🇨🇴 Colombia

Paleoindian finds at Pubenza and El Totumo in the Magdalena Valley, and later occupation at El Abra, Tibitó and Tequendama near modern Bogotá, mark the territory as a corridor of early human movement between Mesoamerica, the Andes and the Amazon. Nomadic hunter-gatherers traded among themselves and with cultures of the Magdalena River Valley, laying the foundations of settlement in the region.

Ceramics found at San Jacinto are dated to the fifth and fourth millennia BCE, the earliest known anywhere in the Americas. The find places the Colombian Caribbean lowlands at the forefront of an important technological transition in the hemisphere.

Between the fifth and first millennia BCE the region's mobile foraging bands became settled farming societies. The change enabled population growth and the emergence of the complex chiefdoms that later dominated the highlands.

During the 1200s contact between Malayo-Polynesian voyagers and Amerindians in Colombia carried Indigenous genetics from the pre-colonial territory into Pacific Ocean islands. Coconuts of Philippine origin found in Colombia are attributed to this pre-Columbian exchange.

Ojeda, who had sailed with Columbus, made landfall in La Guajira in 1499, opening Spanish contact with the territory. The arrival began the process that would bring the region under the Spanish Crown within half a century.

Spanish explorers under Bastidas charted the Caribbean shoreline of what is now Colombia in 1500, followed by Columbus navigating nearby waters in 1502. These voyages mapped the coast that would host the first permanent Spanish settlements.

Spain, which established no factories in Africa, licensed merchants of other nations to carry enslaved people to its overseas territories, and Africans were brought to Colombia mostly to the coastal lowlands. Indigenous people, as legal subjects of the Crown, could not be enslaved, and resguardos, encomiendas and haciendas were established to regulate their land and labour. The traffic continued into the 19th century and profoundly shaped Colombia's population.

Vasco Núñez de Balboa accompanied an expedition through the Gulf of Urabá in 1508, and the town was established two years later. It was the first enduring European settlement on the American mainland, anchoring Spanish presence in the isthmus region.

Santa Marta was established in 1525 and Cartagena in 1533, giving Spain fortified ports on the Caribbean. Cartagena in particular became a principal harbour of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.

Quesada led an expedition into the interior highlands in April 1536 and named the districts he traversed the New Kingdom of Granada. The designation created the territorial identity from which the later viceroyalty and republic descended.

The conqueror of Quito travelled north and established Cali in 1536 and Popayán in 1537. German conquistador Nikolaus Federmann crossed the Llanos Orientales and the Cordillera Oriental between 1536 and 1539 in search of El Dorado, whose legend drew Europeans to New Granada for two centuries.

The capital was established on the Muisca highlands and soon acquired the name Santa Fe de Bogotá. It became one of the principal administrative centres of Spanish America alongside Lima and Mexico City.

The region, with all other Spanish possessions in South America, was subordinated to the viceregal capital at Lima. Administration from a distant centre shaped colonial governance until New Granada gained its own institutions.

New Granada was carved out as a distinct captaincy-general within the Viceroyalty of Peru in 1547. The move gave Bogotá its own seat of authority and began the territory's administrative separation.

The Audiencia governed the provinces of Santa Marta, Rio de San Juan, Popayán, Guayana and Cartagena. Important decisions nonetheless remained with the Council of the Indies in Spain, defining the limits of colonial self-rule.

From an estimated 2.5 to 12 million people in 1500, the population fell to around 1.2 million by 1600, a decrease of 52–90% caused by conquest and Eurasian diseases such as smallpox. It declined to about 800,000 by the end of the colonial period and did not regain pre-conquest levels until the 1940s.

Created in 1717, temporarily abolished and re-established in 1739, the viceroyalty united provinces corresponding to modern Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama alongside Colombia. Bogotá became one of the principal administrative centres of the Spanish New World.

After Great Britain declared war on Spain in 1739, Cartagena became a prime British target, but disease crippled the attackers and they withdrew after initial gains. The victory was among Spain's most decisive of the conflict and secured Spanish dominance in the Caribbean until the Seven Years' War.

Delegated by Viceroy Antonio Caballero y Góngora, the priest, botanist and mathematician catalogued the plants and wildlife of New Granada and founded the first astronomical observatory in Santa Fe de Bogotá. The expedition trained figures such as Francisco José de Caldas and Francisco Antonio Zea who later shaped the independence movement.

The Prussian scientist's visit connected New Granada's scientific establishment to European natural science. It reinforced the intellectual currents that fed the colony's emerging creole elite.

After the Napoleonic Wars the restored Spanish king sent military forces that re-established the viceroyalty, and Sámano's regime punished participants in the patriotic juntas. The repression stoked renewed rebellion and made Bolívar's eventual victory possible.

