In the temperate zones, coffee is one of the main crops and also Colombia´s most important agricultural export commodity. Besides that, citrus and other fruits, tomatoes, corn, beans, yucca and other crops are grown there. In the hot regions, cotton, bananas, rice, sugarcane, cocoa and tobacco are harvested. In the colder zones, potatoes, wheat, and barely, vegetables, fruits and flowers make up the principal agricultural products.

Bogotá is Colombia´s biggest city and also its capital. Bogotá occupies the 27th place of the 64 fastest growing metropolises with more than 6 million inhabitants. The city is the traffic hub as well as the economic and cultural center of the country with internationally renowned universities, museums and historical monuments.

Colombia has a population of 48.2 million (2015) of which approximately 70% live in the metropolitan areas and cities of the Andes region and on the Caribbean coast. The low plains in the east are almost uninhabited. Today, approximately 200.000 inhabitants still belong to indigenous tribes. They live on the peninsula Guajira, in the drainage areas of the Orinoco and in the Andes high-valleys. About 20% of the population are white, 50% are Mestizos and about 30% are Afro-descendants.

The most important port city of the country was appointed as UNESCO world heritage in 1994. Many of the buildings from the colonial age are still preserved and especially the historic center displays the city´s Caribbean flair and joie de vivre with its colorful houses so that Cartagena belongs to Latin America´s most beautiful colonial towns. The headland “Bocagrande”, located right next to the historic town, stands in stark contrast. This very modern part of town consists of fancy hotel complexes and its skyline could be seen as the little sister of that in Miami.

(see also Marañón) Since the 1960s, Colombia is conducting research in the technical and agro-industrial development of the cashew´s value chain. In Colombia the cashew is known as “Marañón”. In the year 1988 the Colombian agricultural research institute Corpoica imported different cashew kinds from the main cashew producer Brazil to conduct a qualitative selection for the local climate conditions. In 1994 ten outstanding species were selected and joined with the Colombian mother plant and grafting process. In 2008 another three species were selected that convinced through high harvest yields and a good export quality. Since then the seedling are reproduced in Corpoica´s tree nurseries and under specialist supervision. In the year 2015 the project “MAS Marañón Vichada” was founded by Corpoica, the renowned university Los Andes and Vichada´s government. In the context of this project, experts from the cashew sector teach about topics like the cultivation of the plantation, the processing of cashews and the marketing to important players by doing practice-oriented workshops. The goals of this project are, to establish the cashew value chain in Colombia, save resources by dividing work processes and thus promote the cashew market all together.

Most of Colombia´s areas it are very humid, in the hot coast regions on the Pacific Ocean there is about 500 centimeters of rain per year. The Caribbean is a little bit dryer. In the Andes there are three climate zones, the tierra caliente (hot lowland), the tierra templada (temperate highlands) and the tierra fría (cold highlands). A special characteristic of the lastly mentioned zone is the spring climate all around the year.

Colombia is rich in ecological treasure like almost no other country on this planet. 10% of the known flora and fauna of the world are located on only 0.8% of the from the sea not covered area. For the conservation of these biotopes which represent important resources for the entire world, there were natural parks established that are especially protected and administered by the ministry of environment.

Colombia is the fourth-biggest economy in South America and has access to the international markets. Classified as emerging country and as country of medium to higher income, it is applying for the integration/admittance/accession to the OECD. The admittance etc is expected to take place in during the year of 2017.

The FARC, F.A.R.C-E.P. (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo – Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People´s Army), is a Colombian guerilla movement that since 1964 led an armed conflict against the Colombian state, its representatives, the Colombian Army as well as against rightwing paramilitary groups and drug cartels. Between 2002 and 2008 the Colombian guerilla movement was systematically weakened by the military. The current government under president Juan Manuel Santos was able to successfully end the peace talks, lasting form October 2012 until November 2016, with a peace agreement. Consequently, the FARC will participate as political party in the politics of the country.

For a long time, there has been a cooperative and increasingly close relationship between Colombia and Germany. Germany is the trade partner for Colombia in the EU and the bilateral trade exchange has shown a clear increase in the last years. In addition, numerous large German companies are present in Colombia and some of them also have their own production sites there. In the context of the cooperation for development, both nations agreed on the aspect of “sustainable development” as the new main focus in November 2012. Further focuses include “peace development”, “crisis prevention” and “protection of resources and the environment”. Moreover, approximately 1900 Colombian students study at German universities and in the cities of Baranquilla, Bogotá, Cali and Medellin there are German schools that are certified as schools of excellence and have an outstanding reputation, which all proves that also the academic relationship between the two countries is very close.

