Colombia

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Republic of Colombia is a country in South America. Forty-four million people live there; its capital is Bogotá. A major city is Medellín. Medellin is the only city in Colombia that has a metro system of trains people can ride to work. Another city in the Cauca region of Colombia is Cali. Cali is famous for its beautiful women. Cartagena and Barranquila are beautiful cities with old buildings by the water on the coast. Colombia also has islands in the Caribbean such as San Andres y providencia.

Colombia is a tropical country. Many different fruits and vegetables grow in Colombia. Colombia is the only country in South America that has a coast on the Pacific Ocean and on the Atlantic Ocean. On the Atlantic side, Colombia shares a border with the country of Venezuela. On the Pacific side, Colombia shares a border with Ecuador.

Many people used to think Colombia was a dangerous country because there was war between the government and people selling drugs. This is not as bad as it used to be.

Many people travel from city to city by bus and there are large bus terminals in each major city. The Colombian airline is called Avianca and flies to many cities. It is the second oldest airline in the world.

Colombia just had an election in May 2006 and the president Alvaro Uribe was elected again. He will be president until 2010. Alvaro Uribe was the first president in Colombia to win a second election in over 100 years.

Colombia is also connected to the country of Panama in Central America. The border region or area between Panama and Colombia is called the Darien. Most people think this is a dangerous area. The Panamericana Highway goes from Central America to South America, but it stops on both sides of the Darien. The Darien has jungle and it is hard to travel or cross the border here. Colombia also has some of the most beautiful cities in the world. Bogotá, its capital is the third largest city in South America.


Many special people were also born in Colombia. Shakira and Juanes are famous singers from Colombia. Manuel Elkin Patarroyo is a famous scientist who discovered the shot against Malaria. This estupendous man gave shipped out his new medicine to Africa for free, because he wants to help the people.

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Colombia is well known for its exquisite coffee, coal and emeralds.



Countries and territories of South America
Independent: Argentina | Bolivia | Brazil | Chile | Colombia | Ecuador | Guyana | Paraguay | Peru | Suriname | Uruguay | Venezuela
Governed by other countries: Falkland Islands | French Guiana | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands


Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Antigua and Barbuda | Bahamas¹ | Barbados | Belize | Dominica | Grenada | Guyana | Haiti | Jamaica | Montserrat | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Suriname | Trinidad and Tobago
Associate members: Anguilla | Bermuda | Cayman Islands | British Virgin Islands | Turks and Caicos Islands
Observer countries: Aruba | Colombia | Dominican Republic | Mexico | Netherlands Antilles | Puerto Rico | Venezuela
¹ Member of the community but not the Caribbean (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy.