Colombia is a land of immense beauty and geographical and economic diversity,
located on the north-west corner of South America.
It is the fourth largest country by area in Latin America,
with the third largest population in the region, with three Andean ranges, two coastlines,
vast plains and jungles that divide the country into distinct regions.
It is endowed with rich agricultural land as well as large proven reserves of oil,
coal, and precious metals and stones. www.igac.gov.co/mapas.htm#

Unlike most of its neighbors, the country is a nation of cities, with the majority of its population
concentrated in cities located in the interior narrow valleys and basins formed by the three ranges
of the Andes that divide the country from north to south, and the tropical lowlands.
Approximately 98 per cent of the population is concentrated in this area which makes up 40 per cent
of the country’s land mass. The remaining 2 per cent lives in the sparsely populated plains and jungle,
which account for the remainder of the country.  

Geography 

Colombia is bordered on the north by the Caribbean with some 1,600 kilometers of coastline
and on the west by the Pacific Ocean with a coastline of 1,300 kilometers. Panama,
which was once part of Colombia, lies to the north-west, with Venezuela and Brazil to the east,
and Peru and Ecuador to the south. Colombia’s land mass - with 6 per cent of Latin America’s total area -
is 1,141,000 square kilometers and approximately the size of France and the Iberian peninsula combined
or twice the size of Texas. Colombia is the only country in South America with ample coastline
on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The country’s varied geographical and ecological diversity is mainly due to the towering Andean mountains
which enter the country at the south-west and span out northwards dividing into three distinct branches:
the Western, Central and Eastern Andes. The country can be divided into five distinct areas:
the tropical coastal regions of the Atlantic to the North, and the Pacific to the West,
separated by a swampy region, and with completely different ecosystems;
the Andes in the central part of the country, running the entire length of the country from the North to the South;
to the East of the mountains lies a large expanse of plains known as Los Llanos which extends from
the foothills of the Andes to the Venezuelan border; and towards the South-East lies the vast jungles
of the Amazon basin, extending hundreds of miles to the border of Brazil (Southeast) and Peru (South).

The mountain areas comprise only 30 per cent of the land mass.
The vast eastern plains of Los Llanos which are suitable for cattle ranching.

The country has many rivers, especially in the Pacific lowlands and the Llanos area.
The two major rivers, the Magdalena and the Cauca, which start close to the Ecuadorian border
in the south both flow northwards towards the Caribbean. The Magdalena river runs from south to north
along the country’s central valley, and the Cauca parallel to it but between the western and central mountain ranges.
The original name given to the Magdalena river by the native Indians was Kariguaná
but it was renamed when, in 1501, Rodrigo de Bastidas, a Spanish conquistador,
discovered the river’s mouth calling it La Magdalena.

The river has always been used as a natural means of transportation,
first by the ancestors of the Chibcha Indians, then by the Caribbean Indians,
and finally by the Spanish conquistadors and later settlers.
The Magdalena is generally navigable up to the town of Neiva,
although it is interrupted midway by some rapids. The Cauca and Magdalena follow more
or less parallel courses until they join 150 kilometers from the Caribbean to flow into Barranquilla.
Other rivers such as the Meta and Guaviare drain into the Orinoco river
which forms part of the country’s western border, and other rivers such as the Putumayo
and the Caquetá drain into the Amazon system,
which forms part of the country’s southern border with Peru.

Colombia also possesses small islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific,
which account for only 65 square kilometers of land. In the Caribbean,
640 kilometers away and off the coast of Nicaragua,
Colombia has a small archipelago of 13 small reefs grouped together around the islands
of San Andrés and Providencia. In the Pacific there is the island of Malpelo,
some 430 kilometers off the coast of Buenaventura and nearer to the coast there is the island
of Gorgona, which up until recently was used as a maximum security prison.
These last two islands have been set aside as natural wildlife reserves.

Demographics

At the beginning of this century the country’s population was a mere 4 million,
which by the middle of the century had trebled to 12 million and now stands at over 34.9 million,
making it the third most populous country in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico.
The country’s population is young, with 54 per cent of the total - equivalent to 18 million people -
under 18 years of age. Life expectancy has grown from 45 years in the 1950s to 64 years in 1970
and is currently just under 70.

