Colombia




                                 Geography


Location:
     Northern South America, between Panama and Venezuela
Map references:
     Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Standard Time Zones
     of the World
Area:
total area:
     1,138,910 sq km
land area:
     1,038,700 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly less than three times the size of Montana
note:
     includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla
     Bank
Land boundaries:
     total 7,408 km, Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru
     2,900 km, Venezuela 2,050 km
Coastline:
     3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km)
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
     not specified
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela;
     territorial dispute with Nicaragua over Archipelago de San Andres y
     Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank
Climate:
     tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
Terrain:
     flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains,
     eastern lowland plains
Natural resources:
     petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds
Land use:
arable land:
     4%
permanent crops:
     2%
meadows and pastures:
     29%
forest and woodland:
     49%
other:
     16%
Irrigated land:
     5,150 sq km (1989 est.)




Environment:
current issues:
     deforestation; soil damage from overuse of pesticides
natural hazards:
     highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; periodic droughts
international agreements:
     party to - Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Marine Life
     Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
     Pollution, Tropical Timber; signed, but not ratified -
     Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
     Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping
Note:
     only South American country with coastlines on both North Pacific
     Ocean and Caribbean Sea


                                  People


Population:
     35,577,556 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     1.77% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     22.64 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     4.75 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     28.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     72.1 years
male:
     69.33 years
female:
     74.95 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     2.47 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Colombian(s)
adjective:
     Colombian
Ethnic divisions:
     mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Indian 3%,
     Indian 1%
Religions:
     Roman Catholic 95%
Languages:
     Spanish
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     87%




male:
     88%
female:
     86%
Labor force:
     12 million (1990)
by occupation:
     services 46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Colombia
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republica de Colombia
local short form:
Digraph:
     CO
Type:
     republic; executive branch dominates government structure
Capital:
     Bogota
Administrative divisions:
     32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital
     district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico,
     Bogota*, Bolivar, Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar,
     Choco, Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira,
     Magdalena, Meta, Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio,
     Risaralda, San Andres y Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle
     del Cauca, Vaupes, Vichada
Independence:
     20 July 1810 (from Spain)
National holiday:
     Independence Day, 20 July (1810)
Constitution:
     5 July 1991
Legal system:
     based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures
     was enacted in 1992-93; judicial review of executive and legislative
     acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
     President Cesar GAVIRIA Trujillo (since 7 August 1990);
     President-designate Juan Manuel SANTOS (since NA 1993); election last
     held 27 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994); results - Cesar GAVIRIA
     Trujillo (Liberal Party) 47%, Alvaro GOMEZ Hurtado (National Salvation
     Movement) 24%, Antonio NAVARRO Wolff (AD/M-19) 13%, Rodrigo LLOREDA
     (Conservative Party) 12%




note:
     a new government will be inaugurated on 7 August 1994; the
     presidential election of 29 May 1994 resulted in no candidate
     receiving more than 50% of the total vote and a run-off election to
     select a president from the two leading candidates was held on 19 June
     1994; results - Ernesto SAMPER Pizano (Liberal Party) 50.4%, Andres
     PASTRANA Arango (Conservative Party) 48.6%, blank votes 1%; Humberto
     de la CALLE was elected vice president; electing a vice president is a
     new proceedure that replaces the traditional appointment of
     president-designates by newly elected presidents
cabinet:
     Cabinet
Legislative branch:
     bicameral Congress (Congreso)
Senate (Senado):
     elections last held 13 March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1998);
     preliminary results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (102 total)
     Liberal Party 59, conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and NDF) 31, other
     12
House of Representatives (Camara de Representantes):
     elections last held 13 March 1994 (next to be held NA March 1998);
     preliminary results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (161 total)
     Liberal Party 89, conservatives (includes PC, MSN, and NDF) 53,
     AD/M-19 2, other 17
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justical), Constitutional
     Court, Council of State
Political parties and leaders:
     Liberal Party (PL), Ernesto SAMPER Pizano, president; Conservative
     Party (PC), Misael PASTRANA Borrero; National Salvation Movement
     (MSN), Alvaro GOMEZ Hurtado; New Democratic Force (NDF), Andres
     PASTRANA Arango; Democratic Alliance M-19 (AD/M-19) is a coalition of
     small leftist parties and dissident liberals and conservatives;
     Patriotic Union (UP) is a legal political party formed by
     Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Colombian Communist
     Party (PCC), Carlos ROMERO
Other political or pressure groups:
     three insurgent groups are active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed
     Forces of Colombia (FARC), Manuel MARULANDA and Alfonso CANO; National
     Liberation Army (ELN), Manuel PEREZ; and dissidents of the recently
     demobilized People's Liberation Army (EPL), Francisco CARABALLO;
     Francisco CARABALLO was captured by the government in June 1994
Member of:
     AG, CDB, CG, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-11, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA,
     IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
     INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS,
     ONUSAL, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNPROFOR,
     UNTAC, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Gabriel SILVA
chancery:
     2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
     (202) 387-8338




