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National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : ST BNOTES COLOMBIA
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994

AGENCY      : U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
PROGRAM     : BACKGROUND NOTES
TITLE       : Background Notes - COLOMBIA

Source key      : ST
Program key     : ST BNOTES
Update sched.   : Occasionally
Data type       : TEXT
End year        : 1992
Date of record  : 19941018
Keywords 3      :
Keywords 3      : | COLOMBIA

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BACKGROUND NOTES:  COLOMBIA

OFFICIAL NAME:   Republic of Colombia

PROFILE
Geography
Area: 1.14 million sq. km. (440,000 sq. mi.); about the size of Texas,
New Mexico, and Arkansas combined.  Cities: Capital-Bogota (pop.
approx. 5 million).  Other major cities-Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla,
Cartagena.  Terrain: Flat coastal areas, central highlands, mountains,
and eastern plains.  Climate: Tropical on coast and eastern plains,
cooler in highlands.


People
Nationality: Noun and adjective-Colombian(s).  Population (1988):
31.3 million.  Annual growth rate: 1.8%.  Ethnic groups: Mestizo 58%,
white 20%, Mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Indian 3%, Indian
1%.  Religion: Roman Catholic 95%. Language: Spanish.  Education:
Years compulsory-5 (primary school).  Attendance-77% of children
enter, but only one-half of the schools offer the full 5-year cycle.
Only 28% finish primary school.  Literacy-80%.  Health: Infant
mortality rate-56/1,000.  Life expectancy (1987)-67 yrs.  Work force
(14 million):  Agriculture-26%. Industry-21%. Services-58%.


Government
Type: Republic. Constitution: 1886 (amended).  Independence: July
20, 1810.

Branches: Executive-president (chief of state and head of
government).  Legislative-bicameral congress.  Judicial-Supreme
Court.

Administrative divisions: 23 departments; 4 intendencias; 5
comisarias; Bogota special district.

Major political parties: Liberal Party, Social Conservative Party and
Patriotic Union Party (UP)-a political movement formed by the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the communist
party (PCC).  Suffrage: Universal age 18 and over.

Central government budget: $4.5 billion.

Defense: 14% of government budget and 1.9% of GDP.

Flag: Top half yellow, bottom half blue and red stripes of equal width.


Economy
GDP (1988):  $39 billion.  Real GDP growth (1988):  3.7%. Per capita
GDP (1988):  $1,280.  Avg. inflation rate (1988): 28%. Unemployment
(Dec. 1988): 10.3%.

Natural resources:  Coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, nickel,
gold, copper, emeralds.

Agriculture (21% of GDP):  Products-coffee, bananas, cut flowers,
cotton, sugarcane, livestock, rice, corn, tobacco, potatoes,
soybeans, sorghum.  Cultivated land-5% of total land area.

Industry (21% of GDP):  Types-textiles and garments, chemicals,
metal products, cement, cardboard containers, plastic resins and
manufactures, beverages, tourism.

Trade (1988 ):  Exports-$5.3 billion:  coffee, petroleum, gold,
bananas, flowers, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, ferronickel, textiles
and garments, coal and coke, sugar, cardboard containers, printed
matter, cement, plastic resins and manufactures, emeralds.  Major
markets-U.S., F.R.G., Netherlands, Japan.  Imports-$4.5 billion:
machinery/equipment, grains, chemicals, transportation equipment,
mineral products, consumer products, metals/metal products,
plastic/rubber, paper products.  Major suppliers-U.S., Venezuela,
Japan, F.R.G., France.

Official exchange rate:  Crawling devaluation maintained to
compensate for high inflation.  381 pesos=U.S.$1 (June 1989).

Fiscal year: Calendar year.


Membership In International Organizations
UN and most of its specialized and related agencies, including the
World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade (GATT); Organization of American States (OAS);
the Group of Eight; Nonaligned Movement; Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB); Andean Pact; International Coffee
Organization (ICO); Latin American Integration Association (ALADI);
Latin American Economic System (SELA); INTELSAT.


GEOGRAPHY
Located in the northwest corner of South America, Colombia is
bordered by Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Panama.  It is the
continent's fourth largest country and has a coastline of more than
1,448 kilometers (900 mi.) on the Pacific Ocean and 1,760 kilometers
(1,100 mi.) on the Caribbean Sea.

The Andes Mountains enter Colombia in the southwest and fan out
into three distinct ranges running through the country from southwest
to north and northeast. Sprinkled throughout the ranges are some
30 volcanoes.  In November 1985, Volcano Nevado del Ruiz, near
the town of Manizales and about 50 miles west of Bogota, erupted
and caused severe mud slides as the glacier atop the volcano
melted.  The town of Armero was completely inundated, and more
than 20,000 persons were killed.

