Colombia Overview
History, Government, and Economy
Colombia is the third most populous country in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico. The urban population increased from 57 percent of the total population in 1951 to about 74 percent by 1994. Thirty cities have 100,000 or more inhabitants. Residents of the high Andes Mountains must cope with sometimes deadly volcanic activity — more than 20,000 died in the 1985 eruption of the Nevada del Ruiz Volcano near the town of Armero in Tolima Department. The Galeras Volcano near Pasto (Narino Department) is active and under observation by the Colombian government. The ethnic diversity in Colombia is a result…
