Colombia (2001) | Burundi (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, 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, Distrito Capital de Santa Fe de Bogota*, Santander, Sucre, Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes, Vichada | 17 provinces; Bubanza, Bujumbura Mairie, Bujumbura Rurale, Bururi, Cankuzo, Cibitoke, Gitega, Karuzi, Kayanza, Kirundo, Makamba, Muramvya, Muyinga, Mwaro, Ngozi, Rutana, Ruyigi |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
31.88% (male 6,507,282; female 6,354,454) 15-64 years: 63.37% (male 12,452,182; female 13,117,707) 65 years and over: 4.75% (male 859,967; female 1,057,796) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.3% (male 1,884,825/female 1,863,200)
15-64 years: 51.1% (male 2,051,451/female 2,082,017) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 83,432/female 125,143) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp | coffee, cotton, tea, corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes, bananas, manioc (tapioca); beef, milk, hides |
Airports | 1,091 (2000 est.) | 8 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
92 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 8 1,524 to 2,437 m: 38 914 to 1,523 m: 36 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
999 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 64 914 to 1,523 m: 321 under 914 m: 613 (2000 est.) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2006) |
Area | total:
1,138,910 sq km land: 1,038,700 sq km water: 100,210 sq km note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank |
total: 27,830 sq km
land: 25,650 sq km water: 2,180 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than three times the size of Montana | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being 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. While Bogota continues to try to negotiate a settlement, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders. | Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. Over 200,000 Burundians perished during the conflict that spanned almost a dozen years. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians were internally displaced or became refugees in neighboring countries. An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition process that led to an integrated defense force, established a new constitution in 2005, and elected a majority Hutu government in 2005. The new government, led by President Pierre NKURUNZIZA, signed a South African brokered ceasefire with the country's last rebel group in the summer of 2006 but still faces many challenges. |
Birth rate | 22.41 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 42.22 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$22 billion expenditures: $24 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $215.4 million
expenditures: $278 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Bogota | name: Bujumbura
geographic coordinates: 3 23 S, 29 22 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands | equatorial; high plateau with considerable altitude variation (772 m to 2,670 m above sea level); average annual temperature varies with altitude from 23 to 17 degrees centigrade but is generally moderate as the average altitude is about 1,700 m; average annual rainfall is about 150 cm; two wet seasons (February to May and September to November), and two dry seasons (June to August and December to January) |
Coastline | 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 5 July 1991 | 28 February 2005; ratified by popular referendum |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Colombia conventional short form: Colombia local long form: Republica de Colombia local short form: Colombia |
conventional long form: Republic of Burundi
conventional short form: Burundi local long form: Republique du Burundi/Republika y'u Burundi local short form: Burundi former: Urundi |
Currency | Colombian peso (COP) | - |
Death rate | 5.69 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.46 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $34 billion (2000 est.) | $1.2 billion (2003) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Anne W. PATTERSON embassy: Calle 22D-BIS, numbers 47-51, Apartado Aereo 3831 mailing address: Carrera 45 #22D-45, Bogota, D.C., APO AA 34038 telephone: [57] (1) 315-0811 FAX: [57] (1) 315-2197 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Patricia Newton MOLLER
embassy: Avenue des Etats-Unis, Bujumbura mailing address: B. P. 1720, Bujumbura telephone: [257] 223454 FAX: [257] 222926 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Luis Alberto MORENO Mejia chancery: 2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-8338 FAX: [1] (202) 232-8643 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Washington, DC consulate(s): Atlanta |
chief of mission: Ambassador Celestin NIYONGABO
chancery: Suite 212, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2574 FAX: [1] (202) 342-2578 |
Disputes - international | maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela; territorial disputes with Nicaragua over Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank | Tutsi, Hutu, other conflicting ethnic groups, associated political rebels, armed gangs, and various government forces continue fighting in the Great Lakes region, transcending the boundaries of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda in an effort to gain control over populated and natural resource areas; government heads pledge to end conflict, but localized violence continues despite the presence of about 6,000 peacekeepers from the UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB) since 2004; although some 150,000 Burundian refugees have been repatriated, as of February 2005, Burundian refugees still reside in camps in western Tanzania as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Economic aid - recipient | $40.7 million (1995) | $105.5 million (2003) |
