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Republic of ColombiaRepública de Colombia
Flag Coat of arms of Colombia Coat of arms
Motto: "Libertad y Orden"  (Spanish) "Liberty and Order"
Anthem: Oh, Gloria Inmarcesible!
Capitaland largest city	Bogotá
Official languages	Spanish
Government	Republic
• President	Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Independence from Spain
• Declared	July 20 1810
• Recognised	August 7 1819
• Water (%)	8.8
Population
• July 2005 estimate	45,600,000 (28th)
• 2005 census	42,090,502
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
• Total	$337.286 billion (29th)
• Per capita	$7,565 (81st)
Gini (2003)	58.6 high inequality
HDI (2004)	0.790 Error: Invalid HDI value (70th)
Currency	Peso (COP)
Time zone	UTC-5
Calling code	57
ISO 3166 code	CO
Internet TLD	.co

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia (Template:Lang-es ), is a country located in the northwestern region of South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the North by the Atlantic Ocean, through the Caribbean Sea; and to the west by Panama and the Pacific Ocean. Colombia is the only country in South America that borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

Colombia is the 26th largest nation in the world and the fourth-largest country in South America (after Brazil, Argentina, and Peru), with an area seven times greater than that of New England and more than twice that of France. Its vast territory is made up of diverse physical contrasts ranging from the towering snowcapped peaks of the Andes to the hot and humid plains of the Amazon River Basin, to a vast tropical coastal plain in the north. It the second most populated nation in South America (after Brazil), and the largest Spanish speaking nation on the continent in terms of population. Despite its large territory, Colombia's population is not evenly distributed with most Colombians living in the mountainous western portion of the country as well as the northern coastline, most living in or near the capital city of Bogotá. The Southern and Eastern portions of the country are mostly sparsely inhabited tropical rainforest and inland tropical plains containing small farming communities and indigenous tribes.

Colombia currently suffers from a low-intensity conflict involving rebel guerrilla groups, paramilitary militias, drug trafficking and corruption. The conflict originated around 1964-1966, when the FARC and the ELN were founded and began their guerrilla insurgency campaigns against successive Colombian government administrations.

Etymology

The word "Colombia" comes from the name of Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón in Spanish, Cristoforo Colombo in Italian). It was conceived by the revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a reference to the New World, especially to all American territories and colonies under Spanish and Portuguese rule. The name was then adopted by the Republic of Colombia of 1819 formed by the union of Venezuela, New Granada and Ecuador.

In 1830, when Venezuela and Ecuador separated, the Cundinamarca region that remained became a new country: the Republic of New Granada. In 1863 New Granada changed its name officially to United States of Colombia, and in 1886 adopted its present day name: Republic of Colombia.

History

Pre-Colombian

Circa 10000 BC, hunter-gatherer societies existed near present-day Bogotá (at "El Abra" and "Tequendama") which traded with one another and with cultures living in the Magdalena River Valley. Beginning in the first millennium BC, groups of Amerindians developed the political system of "cacicazgos" with a pyramidal structure of power headed by caciques. Within Colombia, the two cultures with the most complex cacicazgo systems were the Tayronas in the Caribbean Region, and the Muiscas in the highlands around Bogotá, both of which were of the Chibcha language family. The Muisca people are considered to have had one of the most developed political systems in South America, after the Incas.

Colonization

Spanish explorers made the first exploration of the Caribbean littoral in 1500 led by Rodrigo de Bastidas. Christopher Columbus navigated near the Caribbean in 1502. In 1508, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa started the conquest of the territory through the region of Urabá. In 1513, he was also the first European to discover the Pacific Ocean which he called Mar del Sur (or "Sea of the South") and which in fact would bring the Spaniards to Peru and Chile. In 1525, the first European city in the American Continent was founded, Santa María la Antigua del Darién in what is today the Chocó Department. The territory's main population was made up of hundreds of tribes of the Chibchan and "Karib", currently known as the Caribbean people, whom the Spaniards conquered through warfare, while resulting disease, exploitation, and the conquest itself caused a tremendous demographic reduction among the indigenous. In the sixteenth century, Europeans began to bring slaves from Africa.

Independence

Since the beginning of the periods of Conquest and Colonization, there were several rebel movements under Spanish rule, most of them either being crushed or remaining too weak to change the overall situation. The last one, which sought outright independence from Spain, sprang up around 1810, following the independence of St. Domingue in 1804 (present day Haiti), who provided a non-negligible degree of support to the eventual leaders of this rebellion: Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander. Simón Bolívar had become the first president of Colombia/ Fransisco de Paula Santander was Vice President, and when Simón Bolívar stepped down, Santander became the second president of Colombia. The rebellion finally succeeded in 1819 when the territory of the Viceroyalty of New Granada became the Republic of Greater Colombia organized as a Confederation along Ecuador and Venezuela (Panama was part of Colombia).

Political struggle

Internal political and territorial divisions led to the secession of Venezuela and Quito (today's Ecuador) in 1830. At this time, the so-called "Department of Cundinamarca" adopted then the name "Nueva Granada", which it kept until 1856 when it became the "Confederación Granadina" (Grenadine Confederation). After a two year civil war in 1863, the "United States of Colombia" was created, lasting until 1886, when the country finally became known as the Republic of Colombia. Internal divisions remained between the bipartisan political forces, occasionally igniting very bloody civil wars, the most significant being the Thousand Days civil war (1899 - 1902) which together with the United States intentions to influence in the area (specially the Panama Canal construction and control) led to the separation of the Department of Panama in 1903 and the establishment of it as a nation. Colombia engulfed in a year long war with Peru over a territorial dispute involving the Amazonas Department and its capital Leticia.

La Violencia

Soon after, Colombia achieved a relative degree of political stability, which was interrupted by a bloody conflict that took place between the late 1940s and the early 1950s, a period known as La Violencia ("The Violence"). Its cause was mainly due to mounting tensions between the two leading political parties, which subsequently ignited after the assassination of the Liberal Presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán on April 9, 1948. This assassination caused riots in Bogotá and became known as El Bogotazo, the violence from this riots spread through out the country and claimed the lives of at least 180,000 Colombians. From 1953 to 1964 the violence between the two political parties decreased first when Gustavo Rojas Pinilla deposed the President of Colombia in a coup d'etat, and negotiated with the guerrillas, and then under the military junta of General Gabriel París Gordillo.

The National Front

After Rojas deposition the two political parties Colombian Conservative Party and Colombian Liberal Party agreed to the creation of a "National Front," whereby the Liberal and Conservative parties would govern jointly. The presidency would be determined by an alternating conservative and liberal president every 4 years for 16 years; the two parties would have parity in all other elective offices. The National Front ended "La Violencia", and National Front administrations attempted to institute far-reaching social and economic reforms in cooperation with the Alliance for Progress. In the end, the contradictions between each successive Liberal and Conservative administration made the results decidedly mixed. Despite the progress in certain sectors, many social and political injustices continued and many guerrillas were formally created such as the FARC, ELN and M-19 to fight the government and political apparatus with influences from Cold War doctrines.

Colombian armed conflict

During the late 1970s and through out the 1980s and 1990s powerful and violent drug cartels emerged mainly the Medellín Cartel (under the command of Pablo Escobar) and the Cali Cartel led a period of political, economic and social influence in Colombia. These cartels also financed and influenced the illegally armed groups and set sides in the political spectrum. Some enemies of these allied with the guerrillas created or influenced Paramilitary groups.

To replace the previous 1886 constitution a new constitution was ratified in 1991 (Colombian Constitution of 1991), after being drafted by the Constituent Assembly of Colombia. The constitution included key provisions on political, ethnic, human and gender rights, which have been gradually put in practice, though uneven developments, surrounding controversies, and setbacks have persisted. The new consitution also prohibited the extradition of Colombians national to the United States who was lobbied in Congress by drug cartels and also established a violent threatening campaign to stop it from being approved. Many terrorist attacks and mafia style executions followed. Drug Cartels have also tried to influence the government and political structure of Colombia, such as the case of the 8000 Process scandal.

