Page last updated on February 08, 2019
Location:
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama
Geographic coordinates:
4 00 N, 72 00 W
Map references:
South America
Area:
total: 1,138,910 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 1,038,700 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 100,210 sq km
note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, and Serrana Bank
country comparison to the world:
27
Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Area comparison map:
slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
total: 6,672 km
[see also:
Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
border countries (5):
Brazil 1790 km, Ecuador 708 km, Panama 339 km, Peru 1494 km, Venezuela 2341 km
Coastline:
3,208 km
(Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km)
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12
nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
exclusive economic zone: 200
nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone country ranks ]
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]
Climate:
tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
More Climate Details
Terrain:
flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains (Llanos)
Elevation:
mean elevation: 593 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes: 0 m
lowest point: Pacific Ocean
5730 highest point: Pico Cristobal Colon
note: nearby Pico Simon Bolivar also has the same elevation
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower
Land use:
agricultural land: 37.5%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 1.4%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 1.6%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 34.5%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 54.4%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 8.1%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]
Irrigated land:
10,900 sq km
(2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
Population distribution:
the majority of people live in the north and west where agricultural opportunities and natural resources are found; the vast grasslands of the llanos to the south and east, which make up approximately 60% of the country, are sparsely populated
Natural hazards:
highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts
volcanism: Galeras (4,276 m) is one of Colombia's most active volcanoes, having erupted in 2009 and 2010 causing major evacuations; it has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Nevado del Ruiz (5,321 m), 129 km (80 mi) west of Bogota, erupted in 1985 producing lahars (mudflows) that killed 23,000 people; the volcano last erupted in 1991; additionally, after 500 years of dormancy, Nevado del Huila reawakened in 2007 and has experienced frequent eruptions since then; other historically active volcanoes include Cumbal, Dona Juana, Nevado del Tolima, and Purace
Environment - current issues:
deforestation resulting from timber exploitation in the jungles of the Amazon and the region of Chocó; illicit drug crops grown by peasants in the national parks; soil erosion; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions
Environment - international agreements:
party to:
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Law of the Sea
Geography - note:
only South American country with coastlines on both the North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Colombia on this page is re-published from the 2019 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Colombia Geography 2019 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Colombia Geography 2019 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
This page was last modified 08-Feb-19
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