Colombia | Facts & Information

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

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Facts & Figures

  • Official name: Republic of Colombia (República de Colombia)

    Land area: 401,042 sq mi (1,038,699 sq km)

    Total area: 439,736 sq mi (1,138,910 sq km)

    President: Ivan Duque (2018)

    Vice President: Marta Lucia Ramirez Blanco (2018)

    Current government officials

    Population (2022 est.): 49,059,221 (growth rate: .59%); birth rate: 15.21/1000; infant mortality rate: 11.65/1000; life expectancy: 74.89

    Capital and largest city (2022 est.): Santafé de Bogotá, 11.344 million

    Other large cities: Medellín, 4.068 million; Cali, 2.837 million; Barranquilla, 2.325 million; Bucaramanga, 1.366 million, Cartagena, 1.079 million (2018)

    Currency: Colombian Peso

    National Holiday: Independence Day (7/20)

    Nationality/Demonym: Colombian (Colombiano/a)

    Languages: Spanish (official) 99.2%

    Ethnicity/race: Mestizo and White 87.6%, Afro-Colombian (includes Mulatto, Raizal, and Palenquero) 6.8%, Amerindian 4.3%, unspecified 1.4% (2018 est.)

    Religions: Christian 92.3% (predominantly Roman Catholic), other 1%, unspecified 6.7% (2020 est.)

    Literacy rate: 95.6% (2020 est.)

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2020 est.): $683.94 billion; per capita $13,400. Real growth rate: 3.26%. Inflation: 3.5%. Unemployment: 10.5%. Arable land: 1.4%. Agriculture: coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp. Labor force: 19.309 million (2020); agriculture 17%, industry 21%, services 62% (2011 est.). Industries: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower. Exports: $39.14 billion (2020 est.): petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers. Export Partners: United States 31%, China 11%, Panama 6%, Ecuador 5% (2019). Imports: $51.56 billion (2020 est.): industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity. Import Partners: U.S., Venezuela, China, Mexico, Brazil, Netherlands, Panama, Spain (2012).

    Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 6.291 million (2012); mobile cellular: 49.066 million (2012). Broadcast media: combination of state-owned and privately owned broadcast media provide service; more than 500 radio stations and many national, regional, and local TV stations (2007). Internet hosts: United States 27%, China 20%, Mexico 7%, Brazil 6% (2019).

    Transportation: Railways: total: 2,141 km (2019). Highways: total: 205,379 km; (2020). Waterways: 24,725 km (2019). Ports and harbors: Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Muelles El Bosque, Puerto Bolivar, Santa Marta, Turbo. Airports: 836 (2021 est.).

    International disputes: in December 2007, ICJ allocated San Andres, Providencia, and Santa Catalina islands to Colombia under 1928 Treaty but did not rule on 82 degrees W meridian as maritime boundary with Nicaragua; managed dispute with Venezuela over maritime boundary and Venezuelan-administered Los Monjes Islands near the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics, guerrilla, and paramilitary activities penetrate all neighboring borders and have caused Colombian citizens to flee mostly into neighboring countries; Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Jamaica, and the US assert various claims to Bajo Nuevo and Serranilla Bank.

    Major sources and definitions

See also: