COLOMBIA

Republic of Colombia

República de Colombia

CAPITAL: Bogotá.

FLAG: The national flag consists of three horizontal stripes; the yellow upper stripe is twice as wide as each of the other two, which are blue and red.

ANTHEM: Himno Nacional, beginning "O gloria inmarcesible, júbilo inmortal" ("O unwithering glory, immortal joy").

MONETARY UNIT: The Colombian peso (c$) of 100 centavos is a paper currency. There are coins of 10, 20, and 50 centavos and of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 pesos, and notes of 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 pesos. Commemorative gold coins of various denominations also have been minted. c$1 = us$0.00101 (or us$1 = c$987.65).

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the official standard, but Spanish units such as the botella, vara, fonegada, arroba, and quintal are also used.

HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Epiphany, 6 January; St. Joseph's Day, 19 March; Labor Day, 1 May; Day of St. Peter and St. Paul, 29 June; Independence Day, 20 July; Battle of Boyacá, 7 August; Assumption, 15 August; Columbus Day, 12 October; All Saints' Day, 1 November; Independence of Cartagena, 11 November; Immaculate Conception, 8 December; Christmas, 25 December. Movable religious holidays include Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Ascension, Sacred Heart, and Corpus Christi. In addition there are six official commemorative days.

TIME: 7 am = noon GMT.

Source Database: Junior Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations
Table of Contents
AGRICULTURE | ARMED FORCES | CLIMATE | DOMESTICATED ANIMALS | ECONOMY | EDUCATION | ENERGY AND POWER | ENVIRONMENT | ETHNIC GROUPS | FAMOUS COLOMBIANS | FISHING | FORESTRY | FURTHER READINGS | GOVERNMENT | HEALTH | HISTORY | HOUSING | INCOME | INDUSTRY | JUDICIAL SYSTEM | LABOR | LANGUAGES | LOCATION AND SIZE | MEDIA | MIGRATION | MINING | PLANTS AND ANIMALS | POLITICAL PARTIES | POPULATION | RELIGIONS | SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT | SOURCE CITATION | TOPOGRAPHY | TOURISM AND RECREATION | TRANSPORTATION | VIEW MULTIMEDIA FILE(S)

LOCATION AND SIZE

Colombia is the only South American country with both Caribbean and Pacific coastlines. The fourth-largest country in South America, it has a total area of 1,138,910 square kilometers (439,736 square miles), slightly less than three times the size of the state of Montana. Colombia's total boundary length is 10,657 kilometers (6,596 miles).

Colombia's capital city, Bogotá, is located in the center of the country.

TOPOGRAPHY

The Andes Mountains divide just north of Colombia's southern border with Ecuador into three separate chains, or cordilleras, known as the Cordillera Occidental (western), the Cordillera Central, and the Cordillera Oriental (eastern). The western and central cordilleras run roughly parallel with the Pacific coast, extending northward as far as the Caribbean coastal lowlands. The third chain, the Cordillera Oriental, runs northeastward, dividing into two branches. Northward, near the Caribbean, stands the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, whose highest elevation is Cristóbal Colón (5,775 meters/18,947 feet), the tallest peak in Colombia.

Separating the three principal Andean ranges are Colombia's two major rivers, the Cauca and the Magdalena. After emerging from the mountains, the two rivers become one and descend through marshy lowlands to the Caribbean. Open plains immediately adjoin the mountains, but as the distance from the cordillera increases, the plains give way to largely uninhabited and unexplored jungle. Principal rivers on the Pacific coast include the Baudó, San Juan, and Patía.

GEOGRAPHIC PROFILE

Arable land: Land used for temporary crops, like meadows for mowing or pasture, gardens, and greenhouses. Permanent crops: Land cultivated with crops that occupy its use for long periods, such as cocoa, coffee, rubber, fruit and nut orchards, and vineyards. Permanent pastures: Land used permanently for forage crops. Forests: Land containing stands of trees. Other: Any land not specified, including built-on areas, roads, and barren land.