Colombia has three main topographical regions:
 -- Flat coastal areas broken by the high Sierra Nevada de Santa
Marta mountain range;
 -- Central highlands; and
 --Sparsely settled eastern plains (llanos) drained by tributaries of the
Orinoco and Amazon Rivers.


The climate varies from tropical heat on the coast and the eastern
plains to cool, springlike weather with frequent light rains in the
highlands, which experience two dry seasons, from December to
February and from June to August.  Bogota is 2,630 meters (8,630
ft.) above sea level.  The average daily high temperature is between
18 C and 20 C (64 F-67 F); lows range from 9 C to 11 C (48 F-51 F).


PEOPLE
Colombia is the fourth most populous country in Latin America, after
Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.  Movement from rural to urban areas
has been heavy.  The urban population increased from 57% of the
total population in 1951 to about 70% by 1987.  The nine eastern
departments and territories, constituting about 54% of Colombia's
area, have less than 3% of the population and a density of fewer
than 1 person per square kilometer (2 persons per sq. mi.).  The
country has 30 cities with 100,000 or more inhabitants.

The diversity of ethnic origins results from the intermixture of
indigenous Indians, Spanish colonists, and African slaves.  Today,
only about 1% of the people can be identified as fully Indian on the
basis of language and customs.  Few foreigners have immigrated to
Colombia.  In 1988, an estimated 18,000 U.S. citizens were living
there.


HISTORY
During the pre-Columbian period, the area now known as Colombia
was inhabited by Indians, mostly primitive hunters or nomadic
farmers.  The Chibchas, who lived in the Bogota region, attained the
highest level of civilization among the various Indian groups.
Spaniards first sailed along the north coast of Colombia as early as
1500, but the first permanent settlement, at Santa Marta, was not
established until 1525.

In 1549, the area was established as a Spanish colony with the
capital at Bogota.  In 1717, Bogota became the capital of the
viceroyalty of New Granada, which included what is now Venezuela,
Ecuador, and Panama.  The city became one of the principal
administrative centers of the Spanish possession in the New World,
along with Lima and Mexico City.  On July 20, 1810, the citizens of
Bogota created the first representative council to defy Spanish
authority.  Total independence was proclaimed in 1813, and in 1819
the Republic of Greater Colombia was formed.


The Republic
After the defeat of the Spanish Army, the republic included all the
territory of the former viceroyalty.  Simon Bolivar was elected first
president and Francisco de Paula Santander vice president.  In 1822,
the United States became one of the first countries to recognize the
new republic and to establish a resident diplomatic mission.  Ecuador
and Venezuela withdrew from the republic in 1830 and became
independent states.  Panama remained part of Colombia until 1903.

Since then, two political parties that grew out of conflicts between the
followers of Bolivar and Santander-the Conservatives and the
Liberals-have dominated Colombian politics.  Bolivar's supporters,
who later formed the nucleus of the Conservative Party, advocated
a strong centralized government, a close alliance between the
government and the Roman Catholic Church, and a limited franchise.
Santander's followers, forerunners of the Liberals, wanted a
decentralized government, state rather than church control over
education and other civil matters, and a broadened suffrage.  Those
were the principal topics of political debate throughout the 19th and
early 20th centuries.  The Conservatives established a highly
centralized government.  The Liberals eventually won universal adult
suffrage and a large measure of separation of church and state,
although the Catholic Church still retains some important powers,
such as the right to give religious instruction in all public schools.

Competitively elected Liberal administrations were in power from
1860 to 1884, from 1930 to 1946, and from 1974 to 1982, and from
1986 to the present.  The Conservative Party held office from 1884
to 1930, from 1946 to 1953, and from 1982 to 1986.

Colombia, unlike many Latin American countries, established early
a solid tradition of civilian government and regular free elections.
The military has seized power only three times in Colombian history
- in 1830, 1854, and 1953.  On the first two occasions, the military
dictator was overthrown and civilian rule restored in less than a year.
Colombia has had only one full-fledged civilian dictatorship (1884-94).

Notwithstanding the country's commitment to democratic institutions,
Colombia's history has been characterized by periods of widespread
violent conflict.  Two particularly tragic civil wars resulted from bitter
rivalry between the Conservative and Liberal Parties.  The War of a
Thousand Days (1899-1902) cost an estimated 100,000 lives.  During
La Violencia (the violence) of the 1940s and 1950s, 200,000-300,000
people were killed.