In recent decades the country continues to be plagued by the effects of the influential drug trade and by guerrilla insurgents like FARC, and Paramilitary groups such as the AUC (now demobilized but some members still active), which along with other minor factions have been engaged in a bloody internal armed conflict. The powerful drug cartels have helped the Colombian balance of trade by creating a steady and substantial influx of foreign currency, mainly US dollars. On the other hand, the drug lords have destabilized the government. The different insurgent irregular groups often resort to kidnapping and drug smuggling to fund their causes, tend to operate in large areas of the remote rural countryside and can sometimes disrupt communications and travel between different regions. Since the early 1980s, attempts at reaching a negotiated settlement between the government and the different rebel groups have been made, either failing or achieving only the partial demobilization of some of the parties involved. One of the last such attempts was made during the administration of President Andrés Pastrana Arango, which negotiated with the FARC between 1998 and 2002.

In the late 1990s, President Andrés Pastrana implemented an initiative named Plan Colombia, with the dual goal of ending the armed conflict and promoting a strong anti-narcotic strategy. The most controversial element of the Plan, which also included a smaller number of funds for institutional and alternative development, was considered to be its anti-narcotic strategy, consisting of an increase in aerial fumigations to eradicate coca. This activity came under fire from several sectors, which claimed that fumigation also damages legal crops and has adverse health effects upon population exposed to the herbicides. Critics of the initiative also claim that the plan represents a military approach to problems that have additional roots in the social inequalities of the country.

During the presidency of Álvaro Uribe, who was elected on the promise to apply military pressure on the FARC and other criminal groups, some security indicators have improved, showing a decrease in reported kidnappings (from 3700 in the year 2000 to 800 in 2005) and a decrease of more than 48% in homicides between July 2002 and May 2005. It is argued that these improvements have favored economic growth and tourism.

Analysts and critics inside Colombia agree that there has been a degree of practical improvement in several of the mentioned fields, but the exact reasons for the figures themselves have sometimes been disputed, as well as their specific accuracy. Some opposition sectors have criticized the government's security strategy, claiming that it is not enough to solve Colombia's complex problems and that it has contributed to creating a favorable environment for the continuation of some human rights abuses.

Geography

Colombia has more physical diversity packed into its borders than any other area of comparable size in Latin America. The country is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire", a region of the world characterized by frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Colombian surface features form complicated patterns. The western third of the country is the most complex. Starting at the shore of the Pacific Ocean in the west and moving eastward at a latitude of 5 degrees north, a diverse sequence of features is encountered. In the extreme west are the very narrow and discontinuous Pacific coastal lowlands, which are backed by the Serranía de Baudó, the lowest and narrowest of Colombia's mountain ranges. Next is the broad region of the Río Atrato/Río San Juan lowland, which has been proposed as a possible alternate to the Panama Canal as a human-made route between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans.

The chief western mountain range, the Cordillera Occidental, is a moderately high range with peaks reaching up to about 13,000 ft (4,000 m). The Cauca River Valley, an important agricultural region with several large cities on its borders, separates the Cordillera Occidental from the massive Cordillera Central. Several snow-clad volcanoes in the Cordillera Central have summits that rise above 18,000 ft (5,500 m). The valley of the slow-flowing and muddy Magdalena River, a major transportation artery, separates the Cordillera Central from the main eastern range, the Cordillera Oriental. The peaks of the Cordillera Oriental are moderately high. This range differs from Colombia's other mountain ranges in that it contains several large basins. In the east, the sparsely populated, flat to gently rolling eastern lowlands called llanos cover almost 60 percent of the country's total land area.

This cross section of the republic does not include two of Colombia's regions: the Caribbean coastal lowlands and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, both in the northern part of the country. The lowlands in the west are mostly swampy; the reed-filled marshes of the area are called ciénagas by the people of Colombia. The Guajira Peninsula in the east is semiarid. The Sierra Nevada is a spectacular triangular snowcapped block of rock that towers over the eastern part of this lowland.

