Colombia
POPULATION 41,008,227
ROMAN CATHOLIC 81 percent
OTHER CHRISTIAN 10 percent
EVANGELICAL 3.5 percent
OTHER 3.6 percent
NONRELIGIOUS 1.9 percent
Country Overview
Introduction
The Republic of Colombia, located in northern South America, is bordered by the Caribbean Sea on the north and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also borders Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, and Ecuador. The twin chains of the northern Andes Mountains run through the country, which has thus been historically constrained by its rugged geography. Colombia also spreads over the lowland Amazon basin.
Prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century C.E., highland Colombia was the site of several indigenous chiefdoms. In the area around Bogotá the Chibcha developed, while the south was a contact zone with the expanding Inca empire. The lowland area held a variety of horticultural societies centered along the rivers. Colonial economic enterprises, in which the native population was used for labor, led to a decline in the Indian population and the importation of African slaves. As a result, Colombia has a rich amalgam of populations and heritages.
The Catholic Church was one of the key institutions of colonial society in Colombia. It has maintained its strength as an important social force.
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