CLIMATE

The country may be divided into four climatic regions by altitude. The hot country, or tierra caliente, is the tropical zone, where the mean annual temperature is 24°c to 27°c (75-81°f). Between 1,100 meters (3,500 feet) and 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) above sea level is the temperate zone, or tierra templada, where the average year-round temperature is about 18°c (64°f).

Between 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) and 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) is the cold country, or tierra fría, with temperatures averaging a little over 13°c (55°f). Above the 3,000-meters (10,000-feet) level the temperature varies from 13°c to -17°c (55°f to 1°f), according to altitude. The annual mean temperature at the capital, Bogotá (altitude 2,598 meters/8,525 feet), is 14°c (57°f). Rainfall is heaviest on the west coast and in the Andean area.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS

More than 45,000 species of plants have been identified in Colombia, and it is predicted that when the region has been thoroughly explored the number may be doubled. At the highest and coldest level of mountain meadows, called páramos, the soil supports grasses and dense masses of low bushes.

In the inter-mountain basins some vegetables, European-introduced grains, and corn are found, along with the bushes, trees, and meadow grasses native to the region. The temperate areas support extensive and luxuriant forests, ferns, mosses, trees of the laurel family, Spanish cedars, vegetables, and grain crops.

The tropical zone may be divided into four main groups according to the amount of rainfall received: desertlike areas supporting arid plants, deciduous forests, rainforests, and grass plains. Palm trees of various species abound in the tropics, and there are many edible fruits and vegetables.

Animal life is abundant, especially in the tropical area. Among carnivorous species are the puma (a variety of smaller cat) and raccoons. Herbivorous animals include the tapir, deer, and large tropical rodents. Sloths, anteaters, opossums, and several types of monkeys are also found, as well as some 1,665 species and subspecies of South American and migratory birds.

ENVIRONMENT

Colombia's main environmental problems are soil erosion, deforestation, and the preservation of its wildlife. Loss of forest land, which also furthers erosion, has been caused by commercial exploitation. Approximately 908,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) of forestland were lost per year during the 1970s. Between 1983 and 1993, the country lost 5.8% of its forestland. Without a major reforestation effort, Colombia's timber resources could be exhausted by the year 2000.

Endangered species in Colombia include the tundra peregrine falcon, gorgeted wood-quail, red siskin, five species of turtle (green sea, hawksbill, olive ridley, leatherback, and arrau), and two species each of alligator and crocodile. By 1997, 25 mammals, 69 bird species, 10 reptile species, and 327 plant species in Colombia were endangered.

HISTORY

Archaeological studies indicate that Colombia was inhabited by various Amerindian groups as early as 11,000 bc. Prominent among the pre-Columbian cultures were the highland Chibchas, an agricultural people located in the eastern chain of the Andes.

The first Spanish settlement, Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast, dates from 1525. In 1536, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and a company of 900 men traveled up the Magdalena River. They entered the heart of Chibcha territory in 1538, conquered the inhabitants, and established Bogotá. Spain consolidated Colombia, then called New Granada, with the areas that are now known as Panama, Venezuela, and Ecuador. The area became Spain's chief source of gold and was exploited for emeralds and tobacco.

In the late 1700s, an independence movement developed, stemming from Spanish taxation and the political and trade restrictions placed on American-born colonists. One of the leaders of this movement was Simón Bolívar. Independence was declared on 20 July 1810. However, independence was not assured until 7 August 1819, when the Battle of Boyacá was won by Simón Bolívar's troops. It was a decisive victory.

In 1819 the Republic of Greater Colombia was formed. It included Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. Although Venezuela and Ecuador seceded, Panama remained part of Colombia. In 1831 the country became the State of New Granada. Bolívar was elected president of the new republic. However, political and financial order was attained under Francisco de Paula Santander. Santander, who had been Bolívar's vice-president, became president in 1832.

In the decade that followed, there was intense disagreement over the relative amount of power to be granted to the government and the Roman Catholic Church. The supporters of strong central government had organized and became known as the conservatives. The conservatives favored highly centralized government and the perpetuation of traditional class and church privileges. They also opposed the extension of voting rights to all members of the society. Opposing the conservatives were the liberals. The liberals supported states' rights, universal suffrage, and complete separation of church and state.