Independence from Spain was declared on 20 July 1810, celebrated as Independence Day, though it was secured militarily only after Simón Bolívar's victory at Boyacá in 1819.

Cartagena became independent in November 1811 and the United Provinces were proclaimed the same year, with Antonio Nariño leading opposition to Spanish centralism. Rivalry between federalist and centralist currents produced the unstable period known as the Patria Boba.

The victory on 7 August opened the way to Bogotá and secured independence for the territory that became Colombia, part of the wider wars of independence across Spanish South America. Bolívar went on to found Gran Colombia later that year.

Bolívar's successful rebellion secured independence in 1819, creating a republic uniting present-day Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela and parts of Guyana and Brazil. Between 250,000 and 400,000 people, some 12–20% of the pre-war population, died during the independence war.

The Congress framed a constitution for Gran Colombia, with Simón Bolívar as first President and Francisco de Paula Santander as Vice President. Colombia thereby became the first constitutional government in South America, though the republic proved unstable.

Royalist resistance was crushed in present-day Colombian territory in 1822 and in Venezuela the following year. The victories completed the military phase of independence and consolidated Gran Colombia.

Internal divisions broke the union apart in 1830, producing Ecuador, Venezuela and modern Colombia. The former Department of Cundinamarca adopted the name New Granada, which it retained until 1858.

Photography arrived in the country in 1841 through the French diplomat and artist. The Piloto public library now holds Latin America's largest archive of negatives, 1.7 million antique photographs covering 1848 to 2005.

The Liberal Party was founded in 1848 and the Conservative Party in 1849, making them two of the oldest surviving political parties in the Americas. Their rivalry structured Colombian politics and repeatedly erupted into civil war.

Slavery was ended in Colombia in 1851, closing a system that had brought Africans to the country since the 16th century. Emancipation reshaped the labour and social structure of the Caribbean and Pacific lowlands.

The country changed its name and adopted a federal structure in 1858. It was the first of two federal experiments before the centralising settlement of 1886.

After a two-year civil war the federal United States of Colombia was proclaimed in 1863. The arrangement devolved extensive power to the states until it was reversed two decades later.

Founded in 1872, it was the earliest such institution outside Spain. It gave the country an early role in the standardisation and prestige of Spanish in the hemisphere.

The groundbreaking 1877 collection gave literary voice to Afro-Colombian experience. It marked a milestone in the country's cultural self-representation.

The charter replaced the federal United States of Colombia with a centralised republic and closer ties between church and state. It remained the country's fundamental law for more than a century until its replacement in 1991.

The Liberals, supported by Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Guatemala, rebelled and took control of Santander before being defeated by nationalist forces in 1902. Between 100,000 and 180,000 Colombians died, leaving the country exhausted on the eve of Panama's secession.

Washington supported Panama's separation after Colombia's Senate rejected a treaty granting it rights to build a canal, and the United States went on to construct the Panama Canal under its own control. Colombia recognised Panama's independence in 1921 under a separate treaty.

The United States paid Colombia $25,000,000 as redress for President Theodore Roosevelt's role in creating Panama, seven years after the canal's completion. Colombia in turn recognised Panama, normalising relations with Washington.

Colombia and Peru went to war over territory in the Amazon basin, and the conflict was ended by a League-brokered peace deal. The League's award in June 1934 confirmed Colombian sovereignty over the disputed area.

The urban share of the population rose from 31% in 1938 to nearly 60% in 1973 and 76% by 2014, while Bogotá grew from just over 300,000 in 1938 to some 8 million. The population as a whole expanded from roughly 4 million at the start of the 20th century to around 50 million by 2020.

Edited by Jorge Rojas in Bogotá, the Stone and Sky volumes significantly influenced the country's literary culture. They coincided with the Colombian Mural Movement begun by Pedro Nel Gómez and Santiago Martínez Delgado in the 1940s.

The killing of Liberal presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán on 9 April 1948 set off some 10 hours of rioting, the Bogotazo, that destroyed much of central Bogotá and spread nationwide; estimates of the riot death toll vary widely, from several hundred to several thousand. The killing plunged the country into the partisan bloodletting known as La Violencia, which between the late 1940s and early 1950s claimed at least 180,000 lives.

Colombia was the only Latin American country to join the war in a direct military role, notably in the resistance of its troops at Old Baldy. The deployment cemented military ties with Washington.

Rojas seized power and reduced partisan violence by negotiating with guerrilla groups, followed by the military junta of General Gabriel París. The interlude ended the worst of the fighting but suspended civilian rule.

A magnitude 7.4 quake hit western Colombia on the morning of 10 August 2026, with its epicentre near San José del Palmar, roughly 250 miles west of Bogotá. At least 110 people were reported dead and dozens injured by the end of the day.

