Where is Colombia?
About Colombia
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media
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Colombia is a vast country in the north of South America.
Colombia has a border in the east on the Caribbean Sea and in the west on the Pacific Ocean.
The land is a mixture of flat lowland, coastal plains and high mountains, part of the Andes range.
The geographical coordinates for the centre of Colombia, also known as lines of latitude and longtitude, are:-
Latitude - 4 00N
Longitude - 72 00W
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Check the weather in Bogota now.
This is the time in Bogota now
The Colombian flag is 3 horizontal stripes of yellow, at the top and double width, blue and red.
The capital of Colombia is Bogota.
Colombia is a presidential republic with a President as head of government and head of state.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 can vote.
The currency in Colombia is the peso.
Spanish is the official language.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
Colombia is a presidential republic with a President as head of government and head of state.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 can vote.
The currency in Colombia is the peso.
Spanish is the official language.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Colombia to provide us with a detailed history of
their own country. Check how here.
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The total land area of Colombia is 1,038,700 sq kms which is the 5th largest in South America.
Colombia has lakes, rivers and canals which total 100,210 sq kms.
Colombia has boundaries with 5 countries
- Venezuela 2,341,683 kms
- Brazil 1,790 kms
- Peru 1,494 601 kms
- Ecuador 708 531 kms
- Panama 339 kms
Colombia has a coastline of 3,208 kms which is the 4th longest in South America.
The highest point in Colombia is Pico Cristobal Colon at 5,730 metres.
The pie chart below shows how the land is split between agricultural land (crops and pastures), forests and other, which can be towns, villages, desert or frozen waste called tundra.
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The total population of Colombia is 47.22 million people, making it the 2nd largest country in South America by population.
Of this number 23.89 million are females and 23.33 million are males.
A person from Colombia is called a Colombian.
To be a citizen of Colombia, one of your parents must be a citizen or permanent resident of Colombia. It is not sufficient to be born in Colombia. You have to live in Colombia for
5 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.
The largest five cities in Colombia, by population are:-
- Bogota 7,674,336 people
- Santiago de Cali 2,392,877
- Medellin 1,999,979
- Barranquilla 1,380,425
- Cartagena 952,024
For each country we will give you a diagram showing the population density. This is the average number of people for each square kilometre.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
76.4% of the people live in cities or towns.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
76.4% of the people live in cities or towns.
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The birth rate in Colombia is 16.3 births per 1,000 of population
The death rate in Colombia is 5.4 deaths per 1,000 people.
Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then
the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.
There are 10.9 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 17.1 deaths of boys.
The median age for females is 30.6 and for males is 28.7. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number
of people above the median age as below it.
The average age of a woman when she has her first child is 21.4.
The elderly dependency ratio is 10.2. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).
The potential support ratio is 9.8. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.
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Colombia spends 7.2% of its total income on health care.
There are 1.47 doctors per 1,000 people.
There are 1.5 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
22.3% of the population are estimated as obese.
96.8% of the urban population and 73.8% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or
protected rainwater collection facility.
85.2% of the urban population and 67.9% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer. a pit latrine (that is a
permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.
Colombia releases 74.0 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels in the process of producing and consuming energy. This puts it as the 5th highest in South America.
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Colombia spends 4.5% of its total income on education.
Children usually start school at age 5 in Colombia. Primary education is for five years until age 10 and secondary education must continue till 15 but can go on to 17/18. This may be followed
by further education at a university or college.
Generally the school year consists of 3 terms and starts in the first week of September and finishes in the third week of July. There is usually a 2 week
break at Christmas and Easter, and a one week break in the middle of each term.
94.4% of females and 94.1% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.
17.5% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 22.7% are unemployed while with males 13.7% can't find work.
The total number of people available for work in Colombia is 24.43 million.
They work in the following sectors.
- Agriculture includes farming, fishing and forestry work
- Industry includes mining, manufacturing, construction and energy workers
- Services is everything else
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There are 121 paved airports in Colombia, which is the 4th highest number in South America.
There are 2,141 kilometres of railways in Colombia, the 5th longest in South America.
There are 204,855 kilometres of roads in Colombia, which means Colombia is in 2nd place for the most kilometres of roads in South America.
There are 6 major national newspapers in Colombia.
There are 57.33 million mobile phone users.
15% of the people have a fixed landline.
26.13 million people have access to the internet at home via any device (computer or mobile).
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