The liberals were in power for most of the years between 1845 and 1880, a period characterized by frequent revolts and civil wars.

During the period 1880-94, the conservative Rafael Núñez, a poet and intellectual, restored centralized government and the power of the church. During his tenure as president, the State of New Granada formally became the Republic of Colombia.

The differences between the conservatives and the liberals eventually led to a civil war known as the War of a Thousand Days (1899-1902). This war resulted in more than 100,000 deaths.

LOSS OF PANAMA

The nation's declining morale was worsened by the loss of Panama in 1903. The United States wanted Colombia to sign a treaty that would lease a zone of land across the Isthmus of Panama to the United States. The United States wanted the land for a canal that would link the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific. When Colombia refused to ratify the treaty, the United States supported a revolt that created the Republic of Panama. Colombia lost its territory in Panama and the United States went on to build the Panama Canal. Colombia did not recognize Panama's independence until 1914, in exchange for rights in the Canal Zone and a payment from the United States.

During World War II (1939-45), which Colombia entered on the side of the Allies, social and political divisions within the country intensified. The postwar period was marked by growing social unrest and riots in the capital and in the countryside. An extended and bloody period of rural disorder (La Violencia) claimed 150,000 to 200,000 lives between 1947 and 1958.

The disorder in the country led to a military coup in 1953 that brought General Gustavo Rojas Pinilla to power. Initially, Rojas enjoyed wide popular support, partly for his success in reducing the ongoing violence (La Violencia). When he did not promptly restore democratic government, however, he was overthrown in 1957 by the military with the backing of both political parties. After his overthrow, a provisional government took office.

THE NATIONAL FRONT

In 1957 the liberals and the conservatives formed a coalition government that lasted for 16 years. This arrangement, called the National Front, provided for a free election to be held in 1958. The parties would then alternate in power for four-year terms until 1974. In August 1974, with the inauguration of the liberal Alfonso López Michelsen as president, Colombia returned to a two-party system for presidential and congressional elections.

However, Colombia was plagued by political violence, including numerous kidnappings and political murders by both left- and right-wing organizations. The country also became increasingly plagued by drug traffickers. In 1990, two presidential candidates were assassinated by drug lords intent on intimidating the government from pursuing anti-drug policies. However, the government responded by announcing a new hard-line policy against both the drug traffickers and the anti-government guerrillas.

In 1991 a new constitution was created that included a number of reforms aimed at increasing the democratization of Colombia's elite-controlled political system. In the 1994 elections, Colombians once again chose a liberal government. The elections were marked by widespread political violence and the newly elected president, Ernesto Samper, soon found himself charged with accepting campaign contributions from known drug traffickers. Colombia's political violence, driven by the huge profits to be made in the drug business, continues to be a major problem.

In 1998, Andrés Pastrana was elected president, and he planned to start peace talks with armed rebels who have attacked police and military bases in recent years.

MIGRATION

Emigration is small but significant, since many of those who leave the country are scientists, technicians, and doctors. Between 1951 and 1985, some 218,724 Colombians settled in the United States, at an annual rate that rose to 11,802 in 1985. In 1990 there were more persons in the United States of Colombian birth--304,000--than of any other South American nationality. About 900,000 Colombians were internally displaced as of May 1997 by the country's chronic violence, mainly between leftist guerilla movements and government forces and between drug-lords and their private armies and government forces.

ARMED FORCES

Colombia's total armed forces amount to 146,300 personnel. All adult males (ages 18-30) are required by the constitution to serve, if called, for one or two years.

The army of 120,000 is organized into five divisions of 17 infantry brigades, stationed on a regional basis. Special mobile forces, counterinsurgency forces, rangers, commandoes, and mechanized guard forces number an additional 17 battalions.

Air force personnel numbered 7,300 in 1995; combat aircraft numbered 74; armed helicopters, 75. The navy had 18,000 personnel, including 6,000 marines. Naval ships included 5 frigates, 2 submarines, and 37 patrol craft and gunboats. There is also a 87,000-member national police force.

