Data at glance of Colombia - average on period

History

Colombia was one of three countries that emerged after the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1830 -- the others are Ecuador and Venezuela. A decades-long conflict among government forces, paramilitaries, and antigovernment insurgent groups heavily funded by the drug trade -- principally the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) -- escalated during the 1990s. In the wake of the paramilitary demobilization in the 2000s, new criminal groups arose that included some former paramilitaries. After four years of formal peace negotiations, the Colombian Government signed a final accord with the FARC in 2016 that called for its members to demobilize, disarm, and reincorporate into society and politics. The accord also committed the Colombian Government to create three new institutions to form a 'comprehensive system for truth, justice, reparation, and non-repetition,' including a truth commission, a special unit to coordinate the search for those who disappeared during the conflict, and a 'Special Jurisdiction for Peace' to administer justice for conflict-related crimes. Despite decades of internal conflict and drug-trade-related security challenges, Colombia maintains relatively strong and independent democratic institutions characterized by peaceful, transparent elections and the protection of civil liberties.

Environment

Area: 1,138,910 km2

Climate: tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: Mestizo and White 87.6%, Afro-Colombian (includes Mulatto, Raizal, and Palenquero) 6.8%, Indigenous 4.3%, unspecified 1.4% (2018 est.)

Languages: Spanish (official) 98.9%, indigenous 1%, Portuguese 0.1%; 65 indigenous languages exist (2023 est.)major-language sample(s): La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Roman Catholic 63.6%, Protestant 17.2% (Evangelical 16.7%, Adventist 0.3%, other Protestant 0.2%), Jehovah's Witness 0.6%, Church of Jesus Christ 0.1%, other 0.3%, believer, 0.2%. agnostic 1%, atheist 1%, none 14.2%, unspecified 1.8% (2023 est.)

Government

Capital: Bogotá

Government type: presidential republic

Executive branch

Chief of state: President Gustavo Francisco PETRO Urrego (since 7 August 2022)

Head of government: President Gustavo Francisco PETRO Urrego (since 7 August 2022)cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the presidentelection/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute majority vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a single 4-year termmost recent election date: 29 May 2022, with a runoff held on 19 June 2022election results: 2022: Gustavo Francisco PETRO Urrego elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Gustavo Francisco PETRO Urrego (PHxC) 40.3%, Rodolfo HERNÁNDEZ Suárez (LIGA) 28.2%, Federico GUTIÉRREZ Zuluaga (Team for Colombia / CREEMOS) 23.9%, other 7.6%; percent of vote in second round - Gustavo Francisco PETRO Urrego 50.4%, Rodolfo HERNÁNDEZ Suarez 47.3%, blank 2.3%2018: Iván DUQUE Márquez elected president in second round; percent of vote - Iván DUQUE Márquez (CD) 54%, Gustavo Francisco PETRO Urrego (Humane Colombia) 41.8%, other/blank/invalid 4.2%expected date of next election: 31 May 2026note 1: the president is both chief of state and head of governmentnote 2: reforms in 2015 eliminated presidential reelection

Legislative branch

Description: legislature name: Congress (Congreso)legislative structure: bicameral