Colombia History, Geography, Economy and Important Events

The name Colombia is derived from the last name of the investigator Christopher Columbus. In 10,000 BC communities of hunters inhabited modern Bogota. At the beginning of the first millennium BCE, groups of American Aborigines formed the so-called "Kasikagos". Which was a political system In the late 1490s, Spain began exploring the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean. Its first permanent colony was established in 1525 as Santa Marta. Colombia became one of Spain's main administrative centers in the Western Hemisphere. After a long battle for sovereignty, the country was declared independent on 20 July 1810 under the leadership of Simon Bolivar and Francisco de Paula Santander.

The geologic features of Colombia can be seen in its six main natural areas, including the Andes mountain range shared with Ecuador and Venezuela; Includes the Pacific coastline shared with Panama and Ecuador. Colombia is bounded on the northwest by Panama; On the east by Venezuela and Brazil; It has established its maritime borders on the Caribbean Sea with seven agreements for maritime borders with Ecuador and Peru to the south and three on the Pacific Ocean with three agreements to the south.

Colombia's economy is defined as open commercialization. At the end of 2005, Colombia's total gross domestic product, based on purchasing-power parity (PPP), was about $ 337 billion, making it the 29th-largest economy in the world. Inflation was below 6% from 2004 to 2006. The services sector is the main contributor to Colombia's economy, accounting for about 53% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), followed by the industry sector and agriculture at 35% and 12% respectively. Bloomberg Businessweek magazine addressed Columbia in May 2007 as the hottest emerging market on Earth. The then Colombian President, Alvaro Uribe, has initiated various economic reforms, including policies and strategies to reduce the public sector deficit to 2.5% of the country's GDP. In 2003, Colombia's GDP growth was the highest in the Latin American region, rising to 6.9% in 2007.

Spanish is the official language of Colombia. Also there are many regional dialects which include Andean or Pastuso, Caribbean or Coastal, Paisa, Rollo and Valley etc. The most popular sport in the country is football (soccer), while baseball has started to become a popular sport over the years. Bull warfare is a traditional game.

Brazil [L] , Costa Rica [M] , Dominican Republic [M] , Ecuador [LM] , Haiti [M] , Jamaica [M] , Nicaragua [M] , Panama [LM] , Peru [L] , Venezuela [LM] ,
Definition of international border: L = Land Border | M = Maritime Border