin plugs. Communications Telephone IDD service to most areas; calls to smaller centres must be made through the international operator. Country code: 57. Outgoing international code: 90. Many public telephones now work only with phone cards produced by Empresa de Teléfonos de Bogotá (ETB), which can be bought in many shops and kiosks. Mobile telephone AMPS/TDMA networks exist. Operators include Bellsouth (website: www.bellsouth.com.co) and Comcel (website: www.tvcable.com). Fax Hotels have facilities. Internet ISPs include Cablenet (website: www.cable.net.co). Internet cafes exist in the main cities. Telegram Facilities are available through national ENDT telecommunications offices. Post Post offices are marked Correos. Post office opening hours: Mon-Sat 0800-1200. There are two types of service: urban post (green letter boxes) and inter-urban and international (yellow boxes). Letters and packets sent by airmail normally take five to seven days to reach their destination. Press Spanish dailies include El Espacio, El Nuevo Siglo, La República and El Tiempo. Radio BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online. |