A military coup in 1953 brought Gen. Gustavo Rojas Pinilla to power.
Initially, Rojas enjoyed wide popular support, partly for his success
in reducing La Violencia.  When he did not promptly restore
democratic government, however, he was overthrown in 1957 by the
military with the backing of both political parties, and a provisional
government took office.


The National Front
In July 1957, the  most recently elected Conservative President,
Laureano Gomez (1950-53), and the most recently elected Liberal
President, Alberto Lleras Camargo (1945-46), issued the "Declaration
of Sitges" in which they proposed the formation of a "National Front,"
under which the Liberal and Conservative Parties would jointly
govern.  Through regular elections, the presidency would alternate
between the parties every 4 years; the parties also would have parity
in all other elective and appointive offices.

Colombian voters approved a series of constitutional amendments
necessary to effect these proposals and, in 1958, the provisional
government relinquished power to Lleras Camargo, who had been
elected the first president of the National Front government with 80%
of the vote.  As specified in the National Front agreement, a
Conservative, Guillermo Leon Valencia, was nominated to succeed
Lleras Camargo in 1962; he won 62% of the vote.  Another Liberal,
Lleras Camargo's distant cousin, Carlos Lleras Restrepo, was
elected president in 1966 with 71% of the vote.

The first three National Front presidents brought an end to La
Violencia and the blind partisanship that had afflicted both parties.
They committed Colombia to the far-reaching social and economic
reforms proposed in the charter of the Alliance for Progress and, with
assistance from the United States and the international lending
agencies, achieved major economic development.

In December 1968, after 2 years of effort, President Lleras Restrepo
won congressional ratification of important constitutional reforms,
which abolished a requirement of a two-thirds majority of congress
for passage of major legislation, increased the powers of the
executive branch in economic and development matters, and
provided for a carefully measured transition from the National Front
to traditional two-party competition.

The last president under the National Front's alternating system was
Misael Pastrana, a Conservative elected in 1970, who won the
presidency with 40.3% of the vote, defeating three other candidates.
His closest contender was Gen. Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, the candidate
of the National Popular Alliance (ANAPO), a populist opposition
party.  President Pastrana continued the Lleras administration's
emphasis on social objectives and economic development, giving
high priority to generating employment, primarily by stimulating urban
construction.

The parity arrangement for other offices has since been phased out.
In departmental (state) legislatures and city councils, it ended in
1970, and in the congress, in 1974.  Parity in the appointment of the
cabinet, governors, and mayors continued until 1978.  Although the
parity system established by the Sitges agreement is no longer in
effect, the Colombian Constitution requires that the losing major
political party be given adequate and equitable participation in the
government.  This was done by both Liberal President Turbay, who
took office in 1978, and Conservative President Belisaro Betancur,
elected in 1982.  In 1986, however, the Conservative Party declined
Liberal President Virgilio Barco's offer of three cabinet positions.
Barco's cabinet is the first one-party cabinet in almost three decades.

Leftist parties, including the Communist Party of Colombia, rarely
have obtained more than a few percentage points of total votes cast.
In mid-1985, the Pro-Soviet Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) established a political party, the Patriotic Union (UP).  In the
1986 congressional elections, the UP won six seats in the Senate
and nine in the House; it received 4.3% of the votes in the
presidential elections.  The UP, which has tried to distance itself from
direct identification with the FARC, won 16 of the 1,009 mayoral
positions contested in Colombia's first  popular election of mayors on
March 13, 1988, according to Colombian Government  statistics.


GOVERNMENT
The 1886 constitution has been amended frequently and
substantially.  Major revisions were approved in December 1979, and
a revision enacted in January 1986 provided for the direct election of
mayors.  The Barco administration has presented further major
constitutional amendments to the 1988 session of congress.
Freedom of religion, speech, and assembly, along with other basic
rights, is guaranteed by the constitution.  The national government
has separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches.  Elected for
a 4-year term, the president may not serve consecutive terms.  The
president's extensive powers include appointing cabinet ministers
and departmental and territorial governors without congressional
confirmation.

No vice president as such exists.  Every 2 years, congress elects a
"designate" from the president's party to become acting president in
the event of the president's resignation, illness, or death.  If the
president is unable to serve, the acting president must call new
elections within 3 months.  The designate has no duties, receives no
salary, and may hold other public or private positions while serving
as designate.  If congress fails to elect a designate and the president
cannot serve, the foreign minister becomes acting president.

