Land area: 401,042 sq mi (1,038,699 sq km);

Total area: 439,736 sq mi (1,138,910 sq km)

Population (2009 est.): 45,644,023 (growth rate: 1.3%); birth rate: 19.5/1000; infant mortality rate: 18.9/1000; life expectancy: 72.8; density per sq km: 43

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Santafé de Bogotá, 7,594,000 (metro. area), 7,185,889 (city proper)

Other large cities: Cali, 2,283,200; Medellín, 1,957,800; Barranquilla, 1,330,400; Cartagena, 901,500

Monetary unit: Colombian Peso

National name: República de Colombia

Language: Spanish

Ethnicity/race: mestizo 58%, white 20%, mulatto 14%, black 4%, mixed black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1%

National Holiday: Independence Day, July 20

Religion: Roman Catholic 90%

Literacy rate: 92.8% (2007 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $319.5 billion; per capita $6,700. Real growth rate: 7%. Inflation: 5.5%. Unemployment: 11.2%. Arable land: 2%. Agriculture: coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp. Labor force: 20.81 million (2006); agriculture 22.7%, industry 18.7%, services 58.5% (2000 est.). Industries: textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, gold, copper, emeralds, hydropower. Exports: $24.86 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers. Imports: $24.33 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity. Major trading partners: U.S., Venezuela, Ecuador, China, Mexico, Brazil (2004).