Population, Population Characteristics, Religion, and Language

The population of Colombia (2002 estimate) is 41,008,227, giving the country an overall population density of 36 persons per sq km (93 per sq mi). Some 74 percent of the population is classified as urban. The principal centers of population are in the Magdalena and Cauca river valleys and in the Caribbean coastal region. The concordat of 1973 preserves a privileged status for Roman Catholicism; about 96 percent of the people are Roman Catholic. Small Protestant and Jewish minorities exist. The official language of Colombia is Spanish, although a new constitution adopted in 1991 recognizes the languages of ethnic groups in their territories and provides for bilingual education.