Colombia's bicameral congress consists of a 114-member Senate
and a 199-member Chamber of Representatives, all elected on the
basis of proportional representation.  Members and alternates are
elected within a few months of or at the same time as the president
but may be reelected indefinitely.  If a member of congress is absent
temporarily or permanently, the seat is taken by the alternate.
Congress meets annually from July 20 to December 16, and the
president may call it into special session at other times.

Judicial power is exercised by the 24-member Supreme Court of
Justice, subordinate courts, and the Council of State.  New Supreme
Court Justices are selected by justices already in office.
Appointments are lifetime until mandatory retirement at age 65.

The country is divided into 23 departments, the Federal District of
Bogota, 4 intendencias, and 5 comisarias (territories of lesser rank
not having local legislatures).  Presidentially appointed governors are
considered agents of the national government, although their powers
are somewhat limited by elected departmental legislatures, which are
elected to 2-year terms.


Principal Government Officials
President-Virgilio Barco Vargas
Ministers
Agriculture-Gabriel Rosas Vega
Communications-Enrique Danies
Economic Development-Maria Mercedes Cuellar de Martinez
Finance and Public Credit-Luis Fernando Alarcon Mantilla
Foreign Relations-Julio Londono Paredes
Government-Carlos Lemos Simmonds
Justice-Roberto Salazar
Labor and Social Security-Maria Teresa Forero De Saade
Mines and Energy- Margarita Mena de Quevedo
National Defense-Gen. Oscar Botero Restrepo
Education-Manuel Francisco Becerra
Health-Eduardo Diaz Uribe
Public Works and Transport-Priscila Ceballos Ordonez
Ambassador to the United States-Victor Mosquera Chaux
Ambassador to the Organization of American States-Leopoldo Villar
Borda
Ambassador to the United Nations- Enrique Penaloza Camargo
Colombia maintains an embassy in the United States at 2118 Leroy
Place,
NW., Washington, D.C.  20008  (tel. [phone]).  Colombian
Consulates are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, East Lake,
Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis,
New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Juan, St.
Louis, Tampa, Washington, and Wheeling.


POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Liberal candidate Alfonso Lopez Michelsen won the 1974 election
with 55% of the vote.   His administration was noted for its efforts to
resolve problems of inflation, unemployment, and inequitable income
distribution while cutting government spending and making it more
efficient.  The Liberals also won the 1978 election behind Julio Cesar
Turbay Ayala, with 49.5% of the vote to the Conservative Party's
46.6%.  Several radical parties split the remainder of the vote.  The
Turbay administration attempted to end the limited but persistent
Cuban-backed insurgency that sought to undermine Colombia's
traditional democratic system.  The success of the government's
efforts enabled Turbay, before leaving office, to lift the state of siege
that had been in effect for most of the previous 30 years.

The Liberals failed in their attempt to win three consecutive
presidencies when they lost the 1982 election behind Alfonso Lopez
Michelsen.  Conservative candidate Belisario Betancur won 47% of
the popular vote to Lopez' 41%.  Luis Carlos Galan, who had split
from the Liberal Party and formed his own New Liberal Party, took
10% of the vote.  The Liberals won a majority of House and Senate
seats from the Conservatives, with leftist front and independent
candidates winning only two seats in each chamber.  In 1988, the
New Liberals were reincorporated into the Liberal Party.

President Betancur raised Colombia's international profile with his
often outspoken opinions on events in Central America through his
position as a member of the Contadora group.  He also stressed
combating Colombia's insurgency through a cease-fire arrangement
that included the release of many guerrillas imprisoned during the
Turbay years.  The cease-fire was signed in 1984 but began to
unravel when the M-19 guerrillas resumed fighting in 1985, by which
time violence had reached levels prior to the cease-fire.

Meanwhile, the growing wealth of Colombian narcotics chiefs in the
early 1980s, from the sale of cocaine to the United States and other
industrialized countries, was accompanied by a marked increase in
the wealth of guerrilla groups, especially the FARC, through their
participation in the illicit cocaine industry.  This wealth has led to a
marked growth in the power of these two illegal entities to operate
with impunity in Colombia.

A vicious attack on the Supreme Court by the M-19 on November
6-7, 1985, shocked Colombia.  Of the 115 people killed, 11 were
Supreme Court Justices.  Although the government and the FARC,
the largest guerrilla group, renewed their truce indefinitely in March
1986, peace with the M-19, the EPL, and dissident factions of other
guerrilla groups seemed remote as Betancur left office.  In
September 1988, President Barco unveiled a new peace plan
requiring insurgents to cease antigovernment violence as a condition
to negotiations.  As of June 1989, the only group to accept this
requirement was the M-19, which currently is negotiating with the
government.