Colombia's proximity to the equator influences its climates. The lowland areas are continuously hot. Altitude affects temperature greatly. Temperatures decrease about 3.5°F (2°C) for every 1,000-foot (300-meter) increase in altitude above sea level. Rainfall varies by location in Colombia, tending to increase as one travels southward. This is especially true in the eastern lowlands. For example, rainfall in parts of the Guajira Peninsula seldom exceeds 30 in (75 cm) per year. Colombia's rainy southeast, however, is often drenched by more than 200 in (500 cm) of rain per year. Rainfall in most of the rest of the country runs between these two extremes.

Altitude affects not only temperature, but also vegetation. In fact, altitude is one of the most important influences on vegetation patterns in Colombia. The mountainous parts of the country can be divided into several vegetation zones according to altitude, although the altitude limits of each zone may vary somewhat depending on the latitude.

The "tierra caliente" (hot land), below 3,300 ft (1,000 m), is the zone of tropical crops such as bananas. The tierra templada (temperate land), extending from an altitude of 3,300 to 6,600 ft (1,000 to 2,000 m), is the zone of coffee and maize. Wheat and potatoes dominate in the "tierra fría" (cold land), at altitudes from 6,600 to 10,500 ft (2,000 to 3,200 m). In the "zona forestada" (forested zone), which is located between 10,500 and 12,800 ft (3,200 and 3,900 m), many of the trees have been cut for firewood. Treeless pastures dominate the páramos, or alpine grasslands, at altitudes of 12,800 to 15,100 ft (3,900 to 4,600 m). Above 15,100 ft (4,600 m), where temperatures are below freezing, is the "tierra helada", a zone of permanent snow and ice.

Vegetation also responds to rainfall patterns. A scrub woodland of scattered trees and bushes dominates the semiarid northeast. To the south, savannah (tropical grassland) vegetation covers the Colombian portion of the llanos. The rainy areas in the southeast are blanketed by tropical rainforest. In the mountains, the spotty patterns of precipitation in alpine areas complicate vegetation patterns. The rainy side of a mountain may be lush and green, while the other side, in the rain shadow, may be parched.

Coca cultivation is a major illegal business in Colombia. In several rural regions, large tracts of land have been used for coca plant cultivation. According to U.S. figures, in 2004 an estimated 281,947 acres (114,100 hectares) of land were used to grow the plant, and the nation had a producing potential of 430,000 metric tons of cocaine per year. According to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime survey, coca cultivation was estimated at 212,511 acres (86,000 hectares) in December 2006.

In the year of 2006 the Colombian government had destroyed around 180,387 acres (73,000 hectares) beating all records in coca plant destruction. The Colombian government now plans to destroy around 123,553 acres (50,000 hectares) of coca plants in 2007 and they claim there will be only around 49,421 acres (20,000 hectares) left, which they claim will be destroyed in 2008. While Colombian efforts to eradicate the coca plant have displaced production, they have not diminished the number of acres on which the crop is harvested.  This disputes the Colombian claim that coca will be eradicated in 2008.

Politics

Executive Branch

Colombia is a republic where the executive branch dominates government structure. Until recently, the president was elected together with the vice president by popular vote for a single four-year term; he functioned as both head of government and head of state. However, on October 19, 2005, the Colombian Congress amended the constitution, which now allows Colombian presidents to serve up to two consecutive four-year terms. However, department governors, mayors of cities and towns and other executive branch officials are only elected for a three-year term, and cannot be immediately re-elected.

On May 28 2006, president Álvaro Uribe Vélez was re-elected by a vote of 62%, with 22% going to Carlos Gaviria Díaz of the Democratic Pole, and 12% to Horacio Serpa Uribe of the Liberal Party.

Legislative branch

Colombia's bicameral parliament is the Congress of Colombia, (or Congreso in Spanish), which consists of a 166-seat Chamber of Representatives of Colombia and the 102-seat Senate of Colombia. Members of both houses are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. . With congressmen, Colombia also elects Department deputies, and city councils.

