Departments of Colombia

Capital district and departments Distrito capital y los departamentos de Colombia (Spanish)
Category	Unitary state
Location	Republic of Colombia
Number	32 Departments 1 Capital District
Populations	48,932 (Vaupés) – 8,906,342 (Capital District)
Areas	50 km^2 (19.3 sq mi) (San Andrés) – 109,665.0 km^2 (42,341.89 sq mi) (Amazonas)
Government	departmental government, national government
Subdivisions	province/subregion, municipality

Colombia is a unitary republic made up of thirty-two administrative divisions referred to as departments (Spanish: departamentos, sing. departamento) and one Capital District (Distrito Capital).^[1] Departments are country subdivisions and are granted a certain degree of autonomy. Each department has a governor (gobernador) and an Assembly (Asamblea Departamental), elected by popular vote for a four-year period. The governor cannot be re-elected in consecutive periods.

Departments are formed by a grouping of municipalities (municipios, sing. municipio). Municipal government is headed by mayor (alcalde) and administered by a municipal council (concejo municipal), both of which are elected by popular vote for four-year periods.

Internal subdivisions within departments

The current borders and number of the departments of Colombia was finally set after the 1991 Colombian Constitution came into effect. Before that, the number of departments went from the original nine federal states of the United States of Colombia who ratified the Constitution of 1863 (Antioquia, Bolívar, Boyacá, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Magdalena, Panamá, Santander and Tolima) to the current 32 departments that exist in the present-day Republic of Colombia.

All departments of Colombia are further subdivided into various municipalities, which represent smaller areas of the department and are often, but not always, coterminous with the urban and rural limits of a given city or town. Some municipalities might also include smaller towns or hamlets (known as corregimientos in Spanish), within the borders of the wider municipality. The rural subdivisions of municipalities are known in Spanish as veredas.

Most departments also group various municipalities into regions which are larger than a municipality and are usually known as either provinces or subregions. These subdivisions work as an intermediate level subnational regions between a department and a municipality. However, this provinces or subregions do not feature in the 1991 Colombian Constitution and are thus defined instead by the departmental governments and assemblies.

