Colombia (2006) | Japan (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 32 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 1 capital district* (distrito capital); Amazonas, Antioquia, Arauca, Atlantico, 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 | 47 prefectures; Aichi, Akita, Aomori, Chiba, Ehime, Fukui, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Gifu, Gumma, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Hyogo, Ibaraki, Ishikawa, Iwate, Kagawa, Kagoshima, Kanagawa, Kochi, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Mie, Miyagi, Miyazaki, Nagano, Nagasaki, Nara, Niigata, Oita, Okayama, Okinawa, Osaka, Saga, Saitama, Shiga, Shimane, Shizuoka, Tochigi, Tokushima, Tokyo, Tottori, Toyama, Wakayama, Yamagata, Yamaguchi, Yamanashi |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.3% (male 6,683,079/female 6,528,563)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 13,689,384/female 14,416,439) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 996,022/female 1,279,548) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 14.3% (male 9,337,867; female 8,876,996)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 42,697,264; female 42,196,835) 65 years and over: 19% (male 10,169,190; female 14,054,850) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp | rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruit, pork, poultry, dairy products, eggs, fish |
Airports | 984 (2006) | 174 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 101
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 38 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 12 (2006) |
total: 143
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 37 1,524 to 2,437 m: 39 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 32 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 883
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 35 914 to 1,523 m: 275 under 914 m: 572 (2006) |
total: 31
over 3047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 26 (2004 est.) |
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, and Serrana Bank |
total: 377,835 sq km
land: 374,744 sq km water: 3,091 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Texas | slightly smaller than California |
Background | 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 conflict between government forces and anti-government insurgent groups and illegal paramilitary groups - both heavily funded by the drug trade - escalated during the 1990s. The insurgents lack the military or popular support necessary to overthrow the government, and violence has been decreasing since about 2002, but insurgents continue attacks against civilians and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence. Paramilitary groups challenge the insurgents for control of territory and the drug trade. Most paramilitary members have demobilized since 2002 in an ongoing peace process, although their commitment to ceasing illicit activity is unclear. The Colombian Government has stepped up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, and now has a presence in every one of its municipalities. However, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders. | In 1603, a Tokugawa shogunate (military dictatorship) ushered in a long period of isolation from foreign influence in order to secure its power. For 250 years this policy enabled Japan to enjoy stability and a flowering of its indigenous culture. Following the Treaty of Kanagawa with the United States in 1854, Japan opened its ports and began to intensively modernize and industrialize. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Japan became a regional power that was able to defeat the forces of both China and Russia. It occupied Korea, Formosa (Taiwan), and southern Sakhalin Island. In 1933 Japan occupied Manchuria and in 1937 it launched a full-scale invasion of China. Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his throne as a symbol of national unity, actual power rests in networks of powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and business executives. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally. In 2005, Japan began a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. |
Birth rate | 20.48 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 9.56 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $46.82 billion
expenditures: $48.77 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $1.327 trillion
expenditures: $1.646 trillion, including capital expenditures (public works only) of about $71 billion (2003 est.) |
Capital | name: Bogota
geographic coordinates: 4 36 N, 74 05 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Tokyo |
Climate | tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands | varies from tropical in south to cool temperate in north |
Coastline | 3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km) | 29,751 km |
Constitution | 5 July 1991 | 3 May 1947 |
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: none
conventional short form: Japan |
Currency | - | yen (JPY) |
Death rate | 5.58 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 8.75 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $32.35 billion (2005 est.) | NA (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William B. WOOD
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 Howard H. BAKER, Jr.