Judicial branch

In the 1990s, the Colombian judicial system underwent significant reforms and is undergoing a process of migration from an inquisitorial system to an adversarial system. Parts of the coffee growing region of Colombia and Bogotá have already adopted the adversarial system, with the rest of the country following suit starting on January 1 2006. The judicial system is headed by the Constitutional Court and members are appointed by Congress out of nominations made by the President and other high ranking tribunals.

Control Institutions

Procuraduría General de la Nación (General Procurement of the Nation), Defensoría del Pueblo, (Defensory of the People) Auditoría General de la República (General Auditing of the Republic) and the Contraloría General de la República (General Control of the Republic).

Electoral Insititutions

Consejo Nacional Electoral (National Electoral Council) and Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil (National Registry of the Civil State)

Colombia is also a member of the South American Community of Nations

Departments and municipalities

Colombia is divided into thirty-two departments and one capital district (asterisked below).

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The departments are subdivided into 1,119 municipalities (municipios).

Economy

After experiencing decades of steady growth (average GDP growth exceeded 4% in the 1970-1998 period), Colombia experienced a recession in 1999 (the first full year of negative growth since 1929), and the recovery from that recession was long and painful. Colombia's economy suffers from weak domestic and foreign demand, austere government budgets, and serious internal armed conflicts. The IMF Economic Indicators published on September 2006, forecast the Colombian GDP to reach US$149.869 billion in 2007. Inflation has been below 6% for 2004 and 2005, and is expected to remain below 5% during 2006. Colombia's main exports include manufactured goods (41.32% of exports), petroleum (28.28%), coal (13.17%), and coffee (6.25%). Colombia is one of the largest producers of pop-up books in the world.

Colombia is also the largest exporter of plantains to the United States. Within Latin America, Colombia is known as a provider of fine lingerie, with the industry being centered in Medellín. All imports, exports, and the general trade balance are in record levels, and the inflow of export dollars has resulted in substantial revaluation of the Colombian Peso.

The problems facing the country range from pension system problems to drug dealing to high unemployment. Several international financial institutions have praised the economic reforms introduced by current President Alvaro Uribe, which include measures designed to bring the public-sector deficit below 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP). The government's economic policy and its controversial democratic security strategy have engendered a growing sense of confidence in the economy, and GDP growth in 2003 was among the highest in Latin America.

Tourism

During the most famous festivals such as the Cali Fair, the Barranquilla Carnival, the Iberoamerican Theater Festival and the Flower Festival is when the most tourists come to Colombia. Many people visit Colombia during Christmas time and the celebrations surrounding the Independence of Colombia.

Even though Colombia has been plagued with Travel advisories because of FARC and other guerrillas groups, it has continued to attract more tourists in recent years. The apparent cause appears to be the current hardline approach of President Álvaro Uribe called democratic security to push rebels groups farther away from the major cities, highways and tourist sites that may attract international visitors. Since President Uribe took office in 2002, he has notably increased Colombia's stability and security by significantly boosting its military strength and police presence throughout the country. This apparently has achieved fruitful results for the country's economy, particularly international tourism. In 2006, tourism officials are expecting approximately 1.5 million international visitors to visit Colombia, an astonishing increase of about 50% from the previous year. Even Lonely Planet, a world travel publisher, has picked Colombia as one of their top 10 world destinations for 2006. The World Tourism Organization reported in 2004 that Colombia achieved the third highest percentage increase of tourist arrivals in South America between 2000 and 2004 (9.2%). Only Peru and Suriname had higher increases during the same period.

Ecotourism

Culture

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Education

Over 93% of the entire population over 15 years of age can read and write, and this number has continued to increase throughout the years.Sixty percent of students complete primary schooling (5 years) and move onto secondary schooling(6 years). Most primary schools are private.

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Transportation

Colombia has a network of national highways maintained by the Instituto Nacional de Vías or INVIAS (National Institute of Roadways) government agency. The Pan-American Highway travels through Colombia, connecting the country with Venezuela to the east and Ecuador to the south.