Until the 1960s the fertility rate remained nearly seven children per woman,
with the natural rate of population increasing from 2 per cent in the 1940s to a peak
of 3.4 per cent in the 1950s and 3 per cent during the 1960s - one of the highest in the world.
Since 1966 the fertility rate has declined by about half to 3.5 per woman,
while life expectancy at birth has been extended by about 9 per cent,
with the infant mortality rate dipping by 27 per cent. Population growth in the 1980s
averaged 2.1 per cent and is now just below this at 1.85 per cent,
level with Chile and slightly above Argentina.
The country’s population is projected to increase to 39 million by the year 2000.

Although Colombia is an urban country with 72 per cent of its population
or 24 million people living in urban areas compared with 9 million rural inhabitants,
most other Latin American countries are more urbanized with the most urban being Venezuela
with 91 per cent of its population living in cities.
The proportion of Colombia’s population living in urban areas increased from
31 percent in 1938 to 60 per cent in 1973, and to over 70 per cent in the 1990s,
mainly the result of massive rural-urban migration to the four largest cities,
Bogotá www.alcaldiabogota.gov.co (5 million) Medellín www.medellin.gov.co (2.4 million),
Cali (1.8 million) and Barranquilla (1.4 million), which account for a third of the country’s population.

The population is composed of diverse ethnic groups, including indigenous Indians,
Spanish, other European, and African descendants.
Since 1918 the national census has dropped any reference to race as it was impossible
to classify racial types objectively as well as not wishing to emphasize ethnic or racial differences.

One estimate in the 1980s gave this population mixture -
roughly 50 per cent mestizos (white-Indian mixture), 25 per cent whites,
20 per cent mulatos (white-black mixture) and zambos (Indian-black mixture), 
4 per cent blacks and  1 per cent Indians. Colombia has experienced little foreign influence or immigration.
There has, however, always been a constant trickle of Spanish immigrants,
many of them members of the clergy. Americans were mainly in business
or missionary work, while Germans, Italians and Lebanese, usually referred to as turcos (Turks),
because they came from the Christian Lebanese part of Syria that formerly belonged to Turkey,
were active in commerce, particularly in the coastal towns of Barranquilla, Cartagena and Buenaventura.

Colombia has one of the best educational systems in Latin America,
with a literacy rate of 91 per cent which has produced a competitive and relatively highly educated work-force.
The country does lag behind some of its Latin American neighbors in literacy rates such as Argentina,
Mexico, Chile and Uruguay. Primary education is compulsory, while secondary,
university and post-graduate education are available on demand.

The education sector has grown explosively at all levels since the 1960s.
By the late 1980s primary school enrollment had more than doubled,
while secondary school enrollment had grown six-fold and university enrollments had increased 15 times.
In 1950 there were 14,000 university students, mushrooming to over 577,000
n 1992 distributed among 70 universities and centers for higher education.

The main reason for this was the massive outlay of public money for education,
with government funding in real terms increasing five-fold between 1966 and 1990.
Public expenditure on education represented 3 per cent of GNP.
Public expenditure in Colombia on education was well bellow the average of similar
Latin American countries, whereas private expenditure was higher than in comparable nations.

Some 8 million young people are enrolled in primary, secondary or higher education,
spending an average of 8.3 years in some form of education.
Private schools account for 15 per cent of the primary level enrollment,
40 per cent at the secondary level and 60 percent at university level.
Nine out of 10 children aged between seven and eleven attend primary school in urban areas,
falling to 70 percent in rural areas and 50 per cent in the more isolated rural communities.
In 1985 75 per cent of children aged between six and eleven were enrolled in school.
This was below the levels of Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Venezuela and Brazil which scored well
above 80 per cent. At the secondary (high-school) level,
70 per cent of the 12 to 17-year-old children attend school, with significant urban-rural variations.
At this level the country was on par with Argentina and Mexico
and only beaten by Chile and Peru with an average of 90 per cent.

