Colombia
Submitted by whitetiger on Fri, 2007-07-27 13:18.
Colombia ( Republica de Colombia) is a country in Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama. Colombia geographic coordinates 4 00 N, 72 00 W; area includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranil; area comparative slightly less than three times the size of Montana; land boundaries Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru 1,496 km (est.), Venezuela 2,050 km; coastline 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km); maritime claims 20; climate tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands; terrain flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains; elevation extremes Pico Cristobal Colon 5,775 m introduction Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A 40-year insurgent campaign to overthrow the Colombian Government escalated during the 1990s, undergirded in part by funds from the drug trade. Although the violence is deadly and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence, the movement lacks the military strength or popular support necessary to overthrow the government. An anti-insurgent army of paramilitaries has grown to several thousand strong in recent years, challenging the insurgents for control of territory and the drug trade, and also the government's ability to exert its dominion over rural areas. While Bogota steps up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders. government type republic; executive branch dominates government structure; capital Bogota; administrative divisions 32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, Distrito Capital de Bogota*, Bolivar, Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta, Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choco, Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia, Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira, Magdalena, Meta, Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio, Risaralda, San Andres y Providencia, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes, Vichada; independence 20 July 1810 (from Spain); national holiday Independence Day, 20 July (1810); constitution 5 July 1991; legal system based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted into law in 2004; judicial review of executive and legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; suffrage 18 years of age; universal;