Colombia

Colombia
United Provinces of Colombia
Provincias Unidas de Colombia
Established	Colombian War of Independence (1842)
Capital	San José de Cúcuta
Largest City	Bogotá
Population	89 Million
Government Type	Federated Republic
Languages	Spanish (Official) Various native languages
Currency	Colombian Peso (COP)

Colombia, officially the United Provinces of Colombia (Provincias Unidas de Colombia) is a country in northern South America. Colombia is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, the northwest by Boschland, the south by Peru, the east by Guyana, the southeast by Equador, and the west by the Pacific Ocean. It comprises six provinces and 64 departments and the capital District of San José de Cúcuta.

With over 86 million inhabitants Colombia is Colombia is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse countries in the world, with its rich cultural heritage reflecting influences by various Amerindian civilizations, European settlement, forced African labor, and immigration from Europe and the greater Middle East. Urban centers are concentrated in the Andean highlands and the Caribbean coast. Colombia is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries and has the second-highest level of biodiversity in the world. Its territory encompasses Amazon rainforest, highlands, grasslands, and deserts, and it is the only country in South America with coastlines and islands along both the Atlantic and Pacific.

Colombia is considered a major regional power in South America with the highest population of the continent, a highly developed industrial economy and large reserves of natural resources.

Etymology

The name "Colombia" is derived from the last name of the Italian navigator Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo, Spanish: Cristóbal Colón). It was conceived as a reference to all of the New World.

During the Colombian War of Independence and the Spring of Nations in the Americas the term Colombia became used by republicans and revolutionaries as an endonym that refers to the former Spanish colony of New Granada. After the Treaty of Medellín (1842) Colombia become used as the name of the United Provinces of Colombia.

Government and politics

Administrative divisions

Colombia is broken up into six provinces (Cundinamarca, Panama, Orinoco, Trinidad, Quito, Venezuela) and 64 departments. Additionally the District of San José de Cúcuta serves as the capital of the republic and exists outside of the jurisdiction of the provinces.