Departments of Colombia

Capital district and departments of Colombia
Distrito Capital y los Departamentos de Colombia (Spanish)
La Guajira Department Magdalena Department Atlántico Department Cesar Department Bolívar Department Norte de Santander Department Sucre Department Córdoba Department Santander Department Antioquia Department Boyacá Department Arauca Department Chocó Department Caldas Department Cundinamarca Department Casanare Department Vichada Department Valle del Cauca Department Tolima Department Meta Department Huila Department Guainía Department Guaviare Department Cauca Department Vaupés Department Nariño Department Caquetá Department Putumayo Department Amazonas Department Risaralda Department Risaralda Department Quindío Department Quindío Department Bogotá Bogotá Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa CatalinaDepartments of colombia.svg
Category Unitary state
Location Republic of Colombia
Number 32 Departments
1 Capital District
Populations (Departments only):33,152 (Vaupés) – 5,750,478 (Antioquia)
Areas (Departments only):50 km2 (19.3 sq mi) (San Andrés) – 109,665.0 km2 (42,341.89 sq mi) (Amazonas)
Government Department government, National government
Subdivisions Municipality
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Colombia is a unitary republic formed by thirty-two departments (Spanish: departamentos, sing. departamento) and a Capital District (Distrito Capital). Each department has a Governor (gobernador) and a Department Assembly (Asamblea Departamental), elected by popular vote for a four-year period. The governor cannot be re-elected in consecutive periods. Departments are country subdivisions and are granted a certain degree of autonomy.

Departments are formed by a grouping of municipalities (municipios, sing. municipio). Municipal government is headed by mayor (alcalde) and administered by a Municipal Council (concejo municipal), both of which are elected for four-year periods.

Chart of departments

Each one of the departments of Colombia in the map below links to a corresponding article.

Department Capital Area (km²) Population Date of establishment
- Bogotá, Capital District - 1,587 8,254,722 1538-08-06
01 Amazonas Leticia 109,665 80,360 1991-10-05
02 Antioquia Medellín 63,612 5,750,478 1826-??-??
03 Arauca Arauca 23,818 282,302 1991-07-04
04 Atlántico Barranquilla 3,388 2,365,663 1910-07-14
05 Bolívar Cartagena 25,978 2,229,967 1857-06-15
06 Boyacá Tunja 23,189 1,411,239 1539-??-??
07 Caldas Manizales 7,888 1,170,187 1905-??-??
08 Caquetá Florencia 88,965 463,333 1982-??-??
09 Casanare Yopal 44,640 325,713 1991-07-04
10 Cauca Popayán 29,308 1,363,054 1857-06-15
11 Cesar Valledupar 22,905 1,050,303 1967-12-21[1]
12 Chocó Quibdó 46,530 413,173 1947-11-03
13 Córdoba Montería 25,020 1,392,905 1952-06-18
14 Cundinamarca Bogotá 24,210 2,680,041 1857-06-15
15 Guainía Inirida 72,238 43,314 1963-06-13
16 Guaviare San José del Guaviare   53,460 133,236 1991-07-04
17 Huila Neiva 19,890 994,218 1905-??-??
18 La Guajira Riohacha 20,848 524,619 1965-07-01
19 Magdalena Santa Marta 23,188 1,403,318 1824-07-25
20 Meta Villavicencio 85,635 771,089 1960-07-01
21 Nariño Pasto 33,268 1,775,139 1904-08-06
22 Norte de Santander Cúcuta 21,658 1,493,932 1910-07-25
23 Putumayo Mocoa 24,885 378,483 1991-??-??
24 Quindío Armenia 1,845 613,375 1966-07-01
25 Risaralda Pereira 4,140 1,024,362 1966-07-01
26 San Andrés y Providencia   San Andrés 52 83,491 1991-07-04
27 Santander Bucaramanga 30,537 2,085,084 1857-05-13
28 Sucre Sincelejo 10,917 868,648 1966-08-18
29 Tolima Ibagué 23,562 1,312,972 1886-08-04
30 Valle del Cauca Cali 22,140 4,524,678 1910-04-16
31 Vaupés Mitú 54,135 33,152 1991-07-04
32 Vichada Puerto Carreño 100,242 97,276 1991-07-05

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Territorios indígenas

Colombia's indigenous territories are created by agreement between the government and indigenous communities. In cases where indigenous territories covering more than one department or municipality, local governments jointly administer the indigenous councils such territories, as set out in Articles 329 and 330 of the Constitution of Colombia. Also indigenous territories can have character of local authority if they meet the requirements of the law. Indigenous territories in Colombia are mostly in the departments of Amazonas, Cauca, La Guajira, Guaviare and Vaupés.[2]

History

The Colombian Constitution of 1886 converted the states of Colombia into departments, the presidents became renamed as governors.[3] The states that became departments were:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "History of Cesar" (in Spanish). Agustin Codazzi Geographic Institute. Archived from the original on 24 October 2003.
  2. ↑ Colombiaya.com (ed.). "Division Política de Colombia".
  3. ↑ http://es.wikisource.org/wiki/Constituci%C3%B3n_de_Colombia_de_1886

External links

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