embassy: 10-5 Akasaka 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8420 mailing address: Unit 45004, Box 258, APO AP 96337-5004 telephone: [81] (03) 3224-5000 FAX: [81] (03) 3505-1862 consulate(s) general: Naha (Okinawa), Osaka-Kobe, Sapporo consulate(s): Fukuoka, Nagoya |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Carolina BARCO Isakson
chancery: 2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-8338 FAX: [1] (202) 232-8643 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), Washington, DC |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ryozo KATO
chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 238-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) |
Disputes - international | Nicaragua filed a claim against Honduras in 1999 and against Colombia in 2001 at the ICJ over disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 sq km in the Caribbean Sea, including the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; dispute with Venezuela over maritime boundary and Los Monjes Islands near the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics, guerrilla, and paramilitary activities penetrate all of its neighbors' borders and have created a serious refugee crisis with over 300,000 persons having fled the country, mostly into neighboring states | The sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kuril Islands", occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; intensified media coverage and protests highlight dispute over the fishing-rich Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima) also claimed by South Korea; China and Taiwan have intensified their claims to the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu Tai) administered by Japan |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $7 billion (FY03/04) |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
Economy - overview | Colombia's economy has been on a recovery trend during the past two years despite a serious armed conflict. The economy continues to improve thanks to austere government budgets, focused efforts to reduce public debt levels, an export-oriented growth strategy, and an improved security situation in the country. Ongoing economic problems facing President URIBE range from reforming the pension system to reducing high unemployment. New exploration is needed to offset declining oil production. On the positive side, several international financial institutions have praised the economic reforms introduced by URIBE, which succeeded in reducing the public-sector deficit below 1.5% of GDP. The government's economic policy and democratic security strategy have engendered a growing sense of confidence in the economy, particularly within the business sector. Coffee prices have recovered from previous lows as the Colombian coffee industry pursues greater market shares in developed countries such as the United States. | Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, mastery of high technology, and a comparatively small defense allocation (1% of GDP) helped Japan advance with extraordinary rapidity to the rank of second most technologically-powerful economy in the world after the US and third-largest economy after the US and China. One notable characteristic of the economy is the working together of manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors in closely-knit groups called keiretsu. A second basic feature has been the guarantee of lifetime employment for a substantial portion of the urban labor force. Both features are now eroding. Industry, the most important sector of the economy, is heavily dependent on imported raw materials and fuels. The much smaller agricultural sector is highly subsidized and protected, with crop yields among the highest in the world. Usually self-sufficient in rice, Japan must import about 50% of its requirements of other grain and fodder crops. Japan maintains one of the world's largest fishing fleets and accounts for nearly 15% of the global catch. For three decades overall real economic growth had been spectacular: a 10% average in the 1960s, a 5% average in the 1970s, and a 4% average in the 1980s. Growth slowed markedly in the 1990s, averaging just 1.7%, largely because of the after effects of overinvestment during the late 1980s and contractionary domestic policies intended to wring speculative excesses from the stock and real estate markets. Government efforts to revive economic growth have met with little success and were further hampered in 2000-2003 by the slowing of the US, European, and Asian economies. Japan's huge government debt, which totals more than 150% of GDP, and the ageing of the population are two major long-run problems. Robotics constitutes a key long-term economic strength with Japan possessing 410,000 of the world's 720,000 "working robots." Internal conflict over the proper way to reform the ailing banking system continues. |
Electricity - consumption | 48.83 billion kWh (2003) | 964.2 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 1.082 billion kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 48.4 million kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 50.43 billion kWh (2003) | 1.037 trillion kWh (2001) |
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: Hachiro-gata -4 m
highest point: Mount Fuji 3,776 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions | air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life; Japan is one of the largest consumers of fish and tropical timber, contributing to the depletion of these resources in Asia and elsewhere |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling |
Ethnic groups | mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1% | Japanese 99%, others 1% (Korean 511,262, Chinese 244,241, Brazilian 182,232, Filipino 89,851, other 237,914)
note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil (2004) |
Exchange rates | Colombian pesos per US dollar - 2,320.75 (2005), 2,628.61 (2004), 2,877.65 (2003), 2,504.24 (2002), 2,299.63 (2001) | yen per US dollar - 115.933 (2003), 125.388 (2002), 121.529 (2001), 107.765 (2000), 113.907 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Alvaro URIBE Velez (since 7 August 2002); Vice President Francisco SANTOS (since 7 August 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of a coalition of the two dominant parties - the PL and PSC - and independents elections: president and vice president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 28 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2010) election results: President Alvaro URIBE Velez reelected president; percent of vote - Alvaro URIBE Velez 62%, Carlos GAVIRIA Diaz 22%, Horacio SERPA Uribe 12%, other 4% |
chief of state: Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989)
