| Colombia
Colombia, officially
the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de Colombia
[re'puß?lika ð?e ko'lombja] (help·info)),
is a country located in the northwestern region of South America.
Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil;
to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the North by the Atlantic
Ocean, through the Caribbean Sea; and to the west by Panama
and the Pacific Ocean. Colombia is the only country in South
America that borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific
Ocean.
Colombia is the 26th largest nation in the world and the fourth-largest
country in South America (after Brazil, Argentina, and Peru),
with an area seven times greater than that of New England
and more than twice that of France. Its vast territory is
made up of diverse physical contrasts ranging from the towering
snowcapped peaks of the Andes to the hot and humid plains
of the Amazon River Basin, to a vast tropical coastal plain
in the north. It the second most populated nation in South
America (after Brazil), and the largest Spanish speaking nation
on the continent in terms of population. Despite its large
territory, Colombia's population is not evenly distributed
with most Colombians living in the mountainous western portion
of the country as well as the northern coastline, most living
in or near the capital city of Bogotá. The Southern
and Eastern portions of the country are mostly sparsely inhabited
tropical rainforest and inland tropical plains containing
small farming communities and indigenous tribes.
Colombia currently suffers from a low-intensity conflict involving
rebel guerrilla groups, paramilitary militias, drug trafficking
and corruption. The conflict originated around 1964-1966,
when the FARC and the ELN were founded and began their guerrilla
insurgency campaigns against successive Colombian government
administrations.
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