Colombia's defense forces are frequently occupied in opposing rural violence, often stemming from militant guerrilla groups and drug lords' armies.

GOVERNMENT

Colombia is a republic, organized democratically under the current constitution of 1991. The Congress consists of a Chamber of Representatives and a Senate. Members of both are elected directly for four-year terms. In 1990 there were 163 representatives and 102 senators. The chief executive is granted the power to declare a state of emergency during times of economic and social stress. Under such a declaration, the president may rule by decree for a period of not longer than 90 days in any one year.

The president is elected directly for a four-year term and may not succeed himself until one term has passed. There is universal suffrage for those 18 years of age and over. Women were given the right to vote in 1954.

Colombia is divided into 23 departments (states), 4 intendencies, 5 administrative territories (commissariats), and the Bogotá federal district.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

The Supreme Court in Bogotá is composed of 24 magistrates selected for lifetime terms by justices already in office. The Supreme Court reviews state and municipality laws, frames bills to be submitted to Congress, and proposes reforms. It presides over impeachment trials.

There is a superior court of three or more judges in each of the judicial districts and a number of municipal courts. There are also special labor courts. In criminal cases, the judge chooses a five-member jury; jury duty is obligatory. There is no capital punishment; the maximum penalty for crimes is 20 years in prison.

In practice, the judiciary is overburdened and subject to intimidation in cases involving narcotics or offenses by police. In 1991, the government set up five regional jurisdictions to handle narcotics, terrorism, and police corruption cases. In these courts, anonymous judges and prosecutors handle the major trials of narcotics terrorists. The procedures in these new courts have come under criticism for violating the rights of defendants. The government intends to abolish the system in 1999.

POLITICAL PARTIES

For many years, the Colombian constitution allowed only two political parties, the Liberal and the Conservative, to participate in the national government.

The Liberal Party (Partido Liberal--PL) supports religious toleration and a positive response to the social and economic demands of the masses. Liberals have been far more successful in elections than the conservatives, having won all but one election since 1974, and they continue to enjoy majority support in both houses.

The policy of the Conservative Party (Partido Conservador Social--PCS) has been characterized by close cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church, a lack of tolerance for non-Roman Catholic religious beliefs, maintenance of class privileges, and highly centralized government.

Recent changes allow for more parties, and several have emerged. The Colombian Communist Party (Partido Communista de Colombia--PCC) is a traditional, Moscow-oriented party. In 1991, the M-19 (which stands for the April 19 Movement) gave up its armed struggle against the government, which it had been waging since 1970, and entered candidates in the 1990 elections. Currently, M-19 is part of a coalition of leftist parties called the Democratic Alliance M-19.

The 1994 elections saw Ernesto Samper of the Liberal Party elected president. Following that vote, the Liberal Party held 59 seats in the Senate and 89 seats in the House. In 1998, Andrés Pastrana of the Conservative Party was elected president, with the largest margin of victory in Colombia's history.

TOURISM AND RECREATION

Colombia has mountains, jungles, modern and colonial cities, and resorts on both the Pacific and the Caribbean. The number of tourists entering Colombia reached 1 million in 1993, with 961,797 from the Americas and 79,124 from Europe. Earnings from tourism rose to $794 million in 1994.

Soccer is the most popular sport, followed by basketball, baseball, boxing, and cockfighting; there are also facilities for golf, tennis, and horseback riding, as well as bull rings in the major cities.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Social security coverage extends to salaried and self-employed people alike. The government, employers, and employees pay for the program, which includes disability, old age, and death benefits as well as coverage of nonoccupational illnesses, maternity, and job-related accidents. A comprehensive medical program was implemented in 1995 and coverage is gradually being extended to all Colombians regardless of their contributions.

The Colombian Institute of Social Security administers other programs, including severance pay, pensions, vacation benefits, group life insurance, job training, transportation and clothing subsidies, educational benefits for families, and a scholarship fund. The Family Welfare Institute coordinates an estimated 1,000 public and private charities involved in caring for children and destitute families.

