Colombia, known officially as the Republic of Colombia, declared independence from Spain in July of 1810 and became its own country. Today, Colombia is made up of 32 different departments (states) and encompasses an area of 440,831 square kilometers. Colombia has a current population of almost 50 million people and has an extremely diverse cultural heritage. Over 70 languages are spoken in Colombia with Spanish being the nation’s declared official language. Colombia has the second-highest biodiversity in the world and is one of seventeen of the world’s megadiverse countries. Colombia is an extremely interesting country with an unexpected history. This digital essay will dive into many aspects of Colombia from geography to economy and onto future climate impacts.

Colombia has a unique geography that sets itself apart from other countries in many ways from economics to population. Colombia is in northern South America and shares a border with Equator and Peru on the south, Brazil on the southeast border, and lastly, Venezuela to the northeast. Naturally, Colombia is split into six different geographical regions that are classified by climate, topography, and vegetation. The Andes Mountain range takes up two-fifths of Colombia, which makes the other three-fifths vary differently in character. Most of the population resides around the Andes Mountains. The largest portion of the population lives between the elevations of 5,000 and 10,500 feet with the average elevation in Colombia sitting around 2000 feet. The densest populated area is the zone of coffee plantations sitting around 3,000 to 6,500 feet in elevation as coffee is a major export. Lastly, Colombia is the only country in South America sitting between two separate coasts, the Atlantic and the Pacific. This allows Colombia to be directly involved in global trade.

Colombia’s economy revolves around the abundance of nonrenewable resources including reserves of gold, coal, and petroleum. Since colonial times large deposits of gold have been around in the west-central section of the country. In most areas the soil containing gold also contains various amounts of silver and platinum, adding to the richness. Colombia’s natural differences in climate and mountainous character give the ability to grow a wide range of various tropical and temperate zone crops. From bananas and sugarcane to wheat, barley, and potatoes Colombia has a wide range of native and non-native crops to use as exports as well. Another major economic export of Colombia is coffee. Coffee can be seen as the backbone of Colombia and its economy. Colombia’s average annual coffee production is 11.5 million bags per year and is the third-largest in the world, with newer production estimates reaching 15 million bags per year. Overall, crude petroleum accounts for $13.8 billion of Colombia’s exports, coal accounts for $7.45 billion, coffee accounts for $2.35 billion, and gold accounts for $1.24 billion. Smaller notable exports include cut flowers, bananas, and palm oil.

Today, Colombia faces an uphill battle to become the country it can be. Sitting on reserves of crude oil and non-renewable resources the potential for an economic breakout is present. Corruption plagues the Colombian Government. Colombia’s history of drug trafficking and paramilitary conflict made the corruption in Columbia a problem at all levels of government. Annually, Colombia loses 1 percent of its gross domestic product due to corruption and in 2012 an audit of the higher government revealed 125 million dollars of embezzlement from various budgets. In recent times, Colombia has attempted to cut down and act on corruption. Starting in 2013, they signed various international conventions to address corruption and Colombia has passed many acts to put anti-corruption policies into place. Colombia can have a bright future ahead as long as much-needed change takes place.