Overview Of Columbia For Travelers

U ntil roughly 30 years ago,       against the federal government,    Columbia was a peaceful         often controlling parts of the     country. Rebel groups and       country. Since 2000, the rebel     the influence of cocaine              groups have lost much of their     production have changed that.         ability and no major attacks have  Here’s an overview of Columbia        occurred.                          for travelers.                                                                                                 Starting in the late 1970s, the    Overview of Columbia for              cocaine industry became big in     Travelers                             Columbia. Cartels formed to                                              control production and became      The Spanish first colonized           rich and powerful in the late      Columbia in 1525. Full                80s. Efforts by the government to  independence was claimed in 1813.     control the cartels led to open    In 1819, Greater Columbia was         violence and massive corruption.   formed which included modern day      In the late 90s, the massive       countries Columbia, Venezuela,        cartels were finally broken up.    Ecuador and Panama. This              Cocaine production hasn’t really   conglomeration fell apart fairly      been effected, it is just          quickly.                              controlled by smaller, more                                              discreet cartels.                  In 1978, political disputes and                                          corruption led to rebel groups        The official name of the country   pursuing violent insurrection         is Republic of Columbia. Columbia  attempts. The primary groups were     covers an area of about 440,000    the Revolutionary Armed Forces of     square miles and is the fourth     Colombia (FARC) and the               largest country in South America.  Democratic Alliance/M-19 (M-19).      The capital is Bogotá with a       These two entities have               population of just over 7 million  subsequently pursued a civil war      people. Other major population     areas include the cities of           percent in more rural locations.   Medellin, Cali and Cartagena. The     Life expectancy for a Columbian    terrain in Columbia varies from       man is 69 years and 75 for a       rugged mountains to coastline on      Columbian woman. Ethnic break      the Pacific Ocean to flat             down is primarily Mestizo at 58    grasslands. Temperatures are          percent of the population          generally warm and humid with the     followed by white at 20 percent,   exception of cooler climates in       mulatto at 14 percent and black    the higher mountain areas.            at four percent.                                                                                            The people of Columbia are known      As these facts on Columbia         as Colombians. The total              reveal, the country is going       population is just over 46            through a massive period of        million with a growth rate just       destabilization with narcotics     under two percent annually. Roman     and guerrilla warfare an           Catholic is the dominant              overwhelming problem. Only the     religious faith and Spanish is        future will reveal whether         the language. Literacy rates are      Columbia pulls out of the mess.    93 percent in urban areas and 67       About the Author: Richard Monk is with http://www.factsmonk.com - a site with facts about everything. Visit http://www.factsmonk.com/country_facts to read more about country facts. Read more articles by: Richard Monk This article is distributed by: www.iSnare.com