List of current departments

Departments of Colombia

ID	Map	Department	Capital	Area (km^2)	Pop. (Dec. 2022)[2]	Density per km^2	Established as a department	Flag	Code	Governor (2024–2027)[3]	Party or Coalition[3]
00		Capital District	Bogotá	1,587	8,906,342	4670.80	1861		DC	Carlos Fernando Galán	New Liberalism
01		Amazonas	Leticia	109,665	82,068	0.7	1991		AM	Óscar Enrique Sánchez Guerrero	Historic Pact for Colombia
02		Antioquia	Medellín	63,612	6,887,306	100.72	1886		AN	Andrés Julián Rendón Cardona	Por Antioquia Firme
03		Arauca	Arauca	23,818	304,978	11.01	1991		AR	Manuel Alexander Pérez Rueda	Democratic Center
04		Atlántico	Barranquilla	3,388	2,804,025	748.38	1910		AT	Eduardo Verano de la Rosa	Colombian Liberal Party
05		Bolívar	Cartagena	25,978	2,236,603	79.69	1886		BL	Yamil Hernando Arana Padaui	Bolivar Mejor
06		Boyacá	Tunja	23,189	1,259,601	52.50	1824		BY	Carlos Amaya	Boyacá Grande
07		Caldas	Manizales	7,888	1,036,455	126.55	1905		CL	Henry Gutiérrez Angel	Por El Caldas Que Quiere La Gente
08		Caquetá	Florencia	88,965	419,275	4.52	1981		CQ	Luis Francisco Ruiz Aguilar	Coalición Revive Caqueta
09		Casanare	Yopal	44,640	442,068	9.42	1991		CS	César Augusto Ortiz Zorro	Coalición Por Casanare
10		Cauca	Popayán	29,308	1,516,018	49.97	1824		CA	Jorge Octavio Guzmán Gutiérrez	La Fuerza Del Pueblo
11		Cesar	Valledupar	22,905	1,341,697	52.42	1967		CE	Elvia Milena Sanjuán Dávila	El Cesar En Marcha
12		Chocó	Quibdó	46,530	553,519	11.49	1947		CH	Nubia Carolina Córdoba Curi	Colombian Liberal Party
13		Córdoba	Montería	25,020	1,856,496	71.33	1951		CO	Erasmo Elías Zuleta Bechara	Cordoba Pr1mero
14		Cundinamarca	Bogotá	24,210	2,473,634	120.57	1819		CU	Jorge Emilio Rey Ángel	Caminando, Escuchando, Gobernando
15		Guainía	Inírida	72,238	52,061	0.67	1991		GN	Arnulfo Rivera Naranjo	Coalición Trabajemos Guainía
16		Guaviare	San José del Guaviare	53,460	90,357	1.55	1991		GV	Yeison Ferney Rojas Martínez	Guaviare Seguimos Avanzando
17		Huila	Neiva	19,890	1,140,932	55.32	1910		HU	Rodrigo Villaba Mosquera	Por Un Huila Grande
18		La Guajira	Riohacha	20,848	1,002,394	42.24	1965		LG	Jairo Alfonso Aguilar Deluque	Union Party for the People, Radical Change, Independent Social Alliance, La Fuerza de la Paz and Partido Demócrata
19		Magdalena	Santa Marta	23,188	1,463,427	57.86	1824		MA	Rafael Alejandro Martínez	Fuerza Ciudadana
20		Meta	Villavicencio	82,805	1,080,706	12.14	1959		ME	Rafaela Cortés Zambrano	Coalición Fe y Firmeza
21		Nariño	Pasto	33,268	1,629,181	49.01	1910		NA	Luis Alfonso Escobar Jaramillo	Historic Pact for Colombia
22		Norte de Santander	Cúcuta	21,658	1,651,278	68.87	1910		NS	William Villamizar Laguado	Coalición Por Amor A Nuestra Gente Del Norte
23		Putumayo	Mocoa	24,885	369,064	13.99	1991		PU	Carlos Andrés Marroquín Luna	Coalición Somos La Fuerza De La Gente
24		Quindío	Armenia	1,845	569,569	292.63	1966		QD	Juan Miguel Galvis Bedoya	Creemos Colombia
25		Risaralda	Pereira	4,140	977,829	227.87	1966		RI	Juan Diego Patiño Ochoa	Colombian Liberal Party
26		San Andrés y Providencia	San Andrés	52	65,228	1178.46	1991		SA	Nicolas Iván Gallardo Vásquez	Coalición Avanzar es Posible
27		Santander	Bucaramanga	30,537	2,324,090	71.55	1886		ST	Juvenal Díaz Mateus	Coalición Es Tiempo Juvenal Gobernador
28		Sucre	Sincelejo	10,917	972,350	82.89	1966		SU	Lucy Inés García Montes	Coalición Mujer de Resultados
29		Tolima	Ibagué	23,562	1,346,935	56.45	1886		TO	Adriana Magali Matiz Vargas	Coalición Con Seguridad en el Territorio
30		Valle del Cauca	Cali	22,140	4,589,278	202.16	1910		VC	Dilian Francisca Toro Torres	Coalición Unidos por el Valle
31		Vaupés	Mitú	54,135	48,932	0.75	1991		VA	Luis Alfredo Gutiérrez García	Gente en Movimiento
32		Vichada	Puerto Carreño	100,242	115,778	1.08	1991		VD	Hecson Alexys Benito Castro	Union Party for the People

Indigenous territories

Main article: Indigenous territory (Colombia)

The indigenous territories are at the third level of administrative division in Colombia, as are the municipalities. Indigenous territories are created by agreement between the government and indigenous communities. In cases where indigenous territories cover more than one department or municipality, local governments jointly administer them with the indigenous councils, as set out in Articles 329 and 330 of the Colombian Constitution of 1991. Also indigenous territories may achieve local autonomy if they meet the requirements of the law.