Colombia´s indigenous population accounts for 3.4% of the total population which corresponds to about 1.6 million. The population of the department of Vichada, where the agriculture and forestry project form the Colombia Companions is located, is composed of 39.6% of indigenous people. The indigenous groups try to maintain their traditions and own languages which like in other parts of the world is very difficult.

There is a positive investment climate with increasing foreign investment and a growing tourism sector. This is especially attributed to the continuous improvement of the security conditions and the stabilizing economic frameworks: a rising Gross Domestic Product, decreasing poverty and a low unemployment rate. In addition, the ambitious reforms in the business regulation helped the country to become one of Latin America´s most demanded investment countries: rank 53 (of 190) on the list of “Ease of Doing Business” by the World Bank, the third highest rank in the region Latin America & Caribbean and first rank (of 32) in the category “Protection of small investors”.

The Pontifica Universidad Javeriana was founded in 1623 and thus is one of the oldest universities of the country. The university is located in Bogotá with a prominent neighbor: The Universidad de los Andes is only a couple hundred meters away in Bogotá´s old town and is one of Latin America´s most renowned and prestigious universities.

Colombia is considered a bridge to Central America due to its strategically optimal location. As the most northern country of South America Colombia is the only country in South America that has access to both the Pacific as well as to the Atlantic Ocean. An important location factor which facilitates the trade with the main trading partners USA and China and makes the country to a hub of the region.

(see also: Cashew) Marañón is the Spanish translation for Cashew. The nuts are gaining increasing popularity in Colombia. Despite the fact that the cashew tree which comes from the Amazonian region is a native tree, there still only exist few conventional plantations in Colombia. The required cashews are mostly imported from Brazil and the USA. The local cultivation and the processing of cashews are supported by the project “MAS Marañón” which is among others supported by the Colombian government and is supposed to help replace the imported products.

President Juan Manuel Santos received the Nobel Peace Prize of 2016 for his efforts of ending the 50- year guerilla war. With the award Oslo´s committee added that the recognition also belongs to numerous victims of war and the Colombian people who did not give up the hope for peace.

In April 2011, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Mexico signed the Pacific Alliance (span. “Alianza del Pacífico). The members pursue the goals of a customs union, freedom of travel and visa as well as a joint stock exchange. In addition, they act like a community of interest with a stronger negotiating position towards the USA, Europe and especially Asia.

After four years of negotiations between the Colombian Government and the FARC, the nation voted against the peace agreement only with a narrow majority in a referendum on October 2nd 2016. The representatives of the “si”-camp around president Santos directly started talks with the “no”-camp of ex-president Uribe to discuss the reasons for the failure. After renewed negotiations and the revision of the agreement, the Colombian senate and the house of representatives approved the deal in November 2016. The contract includes the agricultural reform, the political participation, the end of the conflict, the drug trade, victims and legal immunity and the implementation of the contract´s contents. In addition, peace negotiations with the ELN (Ejército de Liberación Nacional), the second guerilla group in Colombia, are currently underway.

Besides Gabriel José García Márquez (see Márquez), the singers Shakira and Juanes, the soccer player Carlos Valderrama, the once richest man of the world and drug lord Pablo Escobar and the sculptor and artist Fernando Botero belong to Colombia´s famous faces/names.

The majority of the Colombian population is catholic. Colombians are very religious – at all times during the day you can see people praying, almost all churches have daily mass, you can see bus drivers make the sign of the cross before going into sharp turns or when passing churches. Other religions in Colombia include Protestantism, Judaism, Islam and the Rastafarian belief.

The security situation has improved massively since 2002. The situation in most of the metropolises in Colombia (especially in Bogotá) is comparable to the situation of other Latin American cities.

The Colombian Congress declared Tejo as national sport in June 2000. It is a sociable game where to teams compete against each other. The modern version of the indigenous game called Turmequé, has been played for more than 500 years, predominantly in the Departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The goal is to throw a metal disc into a board covered with clay and hitting one of the four gunpowder pockets, thus causing a small explosion and a loud sound.

Colombia´s most important export goods include coal and crude oil. Colombia is main supplier of high grade emeralds. Platinum, gold and silver also play a role. Further important export goods include coffee, cut flowers, tobacco, as well as food products such as bananas, rice, corn, sugarcane and cocoa beans. Significant industry sectors include textile manufacturing, metal processing and the chemical and petrochemical sector. The most substantial import goods are motor vehicles, equipment for the telecommunication, chemical products and precursors, metal and steel goods, paper and cardboard, polyethylene and agricultural products. The most significant trade partner is the US that acquire about 40% of the Colombian goods. Second most important trade partner are the states of the Andean Community (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru), followed by the European Union. The trade with the People´s Republic of China is gaining importance.