Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a transcontinental country spanning South America and an insular region in North America. It is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuela to the east, Brazil to the southeast, Ecuador and Peru to the south, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and Panama to the northwest. Colombia comprises 32 departments and the Capital District of Bogotá, the country's largest city. It covers an area of 1,141,748 square kilometers (440,831 sq mi), with a population of 50 million. Colombia's rich cultural heritage reflects influences by various Amerindian civilizations, European settlement, African slaves, and immigration from Europe and the Middle East. Spanish is the nation's official language, besides which over 70 languages are spoken.
The Republic of Colombia is situated largely in the northwest of South America, with some territories falling within the boundaries of Central America. It is bordered to the northwest by Panama; to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; and it shares maritime limits with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.
Colombia seeks diplomatic and commercial relations with all countries, regardless of their ideologies or political or economic systems. For this reason, the Colombian economy is quite open, relying on international trade and following guidelines given by international law.
Ibagué is the capital of Tolima, one of the 32 departments that make up the Republic of Colombia. The city is located in the center of the country, on the central mountain range of the Colombian Andes, near Nevado del Tolima. It is one of the most populous cities in the country, with about 529,635 inhabitants, making it the seventh (7th) most populous in Colombia. It was founded on October 14, 1550, by the Spanish captain Andrés López de Galarza. The city of Ibagué is divided into 13 communes and the rural area has 17 corregimientos. As the capital of the department of Tolima the city hosts the Government of Tolima, the Departmental Assembly, and the Attorney General's Office. It is the main epicenter of political, economic, administrative, business, art, culture, and tourism activities in the area.
Chapinero is the 2nd locality of Bogotá, capital of Colombia. It is located in the north of the city and is one of the more affluent districts of the city. This district is mostly inhabited by upper class residents. The boundaries are Calle 39 in the south, Avenida Caracas in the west, Calle 100 in the north and the Eastern Hills in the east.
Ecopetrol, formerly known as Empresa Colombiana de Petróleos S.A., not to be confused with the US owned and operated Colombian Petroleum Co. (COLPET) and sister company South American Gulf Oil Co. (SAGOC), dating to the 1930s and taken over by the state owned Ecopetrol in the 1970s, is the largest and primary petroleum company in Colombia. As a result of its continuous growth, Ecopetrol forms part of the Fortune Global 500 and was ranked 346. In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000, Ecopetrol was ranked as the 313th -largest public company in the world. It was ranked 303 in 2012 by CNN Money. The company belongs to the group of 25 largest petroleum companies in the world, and it is one of the four principal petroleum companies in Latin America.
The Colombian passport is a travel document which is issued to citizens of Colombia for the purpose of international travel. Since September 2015 a biometric passport has been issued, but the previously issued machine-readable passport can be used through its expiration date.
Visitors to Colombia must obtain a visa from one of the Colombian diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa-exempt countries.