Article 329 of the 1991 constitution recognizes the collective indigenous ownership of indigenous territories and repeats that are inalienable. Law 160 of 1994 created the National System of Agrarian Reform and Rural Development Campesino, and replaced Law 135 of 1961 on Agrarian Social Reform; it establishes and sets out the functions of INCORA, one of the most important being to declare which territories will acquire the status of indigenous protection and what extension of existing ones will be allowed. Decree 2164 of 1995 interprets Law 160 of 1994, providing, among other things, a legal definition of indigenous territories.^[4]

Indigenous territories in Colombia are mostly located in the departments of Amazonas, Cauca, La Guajira, Guaviare, and Vaupés.^[1]

History

Territorial evolution of Colombian departments
1824	1886	1905	1908	1912	1916
1928	1942	1958	1966	1990	Present day

Gran Colombia

Main article: Subdivisions of Gran Colombia

When it was first established in 1819, The Republic of Gran Colombia had three departments. Venezuela, Cundinamarca (now Colombia) and Quito (now Ecuador).^[5] In 1824, the Distrito del Centro (which became Colombia) was divided into five departments and further divided into seventeen provinces. One department, Isthmus Department, consisting of two provinces, later became the sovereign country of Panama.^[6]

Republic of New Granada

Main article: Republic of New Granada

With the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1826 by the Revolution of the Morrocoyes (La Cosiata), New Granada kept its 17 provinces. In 1832 the provinces of Vélez and Barbacoas were created, and in 1835 those of Buenaventura and Pasto were added. In 1843 those of Cauca, Mompós and Túquerres were created. At this time the cantons (cantones) and parish districts were created, which provided the basis for the present-day municipalities.^[6][7]

By 1853 the number of provinces had increased to thirty-six, namely:Antioquia, Azuero, Barbacoas, Bogotá, Buenaventura, Cartagena, Casanare, Cauca, Chiriquí, Chocó, Córdova, Cundinamarca, García Rovira, Mariquita, Medellín, Mompós, Neiva, Ocaña, Pamplona, Panamá, Pasto, Popayán, Riohacha, Sabanilla, Santa Marta, Santander, Socorro, Soto, Tequendama, Tunja, Tundama, Túquerres, Valle de Upar, Veraguas, Vélez and Zipaquirá.^[7] However, the new constitution of 1853 introduced federalism, which lead to the consolidation of provinces into states. By 1858 this process was complete, with a resulting eight federal states: Panamá was formed in 1855, Antioquia in 1856, Santander in May 1857, and Bolívar, Boyacá, Cauca, Cundinamarca and Magdalena were formed in June 1858. 1861 saw the creation of the final federal state of Tolima.^[8]

Republic of Colombia

The Colombian Constitution of 1886 converted the states of Colombia into departments, with the state presidents renamed as governors. The states formed the following original departments:

• Antioquia Department
• Bolívar Department
• Boyacá Department
• Cauca Department
• Cundinamarca Department
• Magdalena Department
• Panamá Department
• Santander Department
• Tolima Department

Historical predecessors of current departments

Current name and flag	Established as a department	Name at time of establishment	Establishment of earliest territorial predecessor	Sovereign State that established the earliest territorial predecessor
Amazonas	1991	Intendancy of Amazonas	1931	Republic of Colombia
Antioquia	1886	Province of Antioquia	1576	Crown of Castile
Arauca	1991	Commissary of Arauca	1911	Republic of Colombia
Atlántico	1910	Province of Sabanilla	1852	Republic of New Granada
Bogotá	1861	Federal District of Bogotá	1861	Granadine Confederation
Bolívar	1886	Province of Cartagena	1533	Crown of Castile
Boyacá	1824	Province of Tunja	1539	Crown of Castile
Caldas	1905	Department of Caldas	1905	Republic of Colombia
Caquetá	1981	Intendancy of Caquetá	1905	Republic of Colombia
Casanare	1991	Province of Casanare	1660	Crown of Castile
Cauca	1824	Province of Popayán	1537	Crown of Castile
Cesar	1967	Department of Cesar	1967	Republic of Colombia
Chocó	1947	Province of Chocó	1726	Kingdom of Spain
Córdoba	1951	Department of Córdoba	1951	Republic of Colombia
Cundinamarca	1824	Province of Santafé de Bogotá	1550	Crown of Castile
Guainía	1991	Commissary of Guainía	1963	Republic of Colombia
Guaviare	1991	Commissary of Guaviare	1977	Republic of Colombia
Huila	1910	Province of Neiva	1610	Crown of Castile
La Guajira	1965	Province of Riohacha	1789	Kingdom of Spain
Magdalena	1824	Province of Santa Marta	1533	Crown of Castile
Meta	1959	Intendancy of Meta	1905	Republic of Colombia
Nariño	1910	Province of Pasto	1823	Republic of Colombia
Norte de Santander	1910	Province of Pamplona	1555	Crown of Castile
Putumayo	1991	Commissary of Putumayo	1912	Republic of Colombia
Quindío	1966	Department of Quindío	1966	Republic of Colombia
Risaralda	1966	Department of Risaralda	1966	Republic of Colombia
San Andrés y Providencia	1991	Providence Island Colony	1630	Kingdom of England
Santander	1886	Province of Socorro	1795	Kingdom of Spain
Sucre	1966	Department of Sucre	1966	Republic of Colombia
Tolima	1886	Province of Mariquita	1550	Crown of Castile
Valle del Cauca	1910	Province of Cauca	1835	Republic of New Granada
Vaupés	1991	Commissary of Vaupés	1910	Republic of Colombia
Vichada	1991	Commissary of Vichada	1913	Republic of Colombia

