| Area Total | 1,138,910 sq km |
| Climate | tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands |
| Natural Resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower |
| Imports | $44.24 billion (2017 est.) partners: US 26.3%, China 19.3%, Mexico 7.5%, Brazil 5%, Germany 4.1% (2017) |
| Government | presidential republic |
| Capital | Bogota |
| Population | 48.2 million (July 2018 est.) |
| Ethnicity | mestizo and white 84.2%, Afro-Colombian (includes mulatto, Raizal, and Palenquero) 10.4%, Amerindian 3.4%, Romani <.01, unspecified 2.1% (2005 est.) |
| Language | Spanish (official) |
| Exports | $39.48 billion (2017 est.) partners: US 28.5%, Panama 8.6%, China 5.1% (2017) |
News about Colombia
- The New Junta del Narcotrafico | Part 1: Originsby Adriaan Alsema on February 19, 2026
To view this content, you must be a member of Colombia's Patreon at $1 or more - Click "Read more" to unlock this content at the source The post The New Junta del Narcotrafico | Part 1: Origins appeared first on Colombia News.
- Exiled Venezuelans may well support regime change – but diasporas don’t always reflect the politicsby The Conversation on February 18, 2026
Protest and military action raised the prospect of regime change in Iran and Venezuela, and the voices of both countries’ diasporas were heard loud and clear through the media of their host nations. Venezuelan exiles in the U.S. were, according to the popular narrative, broadly behind President Donald Trump and his plan to “run Venezuela,”
- Colombia’s government and AUC dissident group EGC resume demobilization talksby Adriaan Alsema on February 17, 2026
Talks between AUC dissident group EGC and the National Government resumed after Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez walked back threats to either kill or capture EGC commander “Chiquito Malo.” The EGC suspended the talks earlier this month after Sanchez said that President Gustavo Petro and his US counterpart Donald Trump agreed to make Chiquito Malo a The […]
- New decree on Colombia’s minimum wage to maintain 23.7% hike: labor ministerby Adriaan Alsema on February 17, 2026
Colombia’s government is expected to decree a 23.7% minimum wage hike for the second time after allegedly obtaining the support of a majority of labor unions and business associations. The State Council, Colombia’s highest administrative court, ordered the government to issue a transitional decree after provisionally suspending the initial minimum age […]
- Fernando Botero Takes on Singapore with Landmark Exhibitionby Richard Emblin on February 17, 2026
Singapore has never been shy about scale. But this season, the city’s appetite for monumentality takes on a distinctly Latin American accent. For the first time, the work of Colombian master Fernando Botero makes his Singapore debut with the largest exhibition of his work ever showcased in Asia. Spanning galleries, inter-active theatres and extensive […]
- Colombia’s Petro Defies Court Suspension of Minimum Wage Hikeby The City Paper Staff on February 16, 2026
Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday mounted a forceful defence of his government’s 23.7% minimum wage increase for 2026, pledging to issue a temporary decree to keep the so-called “vital wage” in place after the Council of State provisionally suspended the original measure. Speaking in a televised address on Feb. 15, Petro said that while
- Camilo Torres: Colombia surrenders remains of legendary “guerrilla priest” 60 years after his deathby Adriaan Alsema on February 16, 2026
Colombia’s Missing Persons Search Unit (UBPD) surrendered the remains of legendary “guerrilla priest” Camilo Torres to his family and friends on Sunday, exactly 60 years after his death. A few dozen people were invited to the National University’s Cristo Maestro chapel for a two-part ceremony in which UBPD director Luz Janeth Forero formally […]
- State Council suspends Colombia’s 23.7% minimum wage hikeby Adriaan Alsema on February 13, 2026
Colombia’s State Council provisionally suspended a 23.7% minimum wage hike that was decreed by President Gustavo Petro to secure a living wage for minimum wage workers in December. The country’s top administrative court additionally gave the Petro administration a week to issue a new “transitional” decree that will be valid until the Council of […]
- Colombia steps up protection measures for Petro amid mounting plot fearsby Adriaan Alsema on February 12, 2026
Colombia’s defense minister ordered the security forces and intelligence agencies to step up measures to protect President Gustavo Petro in response to an alleged plot to plant drugs in his car. In a post on social media platform X, Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said that he had ordered the commanders of the military and the The post Colombia steps up […]
- Global airlines return to Venezuela, Avianca restores Bogotá–Caracas flightby Richard Emblin on February 12, 2026
International airlines are rapidly re-establishing services to Venezuela, signalling a cautious but commercially significant reopening of the country’s aviation market. On Thursday, February 12, Colombia’s Avianca resumed a daily direct flights between Bogotá and Caracas. The move restores one of the most important air corridors in northern South […]
- Colombia declares emergency in response to widespread floodsby Adriaan Alsema on February 12, 2026
President Gustavo Petro declared an emergency in large parts of Colombia in response to rains that flooded vast areas and threaten to overflood dams. The emergency was declared in all provinces on the Caribbean coast and the Choco province, which has both a Pacific and a Caribbean coast. According to disaster management agency UNGRD, heavy The post […]
- Colombia’s Blueberry Boom Is Growing Fast, but Exports Lagby The City Paper Staff on February 12, 2026
Colombia’s goldenberry symbolized the country’s push into high-value fruit exports. Now, it faces a turf war at home from a fruit with far greater global recognition: the blueberry. While blueberry cultivation has expanded rapidly across Colombia over the past decade, producers say the industry remains far from becoming a fully fledged export […]
- Southwest Colombia indigenous guard thwarts kidnapping of senatorby Adriaan Alsema on February 11, 2026
Indigenous security forces were able to thwart the kidnapping of a coalition senator in southwest Colombia on Tuesday. Aida Quilcue, a senator and indigenous leader, and her security detail disappeared from the radar around noon while traveling through the east of the Cauca province. Following her release three hours later, Quilcue told press that she The […]
- Extreme flooding in northern Colombia triggers humanitarian crisisby The City Paper Staff on February 10, 2026
Unseasonal heavy rains and severe flooding across northern Colombia have created a full-blown humanitarian crisis, displacing hundreds of thousands, destroying homes and farmland, and pushing local infrastructure and health systems to breaking point. The disaster has hit hardest in the department of Córdoba, where officials say 156,000 people have been […]
- Petro “fatally injured” Colombia’s efforts to make peace, say ELN rebelsby Adriaan Alsema on February 10, 2026
A recent order to carry out airstrikes on guerrilla group ELN “fatally injured” efforts to resume peace talks between Colombia’s longest-living guerrilla group and the administration of President Gustavo Petro, the rebels said Tuesday. Petro said last week that he ordered an airstrike on a suspected guerrilla position in the northeastern Catatumbo […]



