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/ (listen), /-ˈlɒm-/; Spanish: [koˈlombja] (listen)), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. 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. It covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers (440,831 sq mi), and has a population of around 52 million. Colombia's cultural heritage—including language, religion, cuisine, and art—reflects its history as a Spanish colony, fusing cultural elements brought by immigration from Europe and the Middle East, with those brought by enslaved Africans, as well as with those of the various Indigenous civilizations that predate colonization. Spanish is the official state language, although English and 64 other languages are recognized regional languages.

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 explored and 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 health system, being the best healthcare in the Americas according to The World Health Organization and 22nd on the planet, In 2022, 26 Colombian hospitals were among the 61 best in Latin America (42% total). Also in 2023, two Colombian hospitals were among the Top 75 of the world.

Colombia is one of the world's seventeen megadiverse countries; it has the second-highest level of biodiversity in the world. 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 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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Pombo Musical is a children's album produced by Colombian recording artist Carlos Vives, as a musical tribute to the Colombian writer and poet Rafael Pombo. It was released on August 13, 2008, under Vives' label Gaira Música Local. The album came into fruition when Rafael Pombo Foundation president Juanita Santos asked Vives to craft a musical that uses Pombo's most iconic poems and fables he created. Its music incorporates a variety of Colombian folk genres and mixes in contemporary genres like Latin pop and pop rock. Among the 14 tracks present in the album, only one was released as a single, "El Modelo Alfabético" (English: The Model Alphabetical). All the lyrics were written originally by Rafael Pombo, and produced by Vives. Pombo Musical was well-received, and was certified platinum in Colombia by the Asociación Colombiana de Productores de Fonogramas (ASINCOL). It also won some accolades, including a Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Children's Album, and a Premio Shock for Best Compilation. (Full article...)
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García Márquez in 2002

Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (American Spanish: [ɡaˈβɾjel ɣaɾˈsi.a ˈmaɾkes] (listen); 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo ([ˈɡaβo]) or Gabito ([ɡaˈβito]) throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century, particularly in the Spanish language, he was awarded the 1972 Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature. He pursued a self-directed education that resulted in leaving law school for a career in journalism. From early on he showed no inhibitions in his criticism of Colombian and foreign politics. In 1958, he married Mercedes Barcha Pardo; they had two sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo.

García Márquez started as a journalist and wrote many acclaimed non-fiction works and short stories, but is best known for his novels, such as One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981), and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985). His works have achieved significant critical acclaim and widespread commercial success, most notably for popularizing a literary style known as magic realism, which uses magical elements and events in otherwise ordinary and realistic situations. Some of his works are set in the fictional village of Macondo (mainly inspired by his birthplace, Aracataca), and most of them explore the theme of solitude. He is the most-translated Spanish-language author. (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[2]
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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History (High priority)

  • Pacabuy
  • Passé people
  • Pasto people
  • Serranía de la Lindosa
  • Umbrá
  • Wiwa people

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 -
  • Chambacú Affair -
  • Demobilization process -
  • Extradition Treaty
  • Instituto de Crédito Territorial -
  • Kidnapping of Íngrid Betancourt -
  • Ralito Accord -

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