Map gallery

• 
  Departments of Colombia with municipalities
• 
  Map with numbered departments
• 
  Departments of Colombia with names
• 
  Political map of Colombia
• 
  Topography of Colombia, highly variable per department

See also

• Colombia portal

• ISO 3166-2:CO
• List of Colombian flags
• Lists of political and geographic subdivisions by total area
• States of Colombia
• List of Colombian departments by Human Development Index

References

1. "Division Política de Colombia" (in Spanish). Portal ColombiaYA.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2009.
2. "Censo General 2005". Archived from the original on 2011-05-17.
3. "Elecciones Territoriales 2023 - Resultados Electorales". La República (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-01-15.
4. Decree 2164 of 1995 provides "Reserva Indígena. Es un globo de terreno baldío ocupado por una o varias comunidades indígenas que fué delimitado y legalmente asignado por el INCORA a aquellas para que ejerzan en él los derechos de uso y usufructo con exclusión de terceros. Las reservas indígenas constituyen tierras comunales de grupos étnicos, para los fines previstos en el artículo 63 de la Constitución Política y la ley 21 de 1991. [...] Territorios Indígenas. Son las áreas poseidas en forma regular y permanente por una comunidad, parcialidad o grupo indígena y aquellas que, aunque no se encuentren poseidas en esa forma, constituyen el ámbito tradicional de sus actividades sociales, económicas y culturales. " Art. 21: "Los resguardos son una institución legal y sociopolítica de carácter especial, conformada por una o más comunidades indígenas, que con un título de propiedad colectiva que goza de las garantías de la propiedad privada, poseen su territorio y se rigen para el manejo de éste y su vida interna por una organización autónoma amparada por el fuero indígena y su sistema normativo propio."
5. Guhl Nannetti, Ernesto (1991). "Capítulo XII: División Política de la Gran Colombia". Las fronteras políticas y los límites naturales: escritos geograficos [Political Boundaries and Their Natural Limits: Geographic writings] (in Spanish). Bogotá: Fondo FEN. ISBN 978-958-9129-22-7.
6. Aguilera Peña, Mario (January 2002). "División política administrativa de Colombia". Credential Historia (in Spanish). Bogotá: Banco de la República. Archived from the original on 16 February 2011.
7. Oficina Nacional de Estadística (Office of National Statistics) (1876). "Estadística de Colombia" [Colombian Statistics] (PDF). Oficina Nacional de Estadística (FTP) (in Spanish). Bogotá. Retrieved 23 November 2016.^{[dead ftp link]} (To view documents see Help:FTP)
8. Domínguez, Camilo; Chaparro, Jeffer; Gómez, Carla (2006). "Construcción y deconstrucción territorial del Caribe Colombiano durante el siglo XIX". Scripta Nova (Revista Electrónica de Geografía y Ciencias Sociales). 10 (218 (75)).

External links

• "Departments of Colombia". Statoids.