Colombia is a Northern South American Republic, bordering the Caribbean Sea, between Panama and Venezuela, and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Ecuador and Panama. Colombia is the only South American country with coastlines on both North Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Colombia was formed by the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830. The collapse also formed Ecuador and Venezuela. Its terrain consists of flat coastal lowlands, central highlands, high Andes Mountains, eastern lowland plains. Through the western half of the country, three Andean ranges run north and south. The eastern half is a low, jungle-covered plain, drained by the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers. The fertile plateau and valley of the eastern range are the most densely populated parts of the country.
Colombia's population is 41,662,000. The majority of Colombians speak Spanish. Spanish is the countries official language. About 95% of Colombia's people belong to the Roman Catholic church. Christians and protestants form the other small portion. .
Catholicism is important in the cultures influence. The family life of Colombians is important. They still use traditional values. Divorce is very uncommon, influenced by the Roman Catholic Church. A average family consists of Mother, Father and two to four children. The father traditionally provides for the family and the mother is responsible for the duties at home. The children usually live at home with there parents until they are married. Children leaving home early to go to collage is becoming more common. Most of them go to parties, restaurants movies and go shopping for recreation. They also do sports like swimming, track and field, volleyball, basketball and baseball. Bullfights and festivals are also common. .
Their executive branch dominates the government's structure. Their current president is Alvaro Uribe, wining the election in 2002. They have a legal system based on Spanish law.