FAX:
     (202) 232-8643
consulate(s) general:
     Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York,
     San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Washington
consulate(s):
     Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Tampa
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Morris D. BUSBY
embassy:
     Calle 38, No. 8-61, Bogota
mailing address:
     Apartado Aereo 3831, Bogota or APO AA 34038
telephone:
     [57] (1) 320-1300
FAX:
     [57] (1) 288-5687
consulate(s):
     Barranquilla
Flag:
     three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue, and red;
     similar to the flag of Ecuador, which is longer and bears the
     Ecuadorian coat of arms superimposed in the center


                                  Economy


Overview:
     Colombia's economic growth has recovered steadily since 1991 as
     President GAVIRIA'S sweeping economic reform measures have taken hold.
     Market reforms have included trade and investment liberalization,
     labor and tax overhauls and bureaucratic streamlining, among other
     things. Furthermore, conservative fiscal and monetary policies have
     helped to steadily reduce inflation to 23% and unemployment to about
     7% in 1993. The rapid development of oil, coal, and other
     nontraditional industries has helped offset the decline in coffee
     prices. A major oil find in 1993 in eastern Colombia may provide an
     extra $3 billion annually to the economy by 1997. Increased foreign
     investment and even greater domestic activity have been hampered,
     however, by a troublesome rural insurgency, a decrepit energy and
     transportation infrastructure, and drug-related violence. Agriculture
     also has encountered problems in adjusting to fewer subsidies, greater
     competition, and the collapse of the international coffee agreement,
     which has kept world coffee prices at near-record lows in 1991-93.
     Business construction was a leading sector in 1993. The substantial
     trade deficit in 1993 was the result of a strong peso that inhibited
     exports and a liberalized government policy that spurred imports.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $192 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     5.1% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
     $5,500 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     22.6% (1993 est.)




Unemployment rate:
     7.9% (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
     $11 billion
expenditures:
     $12 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.2 billion (1993
     est.)
Exports:
     $6.9 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities:
     petroleum, coffee, coal, bananas, fresh cut flowers
partners:
     US 39%, EC 25.7%, Japan 2.9%, Venezuela 8.5% (1992)
Imports:
     $6.7 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
commodities:
     industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods,
     chemicals, paper products
partners:
     US 36%, EC 18%, Brazil 4%, Venezuela 6.5%, Japan 8.7% (1992)
External debt:
     $17 billion (1992)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 2% (1993 est.); accounts for 21% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     10,193,000 kW
production:
     36 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     1,050 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages,
     chemicals, metal products, cement; mining - gold, coal, emeralds,
     iron, nickel, silver, salt
Agriculture:
     growth rate 2.7% (1993 est.) accounts for 21% of GDP; crops make up
     two-thirds and livestock one-third of agricultural output; climate and
     soils permit a wide variety of crops, such as coffee, rice, tobacco,
     corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseeds, vegetables; forest products
     and shrimp farming are becoming more important
Illicit drugs:
     illicit producer of coca, opium, and cannabis; about 37,100 hectares
     of coca under cultivation; the world's largest processor of coca
     derivatives into cocaine in 1992; supplier of cocaine to the US and
     other international drug markets
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.6 billion; Western
     (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.3
     billion; Communist countries (1970-89),  $399 million
Currency:
     1 Colombian peso (Col$) = 100 centavos




Exchange rates:
     Colombian pesos (Col$) per US$1 - 921.20 (January 1994), 863.06
     (1993), 759.28 (1992), 633.05 (1991), 502.26 (1990), 382.57 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     3,386 km; 3,236 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track (2,611 km in use),
     150 km 1.435-meter gauge
Highways:
total:
     128,717 km (1989)
paved:
     10,330 km
unpaved:
     gravel/earth 118,387 km
Inland waterways:
     14,300 km, navigable by river boats
Pipelines:
     crude oil 3,585 km; petroleum products 1,350 km; natural gas 830 km;
     natural gas liquids 125 km
Ports:
     Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Covenas, San Andres, Santa
     Marta, Tumaco
Merchant marine:
     27 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 211,777 GRT/335,763 DWT, bulk 7,
     cargo 11, container 6, oil tanker 3
Airports:
total:
     1,369
usable:
     1,156
with permanent-surface runways:
     73
with runways over 3,659 m:
     1
with runways 2,440-2,659 m:
     9
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     205
Telecommunications:
     nationwide radio relay system; 1,890,000 telephones; broadcast
     stations - 413 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 28 shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean
     INTELSAT earth stations and 11 domestic satellite earth stations


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, including Marines),
     Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana), National Police (Policia
     Nacional)




Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 9,639,080; fit for military service 6,507,935; reach
     military age (18) annually 354,944 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $1.2 billion (1992 est.)