Country Trading Profiles Colombia

Political outline | Living conditions | Useful resources | Communications

Political outline

Executive Power: The president is both the head of state and the head of government. He holds executive power. The president and vice president are both elected by universal suffrage for a term of four years.
Legislative Power: The Colombian legislature is bicameral. The parliament called "Congress", consists of: the Senate (upper house) and the Chamber of Deputies (lower chamber). Members of both houses are elected for a period of four years by universal suffrage. The political rights of Colombians are limited.
Main political parties: The main political parties in Colombia are: PC (Conservative Party), the PDA (Alternative Democratic Pole), the PL (Liberal Party), the PSUN (Social National Unity Party), CR (Radical Change), Colombia First. Colombia has about 60 political parties with formal recognition. Most of them are not represented in the Chamber of Deputies.
Current political leaders: President: Juan Manuel Santos - Social Party of National Union
Next election dates: Presidential election: May 2014.
Senatorial and the Chamber of Deputies Election: March 2014.

Living conditions

Health and safety

Health precautions

MAIN HEALTH RISKS
- All rural areas situated under 1 800 meters altitude are malaria infected. The strains present in the country are resistant to chloroquine.
- Dengue fever is present in the country.
- Yellow fever is endemic in the Magdalena valley, the eastern Cordillera, the Uraba region, the Orinoco, Amazonia and the Sierra Nevada.
- People who suffer from respiratory or heart illnesses, or high blood pressure may be affected by altitude sickness.
- Tuberculosis is common in the country.
- Rabies exists in the country.
- Diarrheic illnesses are widespread.

Systematically:
- Hepatitis A: for persons born before 1945, who spent their childhood in a developing country, or who have a medical history of icterus, a prior testing for serum antibodies (Ig G) may avoid an unnecessary vaccination. Hepatitis B.
- Diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis.

For further information on sanitary conditions

Health Information for Travelers to Colombia.

For further information on safety conditions

Contact your Embassy

Honorary Consulate of Greece in Colombia
Carrera 12 A No 78/18
Santa Fe De Bogota DC, Colombia
Phone: (00571) 2113576, 3220880
Fax : (00571) 2111845

Emergency numbers

All types of emergencies in Bogota	123
Fire	119
National Red Cross	141
Police	112

Time difference and climate

Time and time difference: It is %T:%M %A in Bogotá (GMT-5 )
Summer time period: The summer and winter seasons merge.

Map of the time zone

Type of climate: Colombia only has two seasons; summer corresponds to the dry season (December - January and July - August) and winter to the rainy season (April - May and October - November). The climate varies according to region and altitude with a relative stability of temperatures all year round. From the humid tropical climate of Amazonia or the Caribbean, the desert climate of Guajija, to the glacial temperatures of the Paramos (more than 3 000 meters altitude), Colombia offers all variations of climate and temperature, to their very extremes. The average temperature is from 25°C to 35°C in the country. There are 12 hours of daylight a day.

For further information: Colombian system of environmental information

Average annual temperatures and rainfall

Useful resources

To find an accommodation: National Office of Tourism
To find an apartment: Real estate rental website "Metrocuadrado"
Directory real estate announcements
To find a job: El empleo - The employment
Computrabajo - Computerwork

Communications

Telephone codes: To make a call from Colombia to Greece: dial 005, 007 or 009 (or +) 30
To make a call to in Colombia from Greece: dial 00 (or +) To call a landline: +57 then the department code and the 7 figure telephone number. To call a mobile phone: +57 then the number of the mobile phone.
Mobile telephone standards
Internet suffix: .co

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General Information