World  > South America  > Colombia
For a breakdown of information on Colombia - South America, select from the following list(s):
Travel Information >>> Useful addresses General information Passport & visa Money Duty Free Public holidays Health Getting there Getting around Accommodation Sports and Activities Social profile Business profile Climate History & government Overview Maps	Regions and Cities >>> Resorts & Excursions - Overview
General Information Area: 1,141,748 sq km (440,831 sq miles). Population: 41,589,018 (official estimate 1999). Population Density: 36.4 per sq km. Capital: Santa Fe de Bogotá. Population: 6,260,862 (1999). GEOGRAPHY: Colombia is situated in South America, bounded to the north by the Caribbean, to the northwest by Panama, to the west by the Pacific Ocean, to the southwest by Ecuador and Peru, to the northeast by Venezuela and to the southeast by Brazil. The Andes Mountains extend into the country in three ranges running south to north, dipping finally into the lowlands of the Caribbean coast. Along the southern part of the Pacific coast run wide, marshy lowlands rising to a relatively low but rugged mountain chain. East of this range, the southwestern coastal lowlands extend in a low trough running from the port of Buenaventura on the Pacific coast to the Caribbean. East of this, rise the slopes of the Western Cordillera which, with the Central Cordillera range, runs north to the Caribbean lowlands from Ecuador, separated by a valley, filled in the south by volcanic ash to a height of 2500m (8202ft). Further north lies the fertile Cauca Valley, which extends to Cartago where it becomes a deep gorge running between the Cordilleras to the Caribbean lowlands. The Eastern Cordillera, the longest range, rises north of the Ecuadorean border and runs north then northeast towards Venezuela. Flat grassy prairies in the east along with the jungles and towering rainforests of the Amazon make up over half the country’s area. There are also two small islands, San Andrés and Providencia, located 700km (430 miles) north of the Colombian coast, that have belonged to Colombia since 1822. Government: Republic. Gained independence from Spain in 1819. Head of State and Government: President Alvaro Uribe since May 2002. Language: Spanish is the official language. Local Indian dialects and some English, French, German and Italian are also spoken. Religion: Ninety-five per cent Roman Catholic; small Protestant and Jewish minorities. Time: GMT - 5. Electricity: Mostly 110/120 volts AC, 60Hz. American-style two-pin plugs are common. Telephone IDD service to most areas; calls to smaller centres must be made through the international operator. Country code: 57. Outgoing international code: 90. Mobile telephone AMPS/TDMA networks exist. Operators include Celumovil (website: www.celumovil.com). Fax Hotels have facilities. Internet ISPs include Cablenet (website: www.cable.net.co). Internet cafes exist in the main cities. Telegram Facilities are available through national ENDT telecommunications offices. Post Post offices are marked Correos. Opening hours are Mon-Sat 0800-1200. There are two types of service: urban post (green letter boxes) and inter-urban and international (yellow boxes). Letters and packets sent by airmail normally take five to seven days to reach their destination. Press The Colombian Post is the only English newspaper. Spanish dailies include El Espacio, El Espectador, El Nuevo Siglo and El Tiempo. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 17.79 15.19 12.10 5.975 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 13.79 9.455 6.130 5.995 From www.columbusguides.com, Copyright © 2004 Highbury Columbus Travel Publishing Terms and Conditions apply.