Colombia's principal airport is El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá. Several national airlines (Avianca, AeroRepública, AIRES and SATENA), and international airlines (such as Iberia, American Airlines, Varig, Copa, Continental, Delta, Air Canada, Aerogal,TAME, TACA) operate from El Dorado. Bogotá's airport is one of the largest and most expensive in Latin America. Because of its central location in Colombia and America, it is preferred by national land transportation providers, as well as national and international air transportation providers.

Demographics

With approximately 43.6 million people in 2006, Colombia is the third-most populous country in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico.

Movement from rural to urban areas was very heavy in the mid-twentieth century, but has since tapered off. The urban population increased from 31% of the total population in 1938, to 57% in 1951 and about 70% by 1990. Currently the figure is about 77%. Thirty cities have a population of 100,000 or more. The nine eastern lowlands departments, constituting about 54% of Colombia's area, have less than 3% of the population and a density of less than one person per square kilometer (two persons per sq. mi.). Colombia's total population in 2015 is projected to be more than 52 million.

The country has a diverse population that reflects its colourful history and the peoples that have populated here from ancient times to the present. The historic amalgam of the different main groups forms the basics of Colombia's current demographics: European immigrants, Indigenous Natives, Africans, Asians, Middle Easterners and other recent immigrants. Many of the indigenous peoples were absorbed into the mestizo population, but the remaining 700,000 currently represent over eighty-five distinct cultures. The European immigrants were primarily Spanish colonists, but a small number of other Europeans (Dutch, German, French, Swiss, Belgian and in smaller numbers Polish, Lithuanian, English and Croatian communities) immigrated during the Second World War and the Cold War. For example, former Bogotá mayor Antanas Mockus is the son of Lithuanian immigrants. The Africans were brought as slaves, mostly to the coastal lowlands, beginning early in the sixteenth century, and continuing into the nineteenth century. After abolition, a national ideology of mestizaje encouraged the mixing of the indigenous, European and Native Amerindian communities into a single mestizo ethnic identity. Other immigrant populations include Asians and Middle Easterners, particularly Lebanese, Jordanians, Syrians, Chinese, Japanese and Koreans.

Ethnic groups

As with all Latin American countries, census data in Colombia does not take into account ethnicity, so percentages are basically estimates from other sources and can vary from one another. Statistics reveal that Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and overwhelmingly speakers of Spanish, and that a majority of them are the result of the a mixture of Europeans, Africans, Amerindians.

58% of the population is mestizo, or of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry, while 20% is of white European ancestry. Another 14% is mulatto, or of mixed black African and white European ancestry, while 4% is of black African ancestry and 3% is of mixed black African and Amerindian ancestry. Pure indigenous Amerindians comprise 1 percent of the population. There are 101 languages listed for Colombia in the Ethnologue database, of which 80 are spoken today as living languages. There are about 500,000 speakers of indigenous languages in Colombia today.

More than two-thirds of all Colombians live in urban areas—a figure significantly higher than the world average. The literacy rate (92.5 percent) in Colombia is also well above the world average, and the rate of population growth is slightly higher than the world average. Also, a large proportion of Colombians are young, largely because of recent decreases in the infant mortality rate. While 33 percent of the people are 14 years of age or younger, just 4 percent are aged 65 or older.

Religion

The National Administrative Department of Statistics does not collect religious statistics, and accurate reports are hard to obtain. Based on various studies, more than 95% of the population adheres to Christianity, in which a huge segment of the population, between 81% and 90%, practices Roman Catholicism. About 1% of Colombians practice indigenous religions. Under 1% practice Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Despite strong numbers of adherants, around 60% of respondents to a poll by El Tiempo report that they do not practice their faith actively.

The Colombian constitution guarantees religious freedom, but also states that the State "is not atheist or agnostic, nor indifferent to Colombians' religious sentiment." Religious groups are readily able to obtain recognition as organized associations, but some smaller ones face difficulty in obtaining recognition as religious entities, which is required to offer chaplaincy services in public facilities.