There is still discrimination against women, especially in rural areas. They earn 30-40% less than men for doing similar work and occupy few of the top positions in government.

Human rights abuses have declined in recent years, but reports of extra-judicial killings and disappearances continue. Prison conditions are harsh, but international monitoring is allowed by the government.

ETHNIC GROUPS

The predominant racial strain in Colombia is the mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian), constituting about 50% of the total population. An estimated 25% of the inhabitants are of unmixed white ancestry, 20% are mulatto (black-white) or zambo (black-Indian), 4% are black, and 1.5% are pure Amerindian (aboriginals).

Pure Amerindians are rapidly disappearing; the remaining few live mainly in inaccessible and barren regions. The Motilones are one of the few surviving Amerindian groups in South America untouched by civilization; they are famous for their lethal weapon, the black palm bow and arrow. Small, diverse Amerindian groups also inhabit the eastern extremities of the Colombian plains region, the south, and the western coastal jungles.

LANGUAGES

The official language, Spanish, is spoken by all but a few Amerindian tribes. Spanish as spoken and written by educated Colombians is generally considered the closest to Castilian Spanish in Latin America.

RELIGIONS

The vast majority of the country is Roman Catholic (93.1%). Religious freedom is constitutionally guaranteed to the small Protestant population and the 6,500 Jews.

TRANSPORTATION

In 1996 there were about 107,200 kilometers (66,610 miles) of roads, of which only about 12,600 kilometers (7,829 miles) were paved. Many roads are plagued by landslides and washouts. In 1995 there were 1.1 million passenger cars and 550,000 commercial motor vehicles. In the same year, the railroads had a length of 3,563 kilometers (2,214 miles).

Due to Colombia's mountainous terrain and inadequate land transport, air transportation has become the most important means of travel for most passengers. A flight from Bogotá to Medellín takes only half an hour, while a truck requires 24 hours over a winding mountain road. Colombia's airline, Avianca, is the second-oldest commercial airline in the world and one of the largest in Latin America.

Most of the country's air transportation is handled by the six principal airports at Bogotá, Barranquilla, Medellín, Cali, Cartagena, and the island of San Andrés off the coast of Nicaragua. In 1995, these airports serviced about 6.2 million passengers.

The nation's chief ports on the Caribbean are Barranquilla, Cartagena, and Santa Marta. Buenaventura is the only important Pacific port. Despite the development of roads and railways, river travel has remained the chief mode of transportation for cargo. Navigable inland waterways totaled 14,300 kilometers (8,886 miles) in 1996.

FAMOUS COLOMBIANS

Outstanding political and military figures in Colombian history include Francisco de Paula Santander (1792-1840), who was the first president of independent Colombia, and José María Córdoba (1800?-1830), a brilliant young soldier of the war of independence.

Colombia, famous for its literary figures, has produced three outstanding novelists widely read outside the country: Jorge Isaacs (1837-95); José Eustacio Rivera (1880-1929); and Gabriel García Márquez (b.1928), a Nobel Prize winner in 1982, who is best known for Cien años de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude). Noteworthy poets include José Asunción Silva (1865-96), regarded as the father of Latin American symbolism; his Nocturnos are among the finest poems in the Spanish language. Colombia's most notable painter was Gregorio Vázquez Arce y Ceballos (1638-1711).

EDUCATION

Education is free and compulsory for five years in Colombia. Illiteracy is declining, having dropped from an estimated 90% at the end of the nineteenth century to an estimated 9% in 1995. By law, Colombia must spend at least 10% of its annual budget on education. Although schooling is compulsory for children in the 7-11 age group, dropout rates are high at the primary level, particularly in rural areas, where the students frequently live at considerable distances from their schools.

In 1994, there were 588,322, students enrolled in higher education in Colombia. The National University in Bogotá, founded in 1572, is one of the oldest in the Western Hemisphere. Other important universities include the Universidad Javeriana (founded 1622); the Universidad de los Andes; and the Universidad Libre.