head of government: Prime Minister Junichiro KOIZUMI (since 26 April 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister elections: Diet designates prime minister; constitution requires that prime minister commands parliamentary majority; following legislative elections, leader of majority party or leader of majority coalition in House of Representatives usually becomes prime minister; monarch is hereditary |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 93,360 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers | motor vehicles, semiconductors, office machinery, chemicals |
Exports - partners | US 41.8%, Venezuela 9.9%, Ecuador 6.3% (2005) | US 24.8%, China 12.1%, South Korea 7.3%, Taiwan 6.6%, Hong Kong 6.3% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays) in the center |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $3.582 trillion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.5%
industry: 34.2% services: 53.3% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 1.3%
industry: 25.4% services: 73.3% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $28,200 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.2% (2005 est.) | 2.7% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 4 00 N, 72 00 W | 36 00 N, 138 00 E |
Geography - note | only South American country with coastlines on both the North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea | strategic location in northeast Asia |
Heliports | 2 (2006) | 15 (2003 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 1,161,894 km
paved: 534,471 km (including 6,455 km of expressways) unpaved: 627,423 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 7.9%
highest 10%: 34.3% (2004) |
lowest 10%: 4.8%
highest 10%: 21.7% (1993) |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis; world's leading coca cultivator (cultivation of coca in 2004 was 114,100 hectares, virtually unchanged from 2003, but down one-third from its peak of 169,800 ha); producing a potential of 430 mt of pure cocaine; the world's largest producer of coca derivatives; supplying most of the US market and the great majority of cocaine to other international drug markets; important supplier of heroin to the US market; opium poppy cultivation fell 50% between 2003 and 2004 to 2,100 hectares yielding a potential 3.8 metric tons of pure heroin, mostly for the US market; in 2004, aerial eradication treated over 130,000 hectares of coca but aggressive replanting on the part of growers means Colombia remains a key producer; a significant portion of non-US narcotics proceeds are either laundered or invested in Colombia through the black market peso exchange | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 5.449 million bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity | machinery and equipment, fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, raw materials (2001) |
Imports - partners | US 28.5%, Mexico 8.3%, China 7.6%, Brazil 6.5%, Venezuela 5.7% (2005) | China 19.7%, US 15.6%, South Korea 4.7%, Indonesia 4.3% (2003) |
Independence | 20 July 1810 (from Spain) | 660 BC (traditional founding by Emperor Jimmu) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (2005 est.) | 3.3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds | among world's largest and technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronic equipment, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, processed foods |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.35 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 3.28 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5% (2005 est.) | -0.3% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CAN, CDB, CSN, FAO, G-3, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | AfDB, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EBRD, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMOVIC, UNRWA, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 9,000 sq km (2003) | 26,790 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | four roughly coequal, supreme judicial organs; Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de Justicia (highest court of criminal law; judges are selected by their peers from the nominees of the Superior Judicial Council for eight-year terms); Council of State (highest court of administrative law; judges are selected from the nominees of the Superior Judicial Council 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); Superior Judicial Council (administers and disciplines the civilian judiciary; resolves jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts; members are elected by three sister courts and Congress for eight-year terms) | Supreme Court (chief justice is appointed by the monarch after designation by the cabinet; all other justices are appointed by the cabinet) |
Labor force | 20.52 million (2005) | 66.66 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 22.7%
industry: 18.7% services: 58.5% (2000 est.) |
agriculture 5%, industry 25%, services 70% (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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.01%
permanent crops: 1.37% other: 96.62% (2005) |
arable land: 12.19%
permanent crops: 0.96% other: 86.85% (2001) |
Languages | Spanish | Japanese |
Legal system | based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US procedures was enacted into law in 2004 and is gradually being implemented; judicial review of executive and legislative acts | modeled after European civil law system with English-American influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
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 (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 12 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2010); House of Representatives - last held 12 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2010) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSUN 20, PC 18, PL 17, CR 15, PDI 11, other parties 21; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PL 36, PSUN 30, PC 29, CR 20, PDA 42, other parties 42 |
bicameral Diet or Kokkai consists of the House of Councillors or Sangi-in (242 seats - members elected for six-year terms; half reelected every three years; 144 members in multi-seat constituencies and 98 by proportional representation); House of Representatives or Shugi-in (480 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 300 in single-seat constituencies; 180 members by proportional representation in 11 regional blocs)