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Crime

Colombia has become notorious for its illicit drug production, kidnappings, and murder rate. In the 1990s, it became the world's largest producer of cocaine and coca derivatives. Cultivation of coca in 2000 was estimated at 402,782 acres (163,300 hectares).Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). However, it has descended in recent years to 39 murders per 100,000 people, bringing it down in the List of countries by murder rate below the levels of South Africa. Over 90 percent of the murdered are males. Regions like Putumayo, Guaviare and Arauca remain at 100 or more murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2005. Neighbouring Venezuela, meanwhile, has seen a rise from 13 in 1991 to 33 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2005 and Ecuador has gone from 11 in 1991 to 18 in 2004.

Between 1992 and 1999 a total of 5,181 kidnappings, two-thirds of the world's reported, occurred in Colombia. In the year 2005, 800 kidnappings were reported, (73% less than in 2002) of which 35% were rescued in the same year. In 2005, 18,960 vehicles were stolen (37% less than in 2002) and 18,111 persons were murdered (38% less than in 2002).

Human rights situation

Amnesty International summarizes in its Annual Report 2006: "Although the number of killings and kidnappings in some parts of the country fell, serious human rights abuses committed by all parties to the conflict remained at critical levels. Of particular concern were reports of extrajudicial executions carried out by the security forces, killings of civilians by armed opposition groups and paramilitaries, and the forced displacement of civilian communities.

More than 55 percent of those displaced are women. Sexual violence, from which women can experience unwanted pregnancies, often results when women are displaced. The victims, as reported by Ms. Magazine, have sometimes resorted to illegal abortions. But abortion has now been legalized in Colombia in cases of rape, incest and when the mother's health is endangered.

Paramilitaries who had supposedly demobilized under the terms of a controversial law ratified in July continued to commit human rights violations, while armed opposition groups continued to commit serious and widespread breaches of international humanitarian law. Individuals who may have been responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity were not brought to justice."

See also

• Afro-Colombian
• Colombian Armed Conflict
• Communications in Colombia
• Departments of Colombia
• Education in Colombia
• Foreign relations of Colombia
• Military of Colombia
• Water supply and sanitation in Colombia
• List of Colombians

Bibliography

Internet

1. Come to Sunny Colombia The Economist, 29 June 2006.
2. ^ Colombia, The World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, updated 12 December 2006.
3. "Coca cultivation in Andes stabilizes in 2005, farmers need help to find alternative livelihoods". United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. June 20, 2006. Retrieved December 29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
4. Colombian coca destruction(2007)
5. Montanaro, Ann. "A Concise History of Pop-up and Movable Books". Retrieved 2007-02-01.
6. http://www.extremetourist.com/destinations/guide.php?country=Colombia&PHPSESSID=adf1f96f6e668d4711b8a8d8365c1934
7. "Hot Destination: Colombia". Christian Science Monitor. May 9, 2006.
8. International Tourist Arrivals by Country of Destination, Tourism Market Trends, 2005 Edition, World Tourism Organization.
9. Colombia, Human Development Report 2006, United Nations Development Programme.
10. El Choco: The African Heart of Colombia, Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia, speech given New York, February 23, 2001
11. "Intute - World Guide - Colombia". Retrieved 2007-03-08.
12. The Languages of Colombia
13. ^ International Religious Freedom Report 2005, by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, November 8, 2005.
14. ^ Cite error: The named reference nationmaster was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
15. Colombian Crime Statistics(2005)
16. http://www.msmagazine.com/winter2007/newrights.asp "New Rights, Old Wrongs." Ms. Magazine, Winter 2007.