The resolution barred new oil, gas and mining titles across Colombia's Amazon region days before a pro-drilling successor took office on 7 August. Existing licences remain valid, and the incoming government has signalled it intends to reopen exploration, including fracking, outside protected areas.

De la Espriella took the oath of office on 7 August, breaking with tradition by holding the ceremony in Cali, and pledged a crackdown on armed groups. Security forces deployed about 11,000 troops and a drone no-fly zone over the city for the event.

The right-wing candidate took 49.7% of the run-off vote on 21 June 2026 against 48.7% for left-wing Iván Cepeda. He was sworn in as president on 7 August 2026, ending the Petro government's single term.

Banco de la República lifted the policy rate on 30 June, its latest increase in 2026, as annual inflation reached 6.1 per cent. The bank held the rate steady in July, having reversed its previous easing cycle amid persistent price pressure.

De la Espriella took 49.7 per cent of the vote to Cepeda's 48.7 per cent, a margin of about 250,000 votes, after topping the 31 May first round. Outgoing president Gustavo Petro refused to recognise the result, alleging fraud without providing evidence.

The 25 April blast set a bus alight and damaged other vehicles in Cajibío municipality, killing 20 people and wounding 36. Authorities blamed FARC dissidents and offered a five billion peso reward for a suspect known as 'Marlon'.

In the 8 March elections the Historic Pact won 25 of 103 Senate seats and 43 of 183 House seats, ahead of the Democratic Centre, but fell well short of a majority. The result underscored a persistent left-right split ahead of the presidential vote.

Troops moved against both groups in the north-eastern Catatumbo region, a centre of fighting and mass displacement since clashes began there in January 2025. The operation followed the collapse of peace talks between the government and the ELN.

The decree, issued on 22 December after Congress rejected his financing law, sought emergency powers to raise taxes on wealthy Colombians and cover a shortfall in the 2026 budget. Colombia's Constitutional Court ruled the decree unconstitutional in April 2026.

Petro acted after US strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels killed dozens of people in the region, saying Washington had violated Colombian sovereignty. The order followed the killing of Colombian fisherman Alejandro Carranza in a US strike in September.

Trump called Petro an 'illegal drug leader' and said Washington would cut assistance and raise tariffs, weeks after decertifying Colombia as a reliable counter-narcotics partner in September. Petro dismissed the threatened aid cuts, saying they amounted to 'nothing'.

Weeks after Petro's inauguration the two neighbours restored formal ties broken in 2019. The reopening reconnected trade and diplomacy along a heavily used land border.

The former guerrilla won the run-off with 50.47% against Rodolfo Hernández's 47.27% and was sworn in on 7 August 2022, with Francia Márquez becoming the first black person elected vice president. The single-term limit had barred Iván Duque from seeking re-election.

Demonstrations began on 28 April 2021 after the government proposed a bill greatly widening the range of the 19% VAT. The unrest exposed deep discontent over inequality and informality in the labour market.

The government granted nationality to children born in Colombia to Venezuelan refugee parents. The measure responded to the mass displacement caused by Venezuela's crisis, to which Colombia had also sent food and medicines.

Venezuela severed ties after President Duque helped opposition politicians deliver humanitarian aid, and Colombia recognised Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's legitimate president. Bogotá rejected Maduro's proposal to restore relations in January 2020, leaving the border relationship frozen.

Duque took 54% of the second-round vote against 42% for Gustavo Petro and was sworn in on 7 August 2018 for a four-year term. His government maintained a hard line toward Venezuela and the peace accords.

The signature aligned Colombia with the international disarmament regime. The country maintains 455,461 active military personnel and spent 3.4% of GDP on defence in 2016, ranking 24th in the world.

Colombia was the fifth largest coal exporter in the world in 2018 and the nineteenth largest oil exporter in 2020, producing 791 thousand barrels a day in 2019. By 2020 more than 40% of national exports were based on these two commodities.

In 2017 a cancer research and treatment centre received national strategic designation. Colombian health institutions rank strongly regionally, with 26 hospitals among Latin America's 61 best in 2022.

After four years of negotiations in Cuba, an initial accord was rejected in a referendum, and a revised agreement was signed in November 2016 and approved by Congress, ending 52 years of civil conflict. It provided for the FARC's disarmament and transition into a political party, and a Special Jurisdiction for Peace was created to prosecute grave violations and deliver justice to victims; President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that year.

The 2014 Global Green Economy Index recognised the country's commitment to renewable energy. The ranking underlined an energy profile distinct from its heavy dependence on coal and oil exports.

