Aminet 6/Aminet 6 - June 1995.iso/Aminet/docs/misc/wfbook93_texi.lha/texi/54.data

Text File | 1995-03-27 | 12.0 KB | 402 lines

@node Geography (Colombia)
@section Geography (Colombia)

@display

Location:
  Northern South America, between Panama and Venezuela
Map references:
  Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Standard Time Zones of the
  World
Area:
 total area:
  1,138,910 km2
 land area:
  1,038,700 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly less than three times the size of Montana
 note:
  includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, Serrana Bank, and Serranilla Bank
Land boundaries:
  total 7,408 km, Brazil 1,643 km, Ecuador 590 km, Panama 225 km, Peru 2,900
  km, Venezuela 2,050 km
Coastline:
  3,208 km (Caribbean Sea 1,760 km, North Pacific Ocean 1,448 km)
Maritime claims:
 continental shelf:
  not specified
 exclusive economic zone:
  200 nm
 territorial sea:
  12 nm
International disputes:
  maritime boundary dispute with Venezuela in the Gulf of Venezuela;
  territorial dispute with Nicaragua over Archipelago de San Andres y
  Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank
Climate:
  tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
Terrain:
  flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes mountains, eastern
  lowland plains
Natural resources:
  petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds
Land use:
 arable land:
  4%
 permanent crops:
  2%
 meadows and pastures:
  29%
 forest and woodland:
  49%
 other:
  16%
Irrigated land:
  5,150 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
  highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; deforestation; soil damage from
  overuse of pesticides; periodic droughts
Note:
  only South American country with coastlines on both North Pacific Ocean and
  Caribbean Sea



@end display

@node People (Colombia)
@section People (Colombia)

@display

Population:
  34,942,767 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  1.83% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  23.4 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  4.82 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  -0.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  29.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  71.72 years
 male:
  68.99 years
 female:
  74.53 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  2.54 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Colombian(s)
 adjective:
  Colombian
Ethnic divisions:
  mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Indian 3%, Indian
  1%
Religions:
  Roman Catholic 95%
Languages:
  Spanish
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
 total population:
  87%
 male:
  88%
 female:
  86%
Labor force:
  12 million (1990)
 by occupation:
  services 46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990)



@end display

@node Government (Colombia)
@section Government (Colombia)

@display

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Republic of Colombia
 conventional short form:
  Colombia  local long form:
  Republica de Colombia
 local short form:
  Colombia
Digraph:
  CO
Type:
  republic; executive branch dominates government structure
Capital:
  Bogota
Administrative divisions:
  23 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento), 5 commissariats*,   (comisarias, singular
- comisaria), 4 intendancies** (intendencias, singular,   - intendencia), and 1 special district***,
(distrito especial); Amazonas*,,   Antioquia, Arauca**, Atlantico, Bogota***, Bolivar, Boyaca,,
Caldas, Caqueta,
  Casanare**, Cauca, Cesar, Choco, Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia*, Guaviare*,,   Huila, La Guajira,
Magdalena, Meta, Narino, Norte de Santander, Putumayo**,,   Quindio, Risaralda, San Andres y
Providencia**, Santander, Sucre, Tolima,,   Valle del Cauca, Vaupes*, Vichada*,  note:
  the Constitution of 5 July 1991 states that the commissariats and
  intendancies are to become full departments and a capital district (distrito
  capital) of Santa Fe de Bogota is to be established by 1997
Independence:
  20 July 1810 (from Spain)
Constitution:
  5 July 1991
Legal system:
  based on Spanish law; judicial review of executive and legislative acts;
  accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday:
  Independence Day, 20 July (1810)
Political parties and leaders:
  Liberal Party (PL), Cesar GAVIRIA Trujillo, president; Social Conservative
  Party (PCS), Misael PASTRANA Borrero; National Salvation Movement (MSN),
  Alvaro GOMEZ Hurtado; Democratic Alliance M-19 (AD/M-19) is headed by 19th
  of April Movement (M-19) leader Antonio NAVARRO Wolf, coalition of small
  leftist parties and dissident liberals and conservatives; Patriotic Union
  (UP) is a legal political party formed by Revolutionary Armed Forces of
  Colombia (FARC) and Colombian Communist Party (PCC), Carlos ROMERO
Other political or pressure groups:
  three insurgent groups are active in Colombia - Revolutionary Armed Forces
  of Colombia (FARC), Manuel MARULANDA and Alfonso CANO; National Liberation
  Army (ELN), Manuel PEREZ; and dissidents of the recently demobilized
  People's Liberation Army (EPL), Francisco CARABALLO
Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Elections:
 President:
  last held 27 May 1990 (next to be held May 1994); results - Cesar GAVIRIA
  Trujillo (Liberal) 47%, Alvaro GOMEZ Hurtado (National Salvation Movement)
  24%, Antonio NAVARRO Wolff (M-19) 13%, Rodrigo LLOREDA (Conservative) 12%



@end display

@node Government (Colombia 2. usage)
@section Government (Colombia 2. usage)