HEALTH

Health standards have improved greatly since the 1950s, but malaria is still prevalent up to 1,100 meters (3,500 feet) in altitude, and many Colombians suffer from intestinal parasites. Malnutrition, formerly a very serious problem, with nutritional goiter, anemia, scurvy, and pellagra frequent, had become less severe by the early 1980s. Average life expectancy is 70 years.

According to a study made between 1994-95, 87% of the population had access to health care services, and 96% had access to safe water.

HOUSING

Colombia's housing shortage is largely a result of the rapid growth of the urban population. With the annual urban population growth rate at over 3%, the housing deficit was estimated to be around 800,000 units and is expanding annually. Total housing units numbered 6.9 million in 1992; roughly 67% were owner-occupied and 24% were rented.

POPULATION

Colombia is the fourth most populous country in the Americas, following the United States, Brazil, and Mexico. The population estimate for 1998 was 38.6 million. The population in the year 2005 is projected at 43.7 million. The population density was an estimated 36 per square kilometer (99 per square mile) in 1998, with about 95% of the population residing in the mountainous western half of the country. In 1996, the estimated population of the capital, Bogotá, was 5.5 million.

MEDIA

Colombia has 630 radio stations and 33 television. There are over 6 million radio receivers, and about 4 million television sets. More than 3.2 million telephones are in service.

Almost every town publishes at least one daily newspaper. The press varies from the irregular, hand-printed newspapers of the small towns of the interior to such national dailies as El Tiempo, one of the most influential newspapers of the Spanish-speaking world with a daily circulations of 224,000.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture, despite the widespread problem of poor productivity, remains the most important part of the Colombian economy. In 1996, agricultural goods contributed 20% to gross domestic product (GDP).

Colombia, the world's second-largest coffee grower, contributes 13-16% of the total world production each year. In 1995, coffee production 810,000 tons. In 1996, coffee accounted for 20% of agriculture's contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) and for 1.7% of the country's total gross domestic product.

Sugar, also important, is grown chiefly in the Cauca Valley, with its center at Cali. Many varieties of bananas are grown; bananas for export are produced in the northwest. Corn, yucca, plantains, and, in high altitudes, potatoes have been traditional food staples since before the Spanish conquest. Beans, rice, and wheat, introduced in the nineteenth century, are also important in the diet. Other export crops include fresh-cut flowers, cotton, and tobacco. Cocoa is produced in limited amounts for domestic consumption.

Agricultural production (in thousands of tons) for major crops in 1996 was as follows: sugarcane, 2,070; plantains, 2,880; potatoes, 2,500; rice, 970; cassava, 2,040; bananas, 2,000; corn, 1,005; sorghum, 575; cotton, 50; and palm oil, 402.

DOMESTICATED ANIMALS

Occupying about 40 million hectares (99 million acres) of pasture in 1996, livestock farming, especially cattle breeding, has long been an important Colombian industry. Colombian sheep produce about one-third of the wool used by the country's textile industry. In 1995 there were 26 million cattle, 2.5 million sheep, and 2.6 million pigs. The production of beef and veal increased to 678,000 tons in 1995.

ENERGY AND POWER

Colombia's mountainous terrain and network of rivers offer one of the greatest potentials in the world for the generation of hydroelectric power. These resources remain largely undeveloped, despite intensive government efforts.

Colombia's petroleum reserves are estimated at 3.5 billion barrels. Production of oil had rapidly risen to 30.1 million tons in 1995. In 1995, natural gas production totaled 4.9 billion cubic meters (173 billion cubic feet).

FISHING

Colombia has an abundance of fish in its Caribbean and Pacific coastal waters and in its innumerable rivers. Lake Tota near Tunja and Lake La Cocha near Pasto abound in trout. About half of the annual catch consists of freshwater fish. Tarpon are caught in the delta waters of the Magdalena, and sailfish, broadbills, and tuna in the Caribbean. The 1994 fish catch was 122,708 tons.