Books

• Academia Colombiana de Historia (1986), Historia extensa de Colombia (41 volúmenes). Bogotá: Ediciones Lerner, 1965-1986. ISBN 9589501338 (Obra completa)
• Barrios, Luis (1984), Historia de Colombia. Quinta edición, Bogotá: Editorial Cultural
• Bedoya F., Víctor A. (1944), Historia de Colombia: independencia y república con bases fundamentales en la colonia. Colección La Salle, Bogotá: Librería Stella
• Bushnell, David (1996), Colombia una nación a pesar de sí misma: de los tiempos precolombinos a nuestros días. Bogotá: Planeta Editores. ISBN 9586144879
• Caballero Argaez, Carlos (1987), 50 años de economía: de la crisis del treinta a la del ochenta. Segunda edición, Colección Jorge Ortega Torres, Bogotá: Editorial Presencia, Asociación Bancaria de Colombia. ISBN 9589040039
• Cadavid Misas, Roberto (2004), Cursillo de historia de Colombia: de la conquista a la independencia. Bogotá: Intermedio Editores. ISBN 9587091345
• Calderón Schrader, Camilo; Gil, Antonio; Torras, Daniel (2001), Enciclopedia de Colombia (4 volúmenes). Barcelona: céano Grupo Editorial, 2001. ISBN 8449419476 (Obra completa)
• Calderón Schrader, Camilo (1993), Gran enciclopedia de Colombia (11 volúmenes). Bogotá: Círculo de Lectores. ISBN 9582802944 (obra completa)
• Cavelier Gaviria, Germán (2003), Centenario de Panamá: una historia de la separación de Colombia en 1903. Bogotá: Universidad Externado de Colombia. ISBN 9586167186
• Forero, Manuel José (1946), Historia analítica de Colombia desde los orígenes de la independencia nacional. Segunda edición, Bogotá: Librería Voluntad.
• Gómez Hoyos, Rafael (1992), La independencia de Colombia. Madrid: Editorial Mapfre, Colecciones Mapfre 1492. ISBN 8471005964
• Granados, Rafael María (1978), Historia general de Colombia: prehistoria, conquista, colonia, independencia y Repúbica. Octava edición, Bogotá: Imprenta Departamental Antonio Nariño.
• Hernández de Alba, Guillermo (2004), Como nació la República de Colombia. Colección Bolsilibros. Bogotá: Academia Colombiana de Historia. ISBN 9588040353
• Hernández Becerra, Augusto (2001), Ordenamiento y desarreglo territorial en Colombia. Bogotá: Universidad Externado de Colombia, ISBN 9586165558
• Hernández Rodríguez, Guillermo (1949), De los Chibchas a la colonia y a la república. Bogotá: Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Sección de Extensión Cultural.
• Jaramillo Uribe, Jaime; Tirado Mejía, Alvaro; Calderón Schrader, Camilo (2000), Nueva historia de Colombia (12 volúmenes). Bogotá: Planeta Colombiana Editorial. ISBN 9586142515 (Obra completa)
• Ocampo López, Javier (1999), El proceso ideológico de la emancipación en Colombia. Colección La Línea de Horizonte, Bogotá: Editorial Planeta. ISBN 9586147924
• Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo (1998), Colombia indígena. Medellín: Hola Colina. ISBN 9586382761
• Restrepo, José Manuel (1974), Historia de la revolución de la República de Colombia. Medellín: Editorial Bedout.
• Rivadeneira Vargas, Antonio José (2002), Historia constitucional de Colombia 1510-2000. Tunja: Editorial Bolivariana Internacional. Tercera edición.
• Tovar Pinzón, Hermes (1975), El movimiento campesino en Colombia durante los siglos XIX y XX. Bogotá : Ediciones Libres, segunda edición.
• Trujillo Muñoz Augusto (2001), Descentralización, regionalización y autonomía local. Bogotá: Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
• Vidal Perdomo Jaime (2001), La Región en la Organización Territorial del Estado. Bogotá: Universidad del Rosario.
• Central Intelligence Agency: The World Factbook. 2005.

External links

Government

• Template:Es icon Portal del Estado - Colombia Online Portal
• Template:Es icon Presidencia de la República de Colombia - President
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• Banco de la República - Central Bank
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• Colombianosenelmundo.com Colombian Radio Stations online...
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