In November 2012 the government began formal peace talks with the FARC in Havana, aimed at reaching a definitive bilateral ceasefire and incorporating demobilised FARC members into mainstream society and politics.

Gold production, around 15 tonnes a year until 2007, rose sharply to a record 66.1 tonnes in 2012 before settling at 52.2 tonnes in 2017. Colombia is also the world's largest producer of emerald.

By 2012 up to 4.9 million Colombians had been displaced within their own country, the highest total in the world. The figure measured the human cost of decades of armed conflict in rural areas.

The former Minister of Defence won the run-off of 20 June 2010 with 69% against Antanas Mockus, and secured a second term on 15 June 2014 with nearly 51% against Óscar Iván Zuluaga. His mandates carried the peace process with the FARC.

By the end of 2006 more than 31,000 former paramilitaries had demobilised and the United Self Defence Forces of Colombia had ceased to function as a formal organisation. In the wake of the demobilisation, emerging criminal groups arose whose members include some former paramilitaries.

A 2004 constitutional amendment replaced the single-term limit with a two-term limit, enabling Álvaro Uribe to serve twice. Congress repealed the amendment in 2015, restoring the single four-year term.

The 2003 legislation provided the framework and support that allowed the young Colombian film industry to grow. It marked state recognition of cultural production as an economic sector.

Uribe's integrated counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency campaign, paired with an economic plan promoting investor confidence, improved security and stability. The right-wing AUC paramilitaries formally ceased to function under a controversial peace process, and in February 2008 millions demonstrated against the FARC.

The programme combined US military aid and training with coca-eradication efforts as the government fought FARC guerrillas and drug-trafficking networks. It reshaped Colombia's armed forces and underpinned bilateral security cooperation for years afterwards.

The quake of 25 January 1999 was among the deadliest natural disasters of the century in Colombia. Another major event, an 8.2 magnitude subduction earthquake offshore near the Colombia–Ecuador border, generated a tsunami that killed several hundred along the Pacific coast.

After averaging over 4% annual GDP growth between 1970 and 1998, the economy contracted in 1999 in the first full year of negative growth since the 1930s. Recovery was long and painful, though growth reached 7% by 2007, one of the highest rates in Latin America.

Healthcare reforms introduced from 1993 widened social and health security coverage from 21% before the reform to 96% by 2012. Health standards have improved markedly since the 1980s, with life expectancy at 74.8 years in 2015.

Escobar was killed on 2 December, more than a year after escaping from a private prison, ending the reign of the Medellín Cartel he led. His death followed a campaign of bombings and assassinations that killed thousands during the 1980s and early 1990s.

A constituent assembly replaced the 1886 charter with a new constitution promulgated on 4 July 1991, framing a presidential participatory democracy with broader civil rights, judicial independence and a new Constitutional Court, and regional decentralisation. It guaranteed freedom of religion and equality of churches before the law and introduced an adversarial application of the civil law system; widely viewed as positive by Colombian society, it has been amended many times but remains in force.

Ratification bound Colombia to the prevailing international law on indigenous rights. Reserves established for indigenous peoples cover 27% of national territory and are inhabited by more than 800,000 people.

Talks between 1989 and 1994 brought several guerrilla groups to lay down arms and enter civilian politics. The demobilisations preceded and helped shape the constitutional reform of 1991.

The 28-hour siege and the military's retaking of the building left 101 people dead, including 11 of the court's 25 justices. Several hostages who left the building alive were later found to have disappeared.

The Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia was created in 1982 to represent the country's indigenous peoples. It gave indigenous communities a national political voice ahead of the constitutional reforms of 1991.

From the mid-1970s cartels turned Colombia into a leading source of illegal drugs for world markets. The trade financed armed actors and reshaped the country's economy and international reputation.

A nearly five-decade conflict between government forces and anti-government insurgent groups, principally the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) founded in 1964, escalated during the 1990s as it became heavily funded by the drug trade. The insurgents lack the military or popular support to overthrow the state but have continued attacks against civilians.

From the 1960s government forces, leftist guerrillas such as the FARC and ELN, and right-wing paramilitaries fought a protracted internal war that escalated sharply in the 1990s in remote rural areas. The United States encouraged the Colombian military to attack leftist militias from the early 1960s as part of its anti-communist campaign, and mercenaries and multinationals such as Chiquita Brands International also contributed to the violence.

Liberal and Conservative leaders agreed a power-sharing pact under which the presidency alternated between the two parties every four years for sixteen years, with parity in all other elective offices. The Front ended the partisan bloodshed known as La Violencia and restored electoral stability, pursuing reforms alongside the Alliance for Progress, but it excluded other movements, a grievance later cited by guerrilla groups and one that helped drive the creation of the FARC, ELN and M-19.