FORESTRY

Colombia's forested area is some 50 million hectares (123.6 million acres), or nearly 50% of the total area. The nation produces enough lumber to meet its own needs. The soft tropical woods that are plentiful are suitable for plywood production, for paper pulp, and for furniture manufacture; the wood pulp, paper, and paperboard output in 1995 were 179,000 tons, 690,000 tons, and 313,000 tons, respectively. Roundwood production was 20.5 million cubic meters (26.8 million cubic yards) in 1995; exports of roundwood were valued at $2.1 million.

MINING

Colombia is the third largest coal producer in the Western Hemisphere (after the United States and Canada). Exports are projected to reach 49 million tons per year by 2001.

Colombia is also one of the world's largest producers of precious metals and stones; in 1990, production of emeralds surpassed three million carats. Colombia is South America's only producer of platinum, and it ranks second in the region in gold production. Colombia has an estimated 3% of the world's nickel production, which amounted to 24,194 tons in 1995.

The country's substantial copper, iron, nickel, and lead reserves are of major importance to the future development of the economy. Colombia also has a variety of quarried resources, such as limestone, sand, gravel, marble, gypsum, clay, and feldspar. There are also minor deposits of sulfur, asbestos, bauxite, mercury, zinc, and dolomite. Production of marine salt in 1995 was 250,000 tons, and of rock salt, 315,000 tons.

The production of principal minerals in 1995 included coal, 26 million tons; iron ore, 734,000 tons; gold, 21,160, kilograms; silver, 5,913 kilograms; and platinum, 973 kilograms.

ECONOMY

Despite the gradual expansion of manufacturing, Colombia's economy remains basically agricultural. Coffee is by far the most important crop: its share of total exports ranged from about 40% to 65% of the annual total between 1964 and 1986. Mining has been the area of the most impressive growth in recent years.

Since 1983, the economy has improved significantly, and high growth rates have been recorded. Inflation was kept close to 20% annually through the 1980s. In 1993 it was 23%. By the end of 1993, unemployment had increased to 10.5%.

Colombia is expected to register continuous economic growth for the remainder of the 1990s. In 1995, growth was up to 5.3% but had fallen to 2% in 1996. Growth was strongest in mining, oil and construction. In 1996, however, the economy hit a stumbling block when United States president Bill Clinton decertified Colombia as a country that fully cooperates with US drug policy. Besides enraging the Colombian people, this move made it difficult for companies from the United States to invest in Colombia.

INCOME

In 1995, Colombia's gross national product (GNP) was $70.3 billion, or about $2,140 per person. For the period 1985-95 the average inflation rate was 25.2%, resulting in a real growth rate in GNP of 2.8% per person.

INDUSTRY

Industry accounted for 27% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1995. Colombia is almost self-sufficient in consumer products, which represent about half of total industrial production.

High growth rates have been recorded in many export-oriented industries in recent years. In 1995, coal and oil derivatives, mining and hydrocarbons grew by 17.4%. The rest of the industrial economy, however, has been sluggish due to a series of factors including poor infrastructure, labor difficulties and civil unrest.

LABOR

In 1993, 23% of the labor force of about 11.5 million held jobs in agriculture and 27% in industry. An average of 350,000 people joined the labor force annually during the 1970s and early 1980s, creating a demand for new positions that could not be met. Urban unemployment is a major problem. The average unemployment rate was 9.6% in 1991, and over 10% by the end of 1993.

The 1991 constitution guarantees the right to strike except against public utilities, equal rights for women workers, workers' participation in management, universal education, and expanded insurance coverage. In 1996, the minimum wage was $140 a month.

FOREIGN TRADE

Beginning in 1990, Colombia has been opening up its economy to international investment. The government has also entered into several regional trading blocs with neighboring countries.

Colombia trades in traditional commodities, such as coffee, sugar, and bananas, and in an increasing number of nontraditional products, such as metals, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Among the newer export items, fresh-cut flowers have been outstandingly successful. The illegal trade in marijuana and cocaine, especially to the United States, is known to be substantial.

Major trading partners include the United States, Germany, Venezuela, Japan, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.