Economy - overview | Colombia is poised for muted growth in the next several years, marking continued recovery from the severe 1999 recession when GDP fell by about 4%. President PASTRANA's well-respected economic team is working to keep the economy on track, maintaining low interest rates, for example. In accordance with its IMF loan agreement, the administration also is taking steps to improve the public sector's fiscal health. However, many challenges to improved prosperity remain. Unemployment was stuck at a record 20% in 2000, contributing to the extreme inequality in income distribution. Two of Colombia's leading exports, oil and coffee, face an uncertain future; new exploration is needed to offset declining oil production, while coffee harvests and prices are depressed. The lack of public security is a key concern for investors, making progress in the government's peace negotiations with insurgent groups an important driver of economic performance. Colombia is looking for continued support from the international community to boost economic and peace prospects. | Burundi is a landlocked, resource-poor country with an underdeveloped manufacturing sector. The economy is predominantly agricultural with more than 90% of the population dependent on subsistence agriculture. Economic growth depends on coffee and tea exports, which account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The ability to pay for imports, therefore, rests primarily on weather conditions and international coffee and tea prices. The Tutsi minority, 14% of the population, dominates the government and the coffee trade at the expense of the Hutu majority, 85% of the population. An ethnic-based war that lasted for over a decade resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, forced more than 48,000 refugees into Tanzania, and displaced 140,000 others internally. Only one in two children go to school, and approximately one in 10 adults has HIV/AIDS. Food, medicine, and electricity remain in short supply. Political stability and the end of the civil war have improved aid flows and economic activity has increased, but underlying weaknesses - a high poverty rate, poor education rates, a weak legal system, and low administrative capacity - risk undermining planned economic reforms. |
Electricity - consumption | 40.532 billion kWh (1999) | 141.4 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 27 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 35 million kWh (1999) | 10 million kWh; note - supplied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2003) |
Electricity - production | 43.574 billion kWh (1999) | 141.3 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
22.27% hydro: 76.19% nuclear: 0% other: 1.54% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Pico Cristobal Colon 5,775 m note: nearby Pico Simon Bolivar also has the same elevation |
lowest point: Lake Tanganyika 772 m
highest point: Heha 2,670 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions | soil erosion as a result of overgrazing and the expansion of agriculture into marginal lands; deforestation (little forested land remains because of uncontrolled cutting of trees for fuel); habitat loss threatens wildlife populations |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1% | Hutu (Bantu) 85%, Tutsi (Hamitic) 14%, Twa (Pygmy) 1%, Europeans 3,000, South Asians 2,000 |
Exchange rates | Colombian pesos per US dollar - 2,241.43 (January 2001), 2087.90 (2000), 1,756.23 (1999), 1,426.04 (1998), 1,140.96 (1997), 1,036.69 (1996) | Burundi francs per US dollar - 1,138 (2005), 1,100.91 (2004), 1,082.62 (2003), 930.75 (2002), 830.35 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Andres PASTRANA (since 7 August 1998); Vice President Gustavo BELL Lemus (since 7 August 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Andres PASTRANA (since 7 August 1998); Vice President Gustavo BELL Lemus (since 7 August 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet Cabinet consists of a coalition of the two dominant parties - the PL and PSC - and independents elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 31 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2002); vice president elected by popular vote for a four-year term in a new procedure that replaces the traditional designation of vice presidents by newly elected presidents; election last held 31 May 1998 (next to be held NA May 2002) election results: no candidate received more than 50% of the total vote, therefore, a run-off election to select a president from the two leading candidates was held 21 June 1998; Andres PASTRANA elected president; percent of vote - 50.3%; Gustavo BELL elected vice president; percent of vote - 50.3% |
chief of state: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Martin NDUWIMANA - Tutsi (since 29 August 2005); Second Vice President Marina BARAMPAMA - Hutu (since 8 September 2006)
head of government: President Pierre NKURUNZIZA (since 26 August 2005); First Vice President Martin NDUWIMANA - Tutsi (since 29 August 2005); Second Vice President Marina BARAMPAMA - Hutu (since 8 September 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by president elections: the president is elected by popular vote to a five-year term (eligible for a second term); note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the parliament; vice presidents nominated by the president, endorsed by parliament election results: Pierre NKURUNZIZA was elected president by the parliament by a vote of 151 to 9; note - the constitution adopted in February 2005 permits the post-transition president to be elected by a two-thirds majority of the legislature |
Exports | $14.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers | coffee, tea, sugar, cotton, hides |
Exports - partners | US 50%, EU 14%, Andean Community of Nations 16%, Japan 2% (2000 est.) | Germany 24.4%, Belgium 11.1%, Netherlands 8%, Switzerland 5.8%, US 4.6%, Pakistan 4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue, and red; similar to the flag of Ecuador, which is longer and bears the Ecuadorian coat of arms superimposed in the center | divided by a white diagonal cross into red panels (top and bottom) and green panels (hoist side and fly side) with a white disk superimposed at the center bearing three red six-pointed stars outlined in green arranged in a triangular design (one star above, two stars below) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $250 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
