Colombia

Colombia

AREA	1,141,748 sq km (440,831 sq miles).
POPULATION	40,214,723 (1997).
POPULATION DENSITY	35.2 per sq km.
CAPITAL	Santa Fe de Bogotá
CAPITAL POPULATION	6,004,782 (1997).
GEOGRAPHY	Colombia is situated in South America, bounded 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 Andrés Pastrana Arango.
LANGUAGE	Spanish is the official language. Local Indian dialects and some English, French, German and Italian are also spoken.
RELIGION	95% Roman Catholic; small Protestant and Jewish minorities.
STANDARD TIME	GMT - 5.
ELECTRICITY	Mostly 110/120 volts AC, 60Hz. American-style 2-pin plugs are common.

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