COLOMBIA
(Republic of Colombia)

Capital: Bogota

Flag: national flag consists of three horizontal strips; the yellow top strip is twice wider, than each of two others which are blue and red.

MOTTO: Himno Nacional beginning "About Gloria in incredible, jubilo inmortal" ("About innocent glory, immortal joy").

MONETARY BLOCK: Colombian peso (with $) in 100 cents - paper currency. There are coins from 10, 20 and 50 sentav and 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 peso and the banknote of 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000 and 10000 peso. Also commemorative gold coins of various faiths were noted. with $1 = us of $0.00043 (or us of $1 = from $2,324,08) as of 2005.

WEIGHT AND MEASURES: the metric system is the official standard, but also the Spanish units, such as botella, vara, fenegada, arroba and quintuplet are used.

HOLIDAYS: New year, on January 1; Epiphany, on January 6; Day of Saint Joseph, on March 19; Labor Day, on May 1; Saint Peter and Pavel's Day, on June 29; Independence Day, on July 20; Fight at Boyak, on August 7; Assumption, on August 15; Day of Columbus, on October 12; All Saints' Day, on November 1; Independence of Cartagena, on November 11; Immaculate conception, on December 8; Christmas, on December 25. Moveable religious feasts include the Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Sacred Saturday, Rise, Sacred Heart and Corpus Christi. Besides, six official memorable days.

TIME: 7th mornings = midday of GMT.

ARRANGEMENT

Colombia - the only South American country with coasts of the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The country, the fourth in size, in South America has the total area of 1 138 910 sq.km (439 736 quarter. Miles), including island possession, and 1700 km long (1 060 miles) nnw-sse and 1210 km (750 miles) of NUS. Rather, the area occupied with Colombia is a little less, than is three times more than the State of Montana. On border with the Caribbean Sea, on Venezuela, on Brazil, on Peru and Ecuador, in the Pacific ocean and also on the deck, the Colombian continent is located completely in tropics. Its total length of border is 6 004 km (3,731 miles). Its coastlines stretch for 3,208 km (1,993 miles).

Besides, the Republic of Colombia (though it is demanded by Nicaragua) is the archipelago of San-Andres and Providensiya in the Caribbean Sea, approximately in 190 km (120 miles) from the coast of Nicaragua and also Malpelo Island, the Gorgon and Gorgonilya to the Pacific Ocean. (In 2001 Nicaragua filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice the claim concerning these islands.) In Colombia there are also desert Caribbean islands in Quita Sueno, Roncador Cay and Serrana Bank on which the United States refused all rights under the Contract Quita of Sueno, ratified by the Senate of the USA in July, 1981; Nicaragua also challenges this requirement. Colombia argues with Venezuela on the sea rights in Venezuela. Negotiations continue unsuccessfully since 1970, and in August, 1987 the Colombian naval vessel entered the disputed region in obvious attempt to make Venezuela more sympathetic. Capital: Colombia, Bogota.