Portal:Colombia

The Colombia Portal

Republic of Colombia
República de Colombia  (Spanish)
Location of Colombia (dark green) in South America (grey)
Location of Colombia (dark green)

in South America (grey)

ISO 3166 codeCO

Colombia (/kəˈlʌmbiə/ , /-ˈlɒm-/; Spanish: [koˈlombja] ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country mostly in South America with insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuela to the east and northeast, Brazil to the southeast, Ecuador and Peru to the south and southwest, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Panama to the northwest. Colombia is divided into 32 departments. The Capital District of Bogotá is also the country's largest city hosting the main financial and cultural hub. Other major urbes include Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Cúcuta, Ibagué, Villavicencio and Bucaramanga. It covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers (440,831 sq mi), and has a population of around 52 million. Its rich cultural heritage—including language, religion, cuisine, and art—reflects its history as a colony, fusing cultural elements brought by mass immigration from Europe and the Middle East, with those brought by the African diaspora, as well as with those of the various Indigenous civilizations that predate colonization. Spanish is the official language, although English and 64 other languages are recognized regionally.

Colombia has been home to many indigenous peoples and cultures since at least 12,000 BCE. The Spanish first landed in La Guajira in 1499, and by the mid-16th century they had colonized much of present-day Colombia, and established the New Kingdom of Granada, with Santa Fé de Bogotá as its capital. Independence from the Spanish Empire was achieved in 1819, with what is now Colombia emerging as the United Provinces of New Granada. The new polity experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation (1858) and then the United States of Colombia (1863), before becoming a republic—the current Republic of Colombia—in 1886. With the backing of the United States and France, Panama seceded from Colombia in 1903, resulting in Colombia's present borders. Beginning in the 1960s, the country has suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict and political violence, both of which escalated in the 1990s. Since 2005, there has been significant improvement in security, stability and rule of law, as well as unprecedented economic growth and development. Colombia is recognized for its healthcare system, being the best healthcare in Latin America according to the World Health Organization and 22nd in the world.

Colombia is one of the world's seventeen megadiverse countries; it has the highest level of biodiversity per square mile in the world and the second-highest level overall. Its territory encompasses Amazon rainforest, highlands, grasslands and deserts. It is the only country in South America with coastlines (and islands) along both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Colombia is a key member of major global and regional organizations including the UN, the WTO, the OECD, the OAS, the Pacific Alliance and the Andean Community; it is also a NATO Global Partner. Its diversified economy is the third-largest in South America, with macroeconomic stability and favorable long-term growth prospects. (Full article...)

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Downtown Medellín

Medellín ([meðeˈʎin]) (officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín; Spanish: Distrito Especial de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación de Medellín) is the second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central region of the Andes Mountains, in northwestern South America. According to the National Administrative Department of Statistics, the city had an estimated population of 2,508,452 according to the 2018 census. With its surrounding areas, encompassing nine other cities, the metro area of Medellín is the second-largest urban agglomeration in Colombia (in terms of population and economy), with more than 4 million people.

In 1616, the Spaniard Francisco de Herrera Campuzano erected a small indigenous village ("poblado") known as "Saint Lawrence of Aburrá" (San Lorenzo de Aburrá), located in the present-day El Poblado commune. On 2 November 1675, the queen consort Mariana of Austria founded the "Town of Our Lady of Candelaria of Medellín" (Villa de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Medellín) in the Aná region, which today corresponds to the center of the city (east-central zone) and first describes the region as "Medellín". In 1826, the city was named the capital of the Department of Antioquia by the National Congress of the nascent Republic of Gran Colombia, comprising present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. After Colombia won its independence from Spain, Medellín became the capital of the Federal State of Antioquia until 1888, with the proclamation of the Colombian Constitution of 1886. During the 19th century, Medellín was a dynamic commercial center, first exporting gold, then producing and exporting coffee. (Full article...)
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Santos in 2018

Juan Manuel Santos Calderón GColIH GCB GColL ODB (Spanish: [ˈxwam maˈnwel ˈsantos kaldeˈɾon]; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.

An economist by profession and a journalist by trade, Santos is a member of the wealthy and influential Santos family, who from 1913 to 2007 were the majority shareholders of El Tiempo, Colombia's newspaper of record. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Colombia-related articles on Wikipedia.

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Largest cities

 
 
Largest cities or towns in Colombia
According to the 2018 Census
Rank Name Department Pop. Rank Name Department Pop.
Bogotá
Bogotá
Medellín
Medellín
1 Bogotá Distrito Capital 7,387,400 11 Ibagué Tolima 492,554 Cali
Cali
Barranquilla
Barranquilla
2 Medellín Antioquia 2,382,399 12 Villavicencio Meta 492,052
3 Cali Valle del Cauca 2,172,527 13 Santa Marta Magdalena 455,299
4 Barranquilla Atlántico 1,205,284 14 Valledupar Cesar 431,794
5 Cartagena Bolívar 876,885 15 Manizales Caldas 405,234
6 Cúcuta Norte de Santander 685,445 16 Montería Córdoba 388,499
7 Soacha Cundinamarca 655,025 17 Pereira Risaralda 385,838
8 Soledad Atlántico 602,644 18 Neiva Huila 335,994
9 Bucaramanga Santander 570,752 19 Pasto Nariño 308,095
10 Bello Antioquia 495,483 20 Armenia Quindío 287,245
  1. ^ "ARC" stands for "Armada Nacional de la República de Colombia."
  2. ^ "Largest cities" (PDF). Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE). Retrieved 10 February 2020.

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Wikiprojects

WikiProject Colombia WikiProject Colombian Departments

Things you can do

If you are interested in helping with this portal, please join WikiProject Colombia or one of its child projects:

  • WikiProject Colombian Departments
Article requests

History (High priority)

  • Pacabuy
  • Passé people
  • El Mosaico Magazine

Society

  • Social structure of Colombia - Colombian middle class - Colombian upper class - Colombian working class - Colombian lower class
  • Administradora de riesgos profesionales

Scouting

  • Jorge Cock Quevedo

People (Medium priority)

Physical geography

  • Chicó - neighborhood in Bogotá
  • List of Colombian departments by elevation - A comprehensive list, like the equivalent article for the U.S., should include each department's high point, low point, the elevation range between the highest point and lowest point, and the average elevation.
  • Río Puré National Park [es]
  • Serranía de La Lindosa - rock formation in Guaviare
  • Special District of Bogotá

Media (Medium Priority)

  • Aló (magazine)
  • Credencial (magazine)
  • Diners (magazine)

Government and political affairs (High priority)

  • Caja Agraria - Needs Attention, grammar check, more info and categories
  • Chambacú Affair -
  • Demobilization process -
  • Extradition Treaty
  • Instituto de Crédito Territorial -
  • Kidnapping of Íngrid Betancourt -
  • Ralito Accord -
  • Independence Heros of Colombia -

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This page was last updated at 2023-10-12 03:02 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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