Colombie fowk

**Colombie fowk** are frae a multiethnic Spaingie speakin naition in Sooth Americae cried Colombie. Colombies are predominantly Roman Catholic an are a mixtur o Europeans, Africans, Middle Eastreners an Amerindians.

## Demografie

Wi approximately 43.6 million fowk in 2006, Colombie is the seicont-maist populous kintra in Sooth Americae, efter Brazil.

Muivement frae landwart tae urban auries wis vera hivy in the mid-twintiet century, but haes syne tapered aff. The urban population increased frae 31% o the tot population in 1938, tae 57% in 1951 an aboot 70% bi 1990. Currently the figur is aboot 77%. Thirty ceeties hae a population o 100,000 or mair. The nine eastren lawlands depairtments, constitutin aboot 54% o Colombie's aurie, hae less nor 3% o the population an a densitie o less nor ane body per square kilometre (twa bodies per sq mi.). Colombie's tot population in 2015 is projectit tae be mair nor 52 million.

Mair nor twa-thirds o aw Colombies live in urban auries – a figur significantly heicher than the warld average. The leeteracy rate (94 percent) in Colombie is well abuin the warld average, an the rate o population growthe is slichtly heicher than the warld average. An aw, a lairge proportion o Colombies are young, lairgely acause o recent decreases in the infant mortality rate. While 33 percent o the fowk are 14 year o age or younger, juist 4 percent are agit 65 or aulder.

## Ethnic groups

The European immigrants wur primarily Spaingie colonists, but a sma nummer o ither Europeans (i.e. Portuguese, Dutch, German, Italian, French, Swiss, Belgians, Inglis an a sma colony o Erse whan the kintra wis unner Breetish rule) an mony North Americans migratit tae the Caribbean region in the late 19t an early 20t centuries an aw, an in smawer nummers Germans, Pols, Lithuanie, Hungarian an Croatie commonties immigratit durin the Seicont Warld War an the Cauld War.

Black Africans wur brocht as slaves, maistly tae the coastal lawlands, beginnin early in the 16t century, an continuin intae the 19t century. Ither immigrant populations include Asies an Middle Easterners, pairticularly Lebanese, Jordanians, Siries, Cheenese, Japanese an Koreans, recently hae been muivin intae the kintra.

49% o the population is mestizo, or o mixed European an the earliest settlers' ancestry, while 37% are white o full European ancestry. Anither 14% is mulatto, or o mixed black African an European ancestry, while 4% is o black African ancestry an 3% are zambos, o mixed black African an Amerindian ancestry. Pure indigenous Amerindians comprise 1 percent o the population. Thare are 101 leids leetit for Colombie in the Ethnologue database, o which 80 are spoken the day as livin leids. Thare are aboot 500,000 speakers o indigenous leids in Colombie the day.

## Indigenous fowks

Afore the Spainyie colonization o the region that wad acome the kintra o Colombie, the territory wis the hame tae mony different indigenous fowks. The day mair nor fifty different indigenous ethnic groups inhabit Colombie. Maist o thaim speak leids belangin tae the Chibchan an Cariban leid faimilies.

Historically thare are establisht 567 reserves (*resguardos*) for indigenous fowks an thay are inhabitit bi mair nor 800,000 fowk; the 1991 constitution establisht thair native leids as offeecial in thair territories, maist o thaim hae bilingual education (Native an Spainyie). Some o the lairgest indigenous groups are the Wayuