Colombia Research Paper

Submitted By weismantle
Words: 659
Pages: 3

Colombia, also known as the Republic of Colombia, is located in northwestern South America. Colombia is nicknamed the "gateway to South America" because it sits in the northwestern part of the continent where South America connects with Central and North America. It is the fifth largest country in Latin America and home to the world's second largest population of Spanish-speaking people. The climate is very warm and tropical, with a rainy season from May to November. Due to Colombia’s location being close to the equator the temperature rarely changes. The weather does change with altitude with the weather being cooler in the upland areas and cold in the mountains, and in the cooler times of the year the nights can be freezing.
Colombia has unitary state, Presidential system, Constitutional republic. The country holds an election for the president, congress, and senate every four years. Colombia’s structure of government is comparable to the United States. This system was established in 1991, and is divided into three branches: the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch. The president, who is elected for a four-year term, may serve two terms. Currently the president of Colombia is Juan Manuel Santos who was elected in 2010. On October 2012, Santos received the Shalom Prize "for his commitment to seeking peace in his country and worldwide."
Colombia's population is roughly 46 million, making it the third populated country in Latin America after Brazil and Mexico. The capital city is Bogota which has approximately 8 million residents. There are 3 main origins of the people of Colombia which are Spanish, African and various indigenous tribes(comprise 3.4% of the country's population and belong to 87 different tribes).
Colombia is home to mostly the Roman Catholic religion of 90%, which was vastly inherited by the Spaniards who originally settled in the country. Along with Roman Catholic includes 9% Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, and Mormon and 1% Indigenous religions. Spanish is the official language of Colombia where almost all residents speak it. However there are still a small group of indigenous tribes which still speak their own dialect. English is commonly spoken on the islands of San Andres and Providencia. The major exports within Colombia are Petroleum oils, crude (32%), Coal; briquettes (16%), Petroleum oils, refined (7%), Gold (5%), Coffee, not roasted (5%). Major trade export partners include, United States (41%), Netherlands (5%), China (5%), Ecuador (4%), Venezuela (3%).
Major trade imports include; Petroleum oils, refined (7%), Aircraft, spacecraft & launch vehicles (4%), Automatic data processing machines (4%),