elections: House of Councillors - last held 11 July 2004 (next to be held in July 2007); House of Representatives - last held 9 November 2003 (next election by November 2007) election results: House of Councillors - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - LDP 115, DPJ 82, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 5, others 7; distribution of seats as of October 2004 - LDP 114, DPJ 84, Komeito 24, JCP 9, SDP 5, others 6 House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LDP 49.38%, DPJ 36.88%, Komeito 7.09%, JCP 1.88%, SDP 1.25%, NCP .84%; seats by party - LDP 237, DPJ 177, Komeito 34, JCP 9, SDP 6, NCP 4, others 13; distribution of seats as of December 2004: LDP 249, DPJ 177, Komeito 34, JCP 9, SDP 6, others 3, vacant 2 note: Liberal Party merged with Democratic Party of Japan in September 2003; Conservative New Party merged with Liberal Democratic Party following election in November 2003 (2004) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.99 years
male: 68.15 years female: 75.96 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 81.04 years
male: 77.74 years female: 84.51 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.5% male: 92.4% female: 92.6% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2002) |
Location | Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama | Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula |
Map references | South America | Asia |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the international straits - La Perouse or Soya, Tsugaru, Osumi, and Eastern and Western Channels of the Korea or Tsushima Strait
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 17 ships (1000 GRT or over) 42,413 GRT/58,737 DWT
by type: cargo 13, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 3 registered in other countries: 7 (Antigua and Barbuda 2, Panama 5) (2006) |
total: 568 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 10,149,196 GRT/12,680,544 DWT
by type: bulk 113, cargo 39, chemical tanker 18, combination bulk 31, combination ore/oil 1, container 14, liquefied gas 53, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 170, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 58, short-sea/passenger 7, vehicle carrier 49 foreign-owned: China 1, Panama 1, Philippines 1, Singapore 1 registered in other countries: 1,989 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army (Ejercito Nacional), National Navy (Armada Nacional, includes naval aviation, marines, and coast guard), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana) (2006) | Ground Self-Defense Force (Army), Maritime Self-Defense Force (Navy), Air Self-Defense Force (Air Force), Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $3.3 billion (FY01) | $42,488.1 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.4% (FY01) | 1% (2003) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 29,179,095 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 25,189,438 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 700,931 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 20 July (1810) | Birthday of Emperor AKIHITO, 23 December (1933) |
Nationality | noun: Colombian(s)
adjective: Colombian |
noun: Japanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Japanese |
Natural hazards | highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts | many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower | negligible mineral resources, fish |
Net migration rate | -0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 4,360 km; oil 6,140 km; refined products 3,158 km (2006) | gas 2,719 km; oil 170 km; oil/gas/water 60 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Clandestine Communist Party of Colombia or PCC [Jaime CAICEDO]; Colombian Conservative Party or PC [Carlos HOLGUIN Sardi]; Alternative Democratic Pole or PDA [Samuel MORENO Rojas]; Liberal Party or PL [Cesar GAVIRIA]; Social National Unity Party or PSUN [Juan Manuel SANTOS]
note: Colombia has about 60 formally recognized political parties, most of which do not have a presence in either house of Congress |
Democratic Party of Japan or DPJ [Katsuya OKADA, leader; Tatsuo KAWABATA, secretary general]; Japan Communist Party or JCP [Kazuo SHII, chairman; Tadayoshi ICHIDA, secretary general]; Komeito [Takenori KANZAKI, president; Tetsuzo FUYUSHIBA, secretary general]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Junichiro KOIZUMI, president; Tsutomu TAKEBE, secretary general]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Mizuho FUKUSHIMA, chairperson; Seiji MATAICHI, secretary general] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | two largest insurgent groups active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC and National Liberation Army or ELN; largest illegal paramilitary group, a roughly organized umbrella group of disparate paramilitary forces, is United Self-Defense Groups of Colombia or AUC | NA |
Population | 43,593,035 (July 2006 est.) | 127,333,002 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 49.2% (2005) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.46% (2006 est.) | 0.08% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Akita, Amagasaki, Chiba, Hachinohe, Hakodate, Higashi-Harima, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kinuura, Kobe, Kushiro, Mizushima, Moji, Nagoya, Osaka, Sakai, Sakaide, Shimizu, Tokyo, Tomakomai |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 454, FM 34, shortwave 27 (1999) | AM 215 plus 370 repeaters, FM 89 plus 485 repeaters, shortwave 21 (2001) |
Railways | total: 3,304 km
standard gauge: 150 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 3,154 km 0.914-m gauge (2005) |
total: 23,705 km (16,519 km electrified)
standard gauge: 3,204 km 1.435-m gauge (3,204 km electrified) narrow gauge: 77 km 1.372-m gauge (77 km electrified); 20,393 km 1.067-m gauge (13,227 km electrified); 11 km 0.762-m gauge (11 km electrified) (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 90%, other 10% | observe both Shinto and Buddhist 84%, other 16% (including Christian 0.7%) |
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: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 20 years of age; universal |
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: country code - 57; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 1 Inmarsat; 3 fully digitalized international switching centers; 8 submarine cables |
general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind international: country code - 81; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); submarine cables to China, Philippines, Russia, and US (via Guam) (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 7,678,800 (2005) | 71.149 million (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 21.85 million (2005) | 86,658,600 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 60 (includes seven low-power stations) (1997) | 211 plus 7,341 repeaters
note: in addition, US Forces are served by 3 TV stations and 2 TV cable services (1999) |
Terrain | flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains | mostly rugged and mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 2.54 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.8% (2005 est.) | 5.3% (2003) |
Waterways | 18,000 km (2005) | 1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2004) |