19% industry: 26% services: 55% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 46.3%
industry: 20.3% services: 33.4% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 1.1% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 4 00 N, 72 00 W | 3 30 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | only South American country with coastlines on both North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea | landlocked; straddles crest of the Nile-Congo watershed; the Kagera, which drains into Lake Victoria, is the most remote headstream of the White Nile |
Highways | total:
110,000 km paved: 26,000 km unpaved: 84,000 km (2000) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1% highest 10%: 44% (1999) |
lowest 10%: 1.8%
highest 10%: 32.9% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of coca, opium poppies, and cannabis; world's leading coca cultivator (cultivation of coca in 1999 - 122,500 hectares, a 20.3% increase over 1998); cultivation of opium in 1999 increased to 7,500 hectares from 6,100 hectares in 1998; potential production of opium in 1999 - 75 metric tons, a 25% increase over 1998; potential production of heroin in 1999 - nearly 8 metric tons, as compared with 6 tons in 1998; the world's largest processor of coca derivatives into cocaine; supplier of about 90% of the cocaine to the US and the great majority of cocaine to other international drug markets, and an important supplier of heroin to the US market; active aerial eradication program | - |
Imports | $12.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity | capital goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 35%, EU 16%, Andean Community of Nations 15%, Japan 5% (2000 est.) | Kenya 12.9%, Tanzania 10.6%, Belgium 10.4%, Italy 8.1%, France 5.4%, Uganda 5.3%, China 5%, India 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | 20 July 1810 (from Spain) | 1 July 1962 (from UN trusteeship under Belgian administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 11% (2000 est.) | 18% (2001) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds | light consumer goods such as blankets, shoes, soap; assembly of imported components; public works construction; food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 23.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 63.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 70.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 55.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9% (2000) | 16% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CAN, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G- 3, G-11, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, CEPGL, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 18 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 5,300 sq km (1993 est.) | 210 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | four, coequal, supreme judicial organs; Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justical (highest court of criminal law; judges are selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for eight-year terms); Council of State (highest court of administrative law, judges are selected from the nominees of the Higher Council of Justice for eight-year terms); Constitutional Court (guards integrity and supremacy of the constitution, rules on constitutionality of laws, amendments to the constitution, and international treaties); Higher Council of Justice (administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; members of the disciplinary chamber resolve jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal (there are three in separate locations); Tribunals of First Instance (17 at the province level and 123 small local tribunals) |
Labor force | 18.3 million (1999 est.) | 2.99 million (2002) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990) | agriculture: 93.6%
industry: 2.3% services: 4.1% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
6,004 km border countries: Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru 1,496 km (est.), Venezuela 2,050 km |
total: 974 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 233 km, Rwanda 290 km, Tanzania 451 km |
Land use | arable land:
4% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 39% forests and woodland: 48% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 35.57%
permanent crops: 13.12% other: 51.31% (2005) |
Languages | Spanish | Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) |
Legal system | based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted in 1992-93; judicial review of executive and legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Congress or Congreso consists of the Senate or Senado (102 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Representantes (163 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 8 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2002); House of Representatives - last held 8 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2002) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PL 50%, PSC 24%, smaller parties (many aligned with conservatives) 26%; seats by party - PL 58, PSC 28, smaller parties 16; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PL 52%, PSC 17%, other 31%; seats by party - PL 98, PSC 52, indigenous parties 2, others 11 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlement, consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (minimum 100 seats - 60% Hutu and 40% Tutsi with at least 30% being women; additional seats appointed by a National Independent Electoral Commission to ensure ethnic representation; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and a Senate (54 seats; 34 by indirect vote to serve five year terms, with remaining seats assigned to ethnic groups and former chiefs of state)
