| |||||||
| Anthem | "La Himna de los Guerreros" | ||||||
| Capital | Bogotá | ||||||
| Largest city | Bogotá | ||||||
| Other cities | Caracas, Quito, Barranquilla, Medellin, Cartagena, Panamá | ||||||
| Language official |
Spanish | ||||||
| others | English, Quecha, French, Portuguese | ||||||
| Religion main |
Roman Catholic | ||||||
| others | Judaism, Protestantism, Native Beliefs | ||||||
| Ethnic Groups main |
European White | ||||||
| others | Native American | ||||||
| Demonym | Colombian | ||||||
| Government | Constitutional republic | ||||||
| Legislature | Congress of Colombia | ||||||
| President | Antonio Cristo de Zapata | ||||||
| Population | 105,000,000 | ||||||
| Established | 1817 | ||||||
| Independence | from Spain | ||||||
| declared | 1817 | ||||||
| recognized | 1826 | ||||||
| Currency | Colombian pesaro | ||||||
| Calling Code | 0334 | ||||||
| Internet TLD | .co | ||||||
| Organizations | League of Nations, NATO Aide Internationale, Organization of the Americas, Western Hemisphere Trade Bloc | ||||||
The Republic of Greater Colombia (Span: Republica de Gran Colombia), known as Gran Colombia, is a major South American power that, since its emergence in the late 1880s as the continent's dominant power, has contended with the United States and archenemy Brazil for regional supremacy and influence, and in recent years, global influence. Its capital is at Bogota, the principal language is Spanish, and 95% of the country is Roman Catholic. Alongside the French, Chinese, Japanese and Americans, Colombia is one of the Big Five global superpowers.
History[]
Independence from Spain and Bolivarian Rule[]
Competition with Mexico and United States[]
Emergence as Regional Power and Pacific War[]
Ruiz Era, Democratic Reform and Regional Strife[]
Economy[]
Energy[]
Colombia has the world's second-largest proven oil reserves, behind only Arabia. The state oil company, since 2004 known as ECOPetrol (short for Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos), manages about 65% of the oil industry, slightly above its constitutional mandate of a 62.5% stake. Private firms ColPet and SAGOC control an additional 17.5%, while the remainder is managed by foreign firms. Colombia's sovereign wealth fund is regarded as well-managed and pays for much of the country's social and welfare spending.
Approximately 64% of Colombia's energy is supplied by hydropower thanks to it having South America's second largest hydropower potential behind Brazil, and an additional 16% comes from four nuclear reactors at two power plants. Colombia operates six coal and eight liquid natural gas fired plants still as of 2020. Since 2004, Colombia has invested billions of pesos into renewable energy, primarily solar. In 2019, solar and wind energy represented 3% of Colombia's electricity production, a new record. Droughts along major rivers such as the Magdalena and Caroni have raised concerns about Colombia's future reliance on hydropower to drive its industry.
Agriculture[]
Manufacturing and Exports[]
Colombia has long had a sizable domestic automotive industry, beginning with Vias in 1930 and Boli and Feres, both luxury sports marques. In 2007, Boli was bought by Jaguar Automotivo SA and Feres was bought by Chandler in 2013. In addition, Colombia has a vast manufacturing economy that is heavily exported throughout Latin America as well as to Europe, Asia and North America. It has Latin America's most developed electronics and technology sector and has the continent's primary consumer and industrial electronics manufacturing industry.
Rich in natural resources besides oil, Colombia's mining industry is potent - it has South America's largest coal reserves, which it uses exclusively for domestic use.
Tourism[]
Tourism represents close to 7% of Colombia's economy, both domestic and international. Beyond the internationally-renowned tourist destination of Cartagena, Colombia also has numerous beach resort areas both in the Caribbean and Pacific, and Bogota has emerged as a global tourist destination since the mid-2000s thanks to a major urban renewal effort, 200 miles of cycling routes, improved cityscapes and investments in its museums and cultural offerings.
Poverty[]
Colombia has seen one of the most successful poverty-eradication programs in Latin America. After having poverty peak at close to 40% of the population in the early 1990s following the end of the Brazilian War and the debt crisis, in the last 25 years Colombia has reduced its income-based poverty level to 16% as of the mid-2010s and the extreme income-based poverty level from 14% to 6%. The poverty rate has been roughly steady for the last five years after decreases every year since 1993.
The inequality index ratio for Colombia is 36.2, the lowest in South America besides Uruguay.