Voters elected Liberal Virgilio Barco to the presidency in 1986 by the
largest margin of victory ever.  The Barco administration has found
that its greatest challenge is from narcotics producers/processors
and guerrillas.  Violence
emanating from both groups has increased sharply.  Like the
Betancur administration from 1984 to 1986, the Barco government
places a high priority on combating the production and trafficking of
illegal narcotics.

Statistics for drug and chemical seizures and cocaine labs destroyed
have steadily risen over time.  In 1986, 4.3 metric tons of cocaine
were seized; in 1988, that figure had reached 15.5 metric tons; as of
April 1989, 23 metric tons had been seized.  Between 1981 and
September 1988, 60 metric tons of cocaine, 17,760 metric tons of
marijuana, and more than 4,000 cocaine labs were destroyed.  Lab
seizures on the Magdalena River in April and May 1988 and January
and February 1989 rivaled the Tranquilandia raids of 1984.  Police
and military units have destroyed numerous other significant labs.
Their antinarcotics activity has grown in scope and effectiveness over
time, spearheaded by a special National Police Anti-Narcotics Unit.
Colombian importance as a marijuana supplier has been reduced
through a vigorous herbicidal eradication program.  More than
38,000 hectares of marijuana have been eradicated.  No safe and
effective herbicide for coca has yet been identified.
Narcotics activity is responsible for most of the violence in Colombia.
Narcotraffickers are at war with the police and the military, with
guerrilla groups (some of which also are involved in narcotics), and
with other drug lords.  Narcotics-related violence includes the
murders of Attorney General Carlos Mauro Hoyos-Jimenez and UP
President Jaime Pardo Leal.  Narcotraffickers also have subverted
and intimidated the Colombian judicial system, and they remain a
pervasive influence in much of Colombian society.

To address the problems of guerrilla violence and political and
economic underdevelopment, the Barco administration has pursued
long-range policies designed to deliver resources to the poorest
areas of the country while bringing them into the political mainstream
of the nation.  The first popular election of mayors in Colombia's
more than 1,000 municipalities took place on March 13, 1988.  This
political reform is expected to extend real power and decisionmaking
to the local level in order to spread the country's democratic
institutions to all areas of the country.  By the early 1980s, it had
become obvious to Colombia's political elite that many democratic
institutions were atrophying; that for democracy to work it had to be
infused with new life through real political competition at the local
level in order to make national level parties more responsive.  The
mayoral elections were carried out peacefully with the Liberals
winning 445 mayoralties, the Conservatives 413, the UP 16, and
other candidates 135.


ECONOMY
During the 1970s, Colombia's industrial development policy shifted
from an emphasis on import substitution toward export expansion
and diversification.  The export share of nontraditional goods such
as clothing, yarns, cut flowers, cardboard, cement, emeralds, sugar,
rice, and cotton has continued to grow.

The economy experienced a real gross domestic product (GDP)
growth rate of 6.1% between 1970 and 1978.  After 1979, GDP
growth declined due to a combination of external and internal factors
that included world economic recession, low prices for many export
goods, depressed domestic demand, increasingly uncompetitive
domestic industry, and high domestic interest rates.  Real GDP
growth bottomed out in 1982 at 1%. In 1984-85, the government
initiated a wideranging structural adjustment program, including trade
liberalization, a sharp currency devaluation, and budget and fiscal
reforms.  The economy responded vigorously, with GDP growth
jumping from 2.4% in 1985 to 5.1% in 1986 and 5.4% in 1987.  The
decrease of the GDP growth rate for 1988 to 3.7% reflects a reduced
coffee harvest, guerrilla disruption of petroleum production, and the
government's tight money policy to control inflation.  The government
is projecting a return to 5% growth for 1989.  Inflation continues to
be one of the chief economic problems with annual rates in the
25%-30% range.

Although Colombia's net international reserves grew to $5.6 billion in
1981, a sharp decline in coffee earnings and a continued rise in
energy import costs caused reserves to drop to roughly $1.8 billion
by the end of 1984.  A sharp improvement in the trade balance-aided
by improved coffee prices and commencement of oil exports-helped
bring the reserve level back up to $3.8 billion by the end of 1988.
The total foreign debt of $16 billion ($13 billion public) is low by
regional standards.  The debt service ratio is estimated at 42% of
exports.  In 1985, the government sought new external financing of
$4.1 billion from multilateral institutions and commercial banks for
1985-86.  In December 1985, Colombia signed a $1 billion
syndicated loan with foreign commercial banks, followed by a similar
loan in 1987, and a final syndication of $1.7 billion to round out
requirement for 1989-90.  The purpose of these loans was to
refinance a bulge in principle repayments occurring during 1987-90.
Long-range prospects for settlement of the country's current external
financing problems appear good, given the promise of major
earnings from energy exports, rapid growth in other exports, and the
country's reputation for conservative financial management.


