FAST FACTS

OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Colombia

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Republic
CAPITAL: Bogotá
POPULATION: 46,245,297
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Spanish
MONEY: Peso
AREA: 439,619 square miles (1,138,910 square
kilometers)
MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Andes, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
MAJOR RIVERS: Magdalena, Cauca, Atrato, Sinú

Colombian Flag
Map of Colombia

Yellow: represents the richness of Colombian soil, as well as the sun, source of light, and sovereignty, harmony and justice.
Blue: represents the sky that covers the Homeland, the rivers and the two oceans that bathe the Colombian territory.
Red: represents the blood poured by the patriots on the battlefields to achieve freedom, which means love, power.

GEOGRAPHY
Colombia is nicknamed the "gateway to South America" because it
sits in the northwestern part of the continent where South
America connects with Central and North America. It is the fifth
largest country in Latin America and home to the world's second
largest population of Spanish-speaking people.
 
PEOPLE & CULTURE
Colombia's people are as varied as its landscape. Most citizens are
descended from three ethnic groups: Indians, African people
brought to Colombia to work as slaves, and European settlers. This
rich cultural mix makes the country's foods, music, dance, and art
diverse and unique.
GOVERNMENT &  ECONOMY
Colombia has a long history of democracy. Like the United States,
the country is run by a president, who is elected every four years.
Laws are made by a House of Representatives and a Senate.
  Colombia sends a variety of items overseas, including coffee,
bananas, oil, coal, gold, platinum, and emeralds.
 
HISTORY
Archaeologists think the first people to arrive in Colombia came
about 20,000 years ago. Some 8,000 years after that, settlers in
the Magdalena Valley in the western part of the country grew into
a civilization called the Chibcha. From the Chibcha arose the
Muisca, an advanced culture that became the dominant power in

NATURE
  Colombia by A.D. 700.

Much of Colombia's forest habitats have been undisturbed for

many millions of years. This has given wildlife a chance to evolve
into many different species. Animals from jaguars to caimans
to poison dart frogs all call Colombia's jungles home. The mountains
provide habitat for huge Andean condors and rare spectacled
bears, South America's only bear species.
After independence, Colombia became part of a large country
called New Granada. This country fell apart by 1835, and Colombia
became a separate nation.