The law in Colombia establishes that any employer with assets over a certain minimum
must establish and maintain primary schools for their employees if the place of work is more than
two kilometers from the nearest school, provided that employees of the company
have more than 20 children of school age. It must also pay for specialized technical studies
for employees and their children in the areas of the company’s activity.
The state also has a national apprenticeship service, SENA, to provide training in technical areas,
It has 115 training centers around the country and it is held as the most advanced of its kind in Latin America.

Regions

Colombia is a country of great diversity, in its land and in its people.
The different regions of the Colombia are as large as most European countries,
and have developed their own individual styles and ways of life.

The country can be divided into five distinct geographical regions:
the three mountain ranges and the intervening valley lowlands, which constitutes the Andean highlands;
the Caribbean lowlands coastal region; the Pacific lowlands coastal region which are separated
from the Caribbean lowlands by the Darien swamps at the base of the Isthmus of Panama;
the great plains that lie to the east of Andes known as Los Llanos; and the Amazonian jungle region
at the south-east corner of the country.

The Andean Region - The Andes near the Ecuadorian border divides into three distinct ranges,
which are roughly parallel and which extend northwards almost reaching the Caribbean sea,
and are known locally as the Occidental, Central and Oriental Cordilleras.
Some of the mountain peaks reach more than 5,700 meters and are permanently covered
with snow such as the Nevado del Ruiz. Approximately 80 per cent of the country’s population
live in this region, with its high valleys and elevated plateau providing a pleasant climate,
which in many places yields two harvests per year. The torrential rivers on the slopes of the mountains
add their volume to the navigable rivers of the valleys,
which can be harnessed for its large hydro-electric power potential.

The Cordillera Occidental is 800 kilometers long with a width of 60 kilometers
and is relatively low-lying, with summits of less than 5,000 meters and is the least populated
of the three ranges. The highest peak is the Cumbal volcano at 4,890 meters.
There are few mountain passes, however, there is one at 1,520 meters which allows Cali,
the country’s third largest city, and outlet to the port of Buenaventura on the Pacific.
 The valleys offer rich agricultural land producing most of the country’s sugar cane as well as other crops.

The Cordillera Occidental is separated from the Cordillera Central by the deep rift of the Cauca river valley,
and is the highest of the ranges with no plateau or mountain passes under 3,300 meters
and with snow-capped peaks such as the Nevado del Huila at 5, 700 meters.

The Nevado del Ruiz, the second highest in this range at 5,400 meters,
erupted violently in November 1985. Most of the country’s coffee is grow in this region.
The Magdalena river lies between the Cordillera Central and the Cordillera Oriental,
flowing 1,600 kilometers from where it rises some 180 kilometers
from the border of Ecuador to the Caribbean.

The Cordillera Oriental is the longest range, running 1,200 kilometers along the Llanos,
on the east of the country. With elevations of around 2,600 meters it contains three large fertile basins
with a number of smaller ones. Santafé de Bogotá, the capital,
is situated here at an altitude of 2,650 meters above sea level.

The range continues northwards to the border with Venezuela
where it makes an abrupt turn to the north-west, reaching a height of 5,493 meters
at the Sierra Nevada de Cocuy. The region produces many agricultural products
as well as containing large reserves of coal and a great deal of the country’s industrial activity.

The Caribbean lowlands - This region in the northern part of the country
extends from the Gulf of Urabá to the northern extremity of the Cordillera Oriental
near the Venezuelan border, and contains the semi-arid Guajira peninsula in the extreme north,
and in the southern part the isolated mountain system of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta,
with Pico Cristóbal Colón, the country’s highest peak at 5, 950 meters
and slopes generally too steep for cultivation. It is the world’s highest coastal range
and is completely isolated from the Andes with a surface area of 17,000 square kilometer.

Most of the region, however, is tropical with banana and cotton plantations,
and cattle ranchers in higher places. Approximately 17 per cent of the population lives in this area,
which is connected to the highlands by the Cauca and Magdalena rivers. In addition to trade,
the coastal region has gained increasing importance for the production of citrus fruits
and bananas and for tourism and fishing.

