Official Name: Republica de Colombia (Republic of Colombia)
Currency: Columbian peso
Current Exchange Rate: |
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Hemisphere: North & South
Continent: South America
Location: At the NW corner of South America. Neighbors: Panama on NW, Ecuador and Peru on S, Brazil and Venezuela on E.
Area: 440,762 sq mi, 1,141,568 sq km
Form of Government: Unitary multiparty republic with a two legislative houses (Senate 102), (House of representatives 166)
Population: (2007) 42,870,000
Population Density: (2007) persons per sq mi 97.2, persons per sq km 37.5
Principal Language(s): Spanish (official)
Religions: Roman Catholic 90%
Capital: Bogota
Capital Population: 6,763,325
Capital Average Temperature: Maximum: 13.1 degrees Celsius, 55.6 degrees Fahrenheit
Major Cities: Medellin 2,187,356, Cali 2,039,626, Barranquilla 1,109,067, Cartagena 845,801
Topography: Three ranges of Andes-Western, central and eastern Cordilleras run through the country from N to S. The eastern range consists mostly of high tablelands, densely populated. The Magdalena R rises in the Andes, flows N to Caribbean, through rich alluvial plain. Sparsely settled plairis in E are drained by Orinoco and Amazon systems.
Economy: G.D.P. $320.4 billion
G.D.P. per Capita: $ 7,200
Vital Statistics: Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 20.5 (world avg. 20.3). Death rate per 1,000 population (2006); 5.6 (world avg. 8.6) Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman 20056 2.54. Life expectancy at birth (2005) male 68.2 years; female 76.0 years
Government Website: www.presidencia.gov.co
Reference Sources: The World Almanac 2009, The New York Times Almanac 2009, Time Almanac 2009, World Climate Website.