Mining and Energy
Colombia has substantial mineral and energy resources, including
petroleum, coal, nickel, gold, emeralds, natural gas, and
hydroelectric power.  Colombia became a petroleum exporter in
mid-1986.  Total production has since grown rapidly to more than
430,000 barrels per day (b/d) in early 1989 (when not disrupted by
guerrilla attacks), leaving about 200,000 b/d for export after domestic
consumption.

Coal also is becoming an important energy source and export
commodity.  Excellent thermic quality, low sulphur and ash content,
and geographic location make Colombian coal an attractive energy
source for world consumers.  From 1 million tons in 1984, exports
have increased to 11 million in 1988. Exports are expected to
continue rising to 20 million tons a year by 1993.  At the same time,
coal is expected to play an increasingly important role in meeting
domestic energy needs.  Colombia has an estimated 4% of world
nickel production and 15% of world ferronickel production.  Earnings
from exports of ferronickel totaled $180 million in 1988, due to a
sharp price increase but may drop again as prices decline.

Colombia produces 90% of the world's supply of emeralds and is an
important producer of gold and platinum.  Other mineral resources
include iron ore, phosphate rock, limestone, gypsum, and salt.


Trade
Coffee remains the single most important item in Colombia's export
sector, although its share in total export earnings has dropped
sharply in recent years, from more than half to 30% in 1988.  The
world's second largest coffee producer, Colombia produces 11-13
million bags (60 kilograms each) a year, or 12%-15% of the world's
coffee.  Coffee normally earns Colombia about $1.5 billion a year;
due to drought in Brazil, such earnings in 1986 exceeded $2.7 billion.

Colombian exports (f.o.b.) in 1988 were $5.3 billion, only slightly
higher than $5.25 billion in 1984, due to lower oil export volume and
prices.  The United States receives the largest share of Colombia's
exports, followed by West Germany, Venezuela, Netherlands, Japan,
and Sweden.

Colombian imports (f.o.b.), consisting primarily of wheat, aircraft,
transportation equipment, electric generators, iron, steel, and
aluminum, were $4.5 billion in 1988, up from $3.8 billion in 1987.
More than one-third of Colombian imports come from the United
States.  Other major suppliers (none with more than 10% share) are
Japan, West Germany, Venezuela, Brazil, and France.


Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Industry
Agriculture employs 26% of Colombia's labor force while contributing
22% of total GDP.  Because of Colombia's diverse climate and
topography, various crops can be grown.  Cacao, sugarcane,
coconuts, bananas, plantains, rice, cotton, tobacco, cassava, and
most of the nation's cattle are produced in the hot regions-from sea
level to 1,000 meters (3,300 ft.).  The temperate regions-1,000-2,000
meters (3,300-6,600 ft.)-are better suited for coffee, flowers, corn and
other vegetables, and fruits such as citrus, pears, pineapples, and
tomatoes.  The cold regions-2,000-3,000 meters (6,600-9,900 ft.)-
produce wheat, barley, potatoes, cold-climate vegetables, dairy
cattle, and poultry.  All of these regions yield various forest products,
ranging from tropical hardwoods in the hot country to pine and
eucalyptus in the colder areas.

The most industrialized member of the five-nation Andean Pact,
Colombia has four major industrial centers-Barranquilla, Cali,
Medellin, and Bogota-located in distinct geographical regions.  The
most important manufacturing industries are textiles and clothing,
food processing (including beverages), paper and paper products,
chemicals and petrochemicals, cement and construction, iron and
steel products, and metalworking.


Foreign Investment
The government actively promotes foreign investment.  As of
December 1988, total registered direct foreign investment was $3
billion, excluding petroleum activities, of which the U.S. share was
$2.5 billion.


FOREIGN RELATIONS
Colombia traditionally has sought friendly diplomatic and commercial
relations with all countries, regardless of their ideologies or political
or economic systems.  In 1983, Colombia joined Venezuela, Mexico,
and Panama in the Contadora group, which has attempted to find a
comprehensive peace settlement in Central America, and assumed
a role as mediator between creditor countries and Latin American
debtor nations.  In 1982, Colombia joined the Nonaligned Movement.