elections: National Assembly - last held 4 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010); Senate - last held 29 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - CNDD-FDD 58.6%, FRODEBU 21.7%, UPRONA 7.2%, CNDD 4.1%, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2.1%, others 6.2%; seats by party - CNDD-FDD 59, FRODEBU 25, UPRONA 10, CNDD 4, MRC-Rurenzangemero 2; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - CNDD-FDD 30, FRODEBU 3, CNDD 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
70.57 years male: 66.71 years female: 74.55 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 50.81 years
male: 50.07 years female: 51.58 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 91.3% male: 91.2% female: 91.4% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 51.6% male: 58.5% female: 45.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama | Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Map references | South America, Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
13 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 53,322 GRT/69,444 DWT ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 4, container 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 2 (2000 est.) |
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Military branches | Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, includes Marines and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana), National Police (Policia Nacional) | National Defense Force (Forces de Defense Nationales, FDN): Army (includes Naval Detachment and Air Wing), National Gendarmerie (being disbanded) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3 billion (FY00) | $43.9 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY00) | 5.6% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
10,779,148 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
7,205,211 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
379,295 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 20 July (1810) | Independence Day, 1 July (1962) |
Nationality | noun:
Colombian(s) adjective: Colombian |
noun: Burundian(s)
adjective: Burundian |
Natural hazards | highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts | flooding, landslides, drought |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower | nickel, uranium, rare earth oxides, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum, vanadium, arable land, hydropower, niobium, tantalum, gold, tin, tungsten, kaolin, limestone |
Net migration rate | -0.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 3,585 km; petroleum products 1,350 km; natural gas 830 km; natural gas liquids 125 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Conservative Party or PSC [Ciro RAMIREZ Anzon]; Liberal Party or PL [Luis Guillermo VELEZ]; Patriotic Union or UP is a legal political party formed by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and Colombian Communist Party or PCC [Jaime CAICEDO]; 19 of April Movement or M-19 [Antonio NAVARRO Wolff] | the three national, mainstream, governing parties are: Burundi Democratic Front or FRODEBU [Leonce NGENDAKUMANA, president]; National Council for the Defense of Democracy, Front for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD-FDD [Hussein RADJABU, president]; Unity for National Progress or UPRONA [Aloys RUBUKA, president]
note: a multiparty system was introduced after 1998, included are: National Council for the Defense of Democracy or CNDD; National Resistance Movement for the Rehabilitation of the Citizen or MRC-Rurenzangemero [Epitace BANYAGANAKANDI]; Party for National Redress or PARENA [Jean-Baptiste BAGAZA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | two largest insurgent groups active in Colombia - National Liberation Army or ELN and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC; largest paramilitary group is United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia or AUC | none |
Population | 40,349,388 (July 2001 est.) | 8,090,068
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 55% (1999) | 68% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.64% (2001 est.) | 3.7% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bahia de Portete, Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Leticia, Puerto Bolivar, San Andres, Santa Marta, Tumaco, Turbo | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 454, FM 34, shortwave 27 (1999) | AM 0, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | 21 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
3,304 km standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge (connects Cerrejon coal mines to maritime port at Bahia de Portete) narrow gauge: 3,154 km 0.914-m gauge (major sections not in use) (2000) |
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Religions | Roman Catholic 90% | Christian 67% (Roman Catholic 62%, Protestant 5%), indigenous beliefs 23%, Muslim 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | NA years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern system in many respects domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system; domestic satellite system with 41 earth stations; fiber-optic network linking 50 cities international: satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat; 3 fully digitalized international switching centers; 8 submarine cables |
general assessment: primitive system
domestic: sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay international: country code - 257; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 5,433,565 (December 1997) | 27,700 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,800,229 (December 1998) | 153,000 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 60 (includes seven low-power stations) (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains | hilly and mountainous, dropping to a plateau in east, some plains |
Total fertility rate | 2.66 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.55 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 18,140 km (navigable by river boats) (April 1996) | mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2003) |