Colombia

[kuh-luhm-bee-uh; Spanish kaw-lawm-byah] /kəˈlʌm bi ə; Spanish kɔˈlɔm byɑ/

noun
1.
a republic in NW South America. 439,828 sq. mi. (1,139,155 sq. km).
Capital: Bogotá.
/kəˈlɒmbɪə/
noun
1.
a republic in NW South America: inhabited by Chibchas and other Indians before Spanish colonization in the 16th century; independence won by Bolívar in 1819; became the Republic of Colombia in 1886; violence and unrest have been endemic since the 1970s. It consists chiefly of a hot swampy coastal plain, separated by ranges of the Andes from the pampas and the equatorial forests of the Amazon basin in the east. Language: Spanish. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: peso. Capital: Bogotá. Pop: 45 745 783 (2013 est). Area: 1 138 908 sq km (439 735 sq miles)

South American nation, independent from 1819 as part of Gran Colombia (after its breakup in 1850, as New Granada, then Colombia from 1863); named for Italian explorer Christopher Columbus (Italian Colombo, Portuguese Colom, Spanish Colón).

Republic in northwestern South America, bordered by Panama to the northwest, Venezuela to the northeast, Ecuador and Peru to the south, and Brazil to the southeast. Its capital and largest city is Bogotá.

Note: Its major legal crop is coffee.

Note: Trafficking of marijuana and cocaine remains a problem in Colombia. With support from the United States, the Colombian government has attacked drug traffickers, but the country continues to be torn by civil war between left-wing and right-wing factions.