Quick Facts
- Full Country Name: Republic of Colombia
- Capital: Bogota (population: 6.7 million)
- Language: Castilian Spanish (official), plus over 200 indigenous languages.
- Currency: Colombian peso $ (COL) = 100 centavos.
- People: Mestizo (of European-Indian descent) (58%), European descent (20%), mulatto (African-European descent) (14%), African descent (4%), African-Indian descent (3%), indigenous (1%).
- Life Expectancy: Male: 67.88, Female: 75.7.
- Religion: Catholic 95%, remaining 5% includes traditional, Episcopal and Jewish faiths.
- Size (sq km): 1,141,748 (26th)
- Population: 45.6 million (28th)
- Population Density per sq km: 40 (161st)
- Country Dialling Code: 57
- Internet Country Code: .co
- Time Zone: GMT -5
- Voltage Guide: 110/120 AC, 60 Hz.
- Finance: Major credit cards accepted. Traveller's cheques difficult to change in smaller towns.
- Business Hours: 0800-1200, 1400-1700 Monday-Friday.
- GDP: US$254 billion
- GDP per Capita: US$6,200
- Inflation: 16.7%
- Major Industries: Textiles, coffee, oil, narcotics, sugar cane, food processing.
- Major Trading Partner: US, EU.
- Personal Safety: Very unsafe. Kidnapping and violence are commonplace. Do not accept sweets or drinks from strangers (even Westerners); they maybe drugged. Many areas are subject to guerrilla warfare or covert activities (cocaine-growing, emerald-mining) and should be avoided.