@display

 Senate:
  last held 27 October 1991 (next to be held March 1994); results - percent of
  vote by party NA; seats - (102 total) Liberal 58, Conservative 22, AD/M-19
  9, MSN 5, UP 1, other 7
 House of Representatives:
  last held 27 October 1991 (next to be held March 1994); results - percent of
  vote by party NA; seats - (161 total) Liberal 87, Conservative 31, AD/M-19
  13, MSN 10, UP 3, other 17
Executive branch:
  president, presidential designate, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
  bicameral Congress (Congreso) consists of a nationally elected upper chamber
  or Senate (Senado) and a nationally elected lower chamber or House of
  Representatives (Camara de Representantes)
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justical), Constitutional Court,
  Council of State
Leaders:
 Chief of State and Head of Government:
  President Cesar GAVIRIA Trujillo (since 7 August 1990)
Member of:
  AG, CDB, CG, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-11, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
  ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
  INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS, ONUSAL, OPANAL,
  PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNPROFOR, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
  WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Jaime GARCIA Parra
 chancery:
  2118 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
 telephone:
  [phone]
 consulates general:
  Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan
  (Puerto Rico)
 consulates:
  Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Tampa
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Morris D. BUSBY
 embassy:
  Calle 38, No. 8-61, Bogota
 mailing address:
  P. O. Box A. A. 3831, Bogota or APO AA 34038
 telephone:
  [57] (1) 285-1300 or 1688
 FAX:
  [57] (1) 288-5687
 consulate:
  Barranquilla
Flag:
  three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double-width), blue, and red; similar
  to the flag of Ecuador, which is longer and bears the Ecuadorian coat of
  arms superimposed in the center



@end display

@node Economy (Colombia)
@section Economy (Colombia)

@display

Overview:
  Economic development has slowed gradually since 1986, but growth rates
  remain high by Latin American standards. Conservative economic policies have
  kept inflation and unemployment near 30% and 10%, respectively. The rapid
  development of oil, coal, and other nontraditional industries in recent
  years has helped to offset the decline in coffee prices - Colombia's major
  export. The collapse of the International Coffee Agreement in the summer of
  1989, a troublesome rural insurgency, energy rationing, and drug-related
  violence have dampened growth. The level of violence, in Bogota in
  particular, surged to higher levels in the first quarter of 1993, further
  delaying the economic resurgence expected from government reforms. These
  reforms center on fiscal restraint, trade and investment liberalization,
  financial and labor reform, and privatization of state utilities and
  commercial banks.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $51 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  3.3% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
  $1,500 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  25% (1992)
Unemployment rate:
  10% (1992)
Budget:
  revenues $5.0 billion; current expenditures $5.1 billion, capital
  expenditures $964 million (1991 est.)
Exports:
  $7.4 billion (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
 commodities:
  petroleum, coffee, coal, bananas, fresh cut flowers
 partners:
  US 44%, EC 21%, Japan 5%, Netherlands 4%, Sweden 3% (1991)
Imports:
  $5.5 billion (c.i.f., 1992 est.)
 commodities:
  industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals,
  paper products
 partners:
  US 36%, EC 16%, Brazil 4%, Venezuela 3%, Japan 3% (1991)
External debt:
  $17 billion (1992)
Industrial production:
  growth rate -0.5% (1991); accounts for 20% of GDP
Electricity:
  10,193,000 kW capacity; 36,000 million kWh produced, 1,050 kWh per capita
  (1992)
Industries:
  textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals,
  metal products, cement; mining - gold, coal, emeralds, iron, nickel, silver,
  salt
Agriculture:
  growth rate 3% (1991 est.) accounts for 22% of GDP; crops make up two-thirds
  and livestock one-third of agricultural output; climate and soils permit a
  wide variety of crops, such as coffee, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa
  beans, oilseeds, vegetables; forest products and shrimp farming are becoming
  more important



@end display

@node Economy (Colombia 2. usage)
@section Economy (Colombia 2. usage)

@display

Illicit drugs:
  illicit producer of cannabis, coca, and opium; about 37,500 hectares of coca
  under cultivation; the world's largest processor of coca derivatives into
  cocaine; supplier of cocaine to the US and other international drug markets
Economic aid:
  US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.6 billion; Western (non-US)
  countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $3.3 billion,
  Communist countries (1970-89), $399 million
Currency:
  1 Colombian peso (Col$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
  Colombian pesos (Col$) per US$1 - 820.08 (January 1993), 759.28 (1992),
  633.05 (1991), 502.26 (1990), 382.57 (1989), 299.17 (1988)
Fiscal year:
  calendar year



@end display

@node Communications (Colombia)
@section Communications (Colombia)

@display

Railroads:
  3,386 km; 3,236 km 0.914-meter gauge, single track (2,611 km in use), 150 km
  1.435-meter gauge
Highways:
  75,450 km total; 9,350 km paved, 66,100 km earth and gravel surfaces
Inland waterways:
  14,300 km, navigable by river boats
Pipelines:
  crude oil 3,585 km; petroleum products 1,350 km; natural gas 830 km; natural
  gas liquids 125 km
Ports:
  Barranquilla, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Covenas, San Andres, Santa Marta,
  Tumaco
Merchant marine:
  27 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 227,719 GRT/356,665 DWT; includes 9
  cargo, 3 oil tanker, 8 bulk, 7 container
Airports:
 total:
  1,233
 usable:
  1,059
 with permanent-surface:
  69
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  1  with runways 2,440-2,459 m:
  9
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  200
Telecommunications:
  nationwide radio relay system; 1,890,000 telephones; broadcast stations -
  413 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 28 shortwave; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
  and 11 domestic satellite earth stations



@end display

@node Defense Forces (Colombia)
@section Defense Forces (Colombia)

@display

Branches:
  Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional, including Marines), Air
  Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana), National Police (Policia Nacional)
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 9,428,358; fit for military service 6,375,944; reach
  military age (18) annually 356,993 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $630 million, 1.3% of GDP (1993 est.)



@end display