Backgrounder: Basic facts about Colombia

Source: Xinhua | 02-10-2009 15:25

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in north-western South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and to the west by the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama.

National Flag of Colombia

Emblem of Colombia

Colombia is the 26th largest nation in the world and the fourth largest in South America (after Brazil, Argentina, and Peru), with an area more than twice that of France.

It also has has the 29th largest population in the world and the second largest in South America, after Brazil. Colombia has the third largest Spanish-speaking population in the world after Mexico and Spain.

Colombia is a standing middle power with the fourth largest economy in South America. Colombia is rich in natural resources, and its main exports include petroleum, coal, coffee and other agricultural produce, and gold. Ecologically, Colombia is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.