Colombia

República de Colombia

Political Status: Independent Gran Colombia proclaimed 1819; separate state of New Granada established 1831; republican constitution adopted 1886; bipartisan National Front regime instituted in 1958 but substantially terminated in 1974; current constitution promulgated July 5, 1991.

Area: 439,734 sq. mi. (1,138,914 sq. km).

Population: 49,465,000 (2018E—World Bank); 48,168,996 (2018E—U.S. Census).

Major Urban Centers (2016E—UN): BOGOTÁ (9,968,000), Medellín (3,972,000), Cali (2,682,000), Barranquilla (2,009,000), Bucaramanga (1,235,000), Cartagena (1,113,000).

Official Language: Spanish.

Monetary Unit: Peso (principal rate October 19, 2018: 3,072.39 pesos = $1US).

President: Iván DUQUE (Democratic Center); elected in runoff balloting on June 17, 2018, succeeding Juan Manuel SANTOS Calderón (Social Party of National Unity).

Vice President: Martha Lucia RAMIREZ Blanco (Democratic Center); elected along with the president in runoff balloting on June 17, 2018, succeeding Germán Vargas LLERAS ...