Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A 40-year conflict between government forces and anti-government insurgent groups and illegal paramilitary groups - both heavily funded by the drug trade - escalated during the 1990s.

The insurgents lack the military or popular support necessary to overthrow the government, and violence has been decreasing since about 2002, but insurgents continue attacks against civilians and large swaths of the countryside are under guerrilla influence.

More than 32,000 former paramilitaries had demobilized by the end of 2006 and the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) as a formal organization had largely ceased to function. Still, some renegades continued to engage in criminal activities.

The Colombian Government has stepped up efforts to reassert government control throughout the country, and now has a presence in every one of its municipalities. However, neighboring countries worry about the violence spilling over their borders.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 44,379,598 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 29.8% (male 6,696,471/female 6,539,612) 15-64 years: 64.8% (male 14,012,140/female 14,732,874) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 1,042,645/female 1,355,856) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 26.6 years male: 25.6 years female: 27.5 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 1.433% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 20.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 5.54 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: -0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.024 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.951 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.769 male(s)/female total population: 0.961 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 20.13 deaths/1,000 live births male: 23.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.27 years male: 68.44 years female: 76.24 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 2.51 children born/woman (2007 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.7% (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 190,000 (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: 3,600 (2003 est.)

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Nationality: noun: Colombian(s) adjective: Colombian

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Ethnic groups: mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1%

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Religions: Roman Catholic 90%, other 10%

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Languages: Spanish

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.8% male: 92.9% female: 92.7% (2004 est.)

Colombia's economy has experienced positive growth over the past three years despite a serious armed conflict. The economy continues to improve in part because of austere government budgets, focused efforts to reduce public debt levels, an export-oriented growth strategy, an improved security situation in the country, and high commodity prices. Ongoing economic problems facing President URIBE range from reforming the pension system to reducing high unemployment, and to achieving congressional passage of a fiscal transfers reform; furthermore, new exploration is needed to offset declining oil production. However, the government's economic policy, democratic security strategy, and the signing of a free trade agreement with the US have engendered a growing sense of confidence in the economy, particularly within the business sector.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $374.4 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $106.8 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 6.8% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $8,600 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 12% industry: 35.2% services: 52.7% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 20.81 million (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 22.7% industry: 18.7% services: 58.5% (2000 est.)

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Unemployment rate: 11.1% (2006 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 49.2% (2005)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 7.9% highest 10%: 34.3% (2004)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 53.8 (2005)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 22.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $50.7 billion expenditures: $52.29 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 45.3% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp

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Industries: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds

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Industrial production growth rate: 5.8% (2006 est.)

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Electricity - production: 46.93 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 42.01 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 1.682 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 48 million kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 512,400 bbl/day (2005 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 269,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 1.282 billion bbl (2006 est.)

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Natural gas - production: 6.18 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 6.18 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - proved reserves: 114.4 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

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Current account balance: -$2.219 billion (2006 est.)

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Exports: $24.86 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: petroleum, coffee, coal, nickel, emeralds, apparel, bananas, cut flowers

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Exports - partners: US 35.8%, Venezuela 10.4%, Ecuador 6.6% (2006)

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Imports: $24.33 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity

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Imports - partners: US 28.2%, Mexico 8.3%, Brazil 6.5%, China 6.3%, Venezuela 5.9%, Japan 4.3% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $16.5 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $37.21 billion (30 June 2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $NA

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Currency (code): Colombian peso (COP)

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Exchange rates: Colombian pesos per US dollar - 2,358.6 (2006), 2,320.75 (2005), 2,628.61 (2004), 2,877.65 (2003), 2,504.24 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year