President Barco's has pursued a less dramatic role in foreign affairs
than his predecessor.  He has stressed the continued pursuit of
peaceful relations with all countries, increased cooperation and
consultation with other Latin American countries, especially regarding
increased international cooperation in the fight against illicit narcotics
trafficking through membership in the Group of Eight.  Colombia was
elected by consensus of the Latin American group to a 2-year term
on the UN Security Council.  Through Foreign Minister Julio
Londono, President Barco also is pursuing reforms in the structure
of the Foreign Ministry designed to improve the implementation of
foreign policy.

Colombia has played an active role in the United Nations and the
Organization of American States (OAS) and their subsidiary agencies.
It was the only Latin American country to contribute troops to the UN
force in the Korean war.  Former President Alberto Lleras Camargo
was the first Secretary General of the OAS (1948-54).  President
Betancur also played a role in improving international trade
conditions for developing countries through the International Coffee
Organization (which he helped found), the Latin American Integration
Association (ALADI), the Inter-American Economic and Social
Council, and other international economic forums.

Colombia led negotiations that resulted in the signing at Bogota, on
May 26, 1969, of an agreement for the gradual development of the
Andean Common Market, a subregional grouping within ALADI,
whose goal is to reduce trade barriers among the Andean countries
and coordinate economic policies. Other members are Ecuador,
Peru, Bolivia, and Venezuela.


DEFENSE
Colombia's Ministry of Defense is charged with the country's internal
and external defense and security.  The army, navy, air force, and
national police are under the leadership of the Minister of National
Defense (normally an army general).  A small marine corps is part of
the navy.  Jointly they serve as the country's armed forces and
number about 220,000 uniformed personnel-135,000 military; 85,000
police.

Many Colombian military personnel have received training in the
United States or in U.S. military schools in the former Panama Canal
Zone.  Over the years, the United States has provided equipment to
the Colombian military through the military assistance program or
through foreign military sales.


U.S.-COLOMBIAN RELATIONS
Under President Barco, Colombia and the United States have
maintained good relations in general and have increased bilateral
cooperation in the area of illicit narcotics.

Generally, the record of U.S.-Colombian relations has been one of
constructive cooperation.  Between 1961 and 1974, the United States
provided Colombia $1.4 billion in development assistance-much of
it through the Alliance for Progress-for land reform, education, health,
housing, transportation, and electrification.  More recently, the two
governments have closely cooperated in narcotics control efforts.  A
longstanding problem between the United States and Colombia was
the status of three small, uninhabited islands in the Caribbean.  It
was finally resolved in 1981 with the ratification of the Quita Sueno
treaty, in which the United States renounced all claims to the islands
without prejudicing the claims of third parties.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador-Thomas E. McNamara
Deputy Chief of Mission-J. Phillip McLean
Political Counselor-David L. Hobbs
Economic Counselor-Robert Bruce McMullen
Commercial Attache-Arthur Trezise
Administrative Counselor-George Lowe
Defense Attache-Col. Eugene E. Bouley, Jr.

Agricultural Attache-Larry M. Senger Public Affairs Officer
(USIS)-Howard A. Lane
Consul, Barranquilla-Ross E. Benson
The U.S. Embassy in Colombia is located at Calle 37, No. 3-40,
Bogota  (tel. [phone]).  The U.S. Consulate in Barranquilla is
located at the Centro Comercial Mayorista, Calle 77 Carrera 68 (tel.
545-7088).  The mailing address for the embassy and the consulate
is APO  Miami 34038.

TRAVEL NOTES
Travel Advisory:  Because of sporadic guerrilla activity, travel in
certain areas may be hazardous.  Before traveling to Colombia, it is
recommended that persons check with the nearest U.S. Consulate
or with the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, in
Washington, D.C., for the latest information.

Climate and clothing:  Climatic variations depend on altitude.  Knits
and lightweight woolens are suitable in Bogota.

Customs:  A passport is required for travel to Colombia.  Tourists
may enter and stay in Colombia for 30 days on a tourist card
provided by the airlines serving Colombia, providing the tourist has
a booked round trip passage.  For a stay beyond 30 days, tourists
must obtain a visa from the nearest Colombian Embassy or
Consulate.

Health:  Medical facilities are satisfactory; many doctors have been
trained in the United States and speak English.  Common medicines
are available.  Tapwater is not always safe in large cities; food should
be prepared carefully.

Telecommunications:  Long-distance telephone and telegraph service
is available.  Colombia is in the eastern standard time zone but does
not use daylight saving time during the summer.

Transportation:  Flights to Bogota, Barranquilla, Cali, Medellin, and
Cartagena are easy to arrange from the United States, Europe, and
Latin America.  Local air service is also available.  Buses provide
service throughout the country.  Taxis provide the most reliable
public transportation in cities.