Pacific lowlands - About 3 per cent of the country’s population lives in this area,
which is characterized by its jungle and swampy conditions.
The eastern part of the region is bounded by the Cordillera Occidental from which numerous rivers
flow to the Pacific. The Atrato, the largest river of the region, however, flows to the Atlantic.
The Atrato swamp situated in the Chocó Department which borders Panama, is 65 kilometers wide.
It is known as the Tapón del Chocó or the Tapón del Daríen, and has made it almost impossible
to build the Pan-American Highway.

An inter-oceanic canal was proposed by the former Barco administration,
involving the dredging of the Atrato river and other streams and then digging a short access canal.
The low-lying mountain range of the Serranía de Baudó, lies to the west of the Atrato,
with its highest elevation of 1,800 meters.

Llanos and Amazonia - Three-fifths of country -
an area just under 700,000 square kilometers -
lies east of the Andes with only 2 per cent of the country’s population.
The region is unbroken by highlands except in the Meta Department by the Macarena Sierra,
where its flora and fauna is reputed to be reminiscent of those that once existed throughout the Andes.
There are many navigable rivers with the Guaviare river and the streams to the north
flowing into the Orinoco drainage system in to the Amazon.

The Guaviare river divides eastern Colombia into the Llanos region to the north,
which is predominantly cattle-breeding country,
but now holds the country’s largest oil reserve tropical rain forest or selva,
which has a great lumber potential. Additionally, the immense diversity of plant
and animal species in the Amazon basin make Colombia one of the richest countries
in the world in terms of wildlife and plants.

Climate - Although people refer to the rainy period as winter
and the dry period as summer Colombia has no seasons,
but it does have several different climates that vary according to altitude.
Colombians tend to refer to their climactic zones in terms of temperature,
with the area under 900 meters called tierra caliente or hot zone,
with average temperatures between 24°C to 25°C.

The area between 900 meters to 2,000 meters is the tierra templada
or the temperate zone with average temperatures between 17°C and 24°C,
while the zone between 2,000 meters and 3,500 meters constitutes the cold zone
or tierra fría, with average temperatures varying from 7°C to 17°C.
The upper limit of the cold zone marks the tree line and the approximate limit of human habitation.
The treeless regions adjacent to the cold zone and extending approximately 4,500 meters high,
are usually referred to as páramos, above which begins the area of permanent snow or nevado.

About 86 per cent of the country lies in the hot zone,
with temperatures ranging from 24°C to 38°C.
The temperate zone covers 8 per cent of the country,
with cities such as Medellín, just under 1,500 meters above sea level, and Cali,
just over 1,000 meters above sea level, located in this zone,
with temperatures varying from 19°C to 24°C.

The cold or cool zone constitutes 6 per cent of the total area,
with some of the most densely populated plateau and terraces of the Colombian Andes,
including the capital. The zone supports about a quarter of the country’s total population,
with mean temperatures ranging from 10°C to 19°C. The annual average temperature
at Santafé de Bogotá is 15°C but the difference between the coldest and warmest months is,
on average, less than one degree. The daily variation however is significant rising from
5°C in the night to 20°C during the day, and sometimes going above 24°C.

Rainfall is heaviest in the Pacific lowlands and in Amazonia,
where rain is almost a daily occurrence. Precipitation exceeds 760 cm annually in the Pacific lowlands
making it one of the wettest regions of the world. In the eastern region it declines to 236 cm a year
and in the Andes it is only 54 cm. Extensive areas of the Caribbean interior are permanently flooded
more because of poor drainage than because of the moderately heavy precipitation
during the rainy season from May to October.

Owing to geographical and climatic differences the country has produced
a broad range of regional variations with their own distinctive accents, customs,
social patterns and forms of cultural adaptation that differentiate them from the other groups,
such as the antioqueño from Antioquia, the costeño from the Caribbean coast,
the pastuso from Nariño, the tolimense from the Tolima
and the rolo from Santafé de Bogotá, among others.

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