Su nombre oficial es República de Colombia.

The name Colombia means “Land of Columbus,” in homage to Cristóbal Colón, recognized as the discoverer of America. This interpretation even appears in Colombia's national anthem, in the second stanza that mentions “la tierra de Colón.” Although the term Columbus (from the Latin Christophorus Columbus, Columbus's name) means “dove,” the country's name refers directly to Colón.

The name Colombia was adopted by Simón Bolívar upon proclaiming the independence of the territory previously known as New Granada, which included what are today Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. Bolívar was inspired by the newspaper “El Colombiano,” published in New York by Venezuelan General Francisco de Miranda. In turn, Miranda took up the ideas of Father Bartolomé de las Casas, who proposed the use of “Colombo” to refer to the continent.

Finally, the term “La Gran Colombia” was formalized at the Congress of Angostura on February 15, 1819, when Bolívar sought to politically organize the region under a single republic.

Colombia is strategically located in the northwestern corner of South America.

It is the only country in South America with coastlines on two oceans: the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic Ocean), giving it a unique logistical and biodiversity advantage.

Its territory is crossed by the equator and the Andes Mountain Range, making it a natural connection point between Central and South America.

The capital of Colombia is Bogotá, Distrito Capital.

The estimated population of Bogotá in February 2025 is 7,930,000 inhabitants, and its metropolitan area reaches 11.5 million inhabitants.

Form of State: Colombia is a unitary, democratic, participatory, and pluralist State, with separation of powers. It is defined as a Social Rule of Law and a presidential Republic. The current Constitution was promulgated on July 4, 1991.

Head of Government: The President of the Republic is the head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

Current Government: The current president of Colombia is Gustavo Petro Urrego, in office since August 7, 2022. The vice president is Francia Elena Márquez Mina.

Electoral Process: The president and vice president are elected by universal suffrage for a four-year term. The Colombian Constitution does not allow re-election. The last presidential elections were on May 29, 2022, with a second round on June 19, 2022.

Legislative Branch: The Congress of the Republic exercises legislative power. It is composed of two chambers: the Senate, with 108 members, and the House of Representatives, with 172 members. Congress members are elected for a four-year term.

Judicial Branch: It is composed of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Constitutional Court, the Council of State, the Superior Council of the Judiciary, and the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation.

**Land Borders**:

• Venezuela: 2,219 km
• Brazil: 1,645 km
• Peru: 1,626 km
• Ecuador: 585 km
• Panama: 226 km

**Maritime Borders**:

Colombia borders Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. To the north, it borders the **Caribbean Sea**, and to the west, the **Pacific Ocean**.

The official language is **Spanish**. Colombia recognizes the existence and co-official status of **65 indigenous languages** in its territories, plus **two Creole languages** (San Basilio de Palenque and San Andrés/Providencia) and the Romani language of the Gypsy people.

• Spanish: spoken by **98.9%** of the population.
• Indigenous languages: spoken by **1%**.
• Portuguese: spoken by **0.1%**.

In April 2024, Colombia signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the international promotion of Spanish in diplomacy and international organizations.

The national currency is the Colombian Peso (COP), divided into 100 centavos.