Tourist attractions:  The Bogota Gold Museum and the Caribbean
resort of Cartagena, with its 17th century fortifications.

National holidays: Establishments, including the U.S. Embassy, may
be closed on the following holidays:

New Year's Day                              January 1
Epiphany                                       January 11*
St. Joseph's Day                              March 21*
Holy Thursday                                  March 31*
Good Friday                                          April 1*
Labor Day                                             May 1
Ascension Day                                    May 16*
Corpus Christi                                      June 6*
Feast of the Sacred Heart                  June 13*
Saints Peter and Paul                            July 4*
Independence Day                               July 20
Battle of Boyaca                                August 7
Assumption Day                              August 15*
Columbus Day                               October 17*
All Saints' Day                              November 7*
Independence of Cartagena       November 14*
Feast of the Immaculate
  Conception                                 December 8
Christmas Day                            December 25

*Date given for 1988; exact day varies each year.


FURTHER INFORMATION
These titles are provided as a general indication of material published
on this country.  Department of State does not endorse unofficial
publications.


Bagley, Bruce M. "Colombia: National Front and Economic
Development," Robert Wesson, ed., Politics,Policies and Economic
Development in Latin America. Stanford: Hoover Press, 1984.

Berquist, Charles W.  Coffee and Conflict in Colombia 1886-1910.
Durham: Duke University Press 1978.

Berry, R.A. et al (eds.).  Politics of Compromise:  Coalition
Government in Colombia.  New Brunswick: Transaction, 1980.

Braun, Herbert.  The Assassination of Gaitan:  Public Life and Urban
Violence in Colombia.  Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1985.

Corr, Edwin G.  The Political Process in Colombia. Denver: University
of Denver Press, 1972.

Craig, Richard B.  "Colombian Narcotics and United
States-Colombian Relations."  Journal of Inter-American Studies and
World Affairs 23. No. 3 (Aug. 1981):  243-270.

Dix, Robert H.  The Politics of Colombia.  New York: Praeger
publishers, 1987.

Garcia Marquez, Gabriel.  One Hundred Years of Solitude. New York:
Avon publishers, 1972.

Hartlyn, Jonathan.  "Military Governments and the Transition to
Civilian Rule: The Colombian Experience of 1957-58."  Journal of
Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 26. No. 2 (May 1984):
245-81.

"Colombia: Old Problems, New Opportunities." Current History. vol.
82 (Feb. 1983), pp. 62-55, 83-83.

Henderson, James D.  When Colombia Bled: A History of the
Violence in Tolima.  Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1985.

Hirschman, A.O.  "Land Use and Land Reform in Colombia."
Journeys Toward Progress.  New York:  W.W. Norton and Co., 1973,
Chap. 2, pp. 95-158.

Kline, Harvey F.  Colombia: Portrait of Unity and Diversity. Boulder:
Westview Press, 1983.

 "New Directions in Colombia."  Current History 84. No. 499 (Feb.
1985): pp. 65-68.

Levine, Daniel H.  Religion and Politics in Latin America: The Catholic
Church in Venezuela and Colombia. Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1981.

Medhurst, Kenneth N.  The Church and Labour in Colombia.
Manchester:  University of Manchester, 1984.

Oquist, Paul.  Violence, Conflict and Politics in  Colombia.  New York:
Academic Press, 1980.

Palacios, Marco.  Coffee in Colombia, 1850-1970.  Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1980.

Premo, Daniel.  "Colombia: Cool Friendship."  Robert Wesson, ed.
U.S. Influence in Latin America in the 1980s. Chap. 6.  New York:
Praeger, 1982.

Urrutia, Miguel.  The Development of the Colombian Labor
Movement.  New Haven: Yale University Press, 1969.

U.S. Department of State.  Colombia Post Report. Oct. 1987.

World Bank.  Colombia: Economic Development and Policy Under
Changing Conditions.  Washington: World Bank, 984.

Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S.Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC  20402:
American University.  Area Handbook for Colombia. 1977.

U.S. Department of Commerce.  Foreign Economic Trends
-Colombia. International Marketing Information Pamphlets on
Colombia, including a monthly newsletter, "Colombia Today," are
available without  charge from the Colombia Information Service, 140
East 57th Street, New York, NY 10022 (tel. [phone]).


Published by the United States Department of State --  Bureau of
Public Affairs  -- Office of  Public Communication -- Washington, D.C.
-- February 1990 -- Editor:  Juanita Adams -- Department of State
Publication 7767 -- Background Notes Series  -- This material is in
the public domain and may  be reprinted without permission; citation
of this source is appreciated.  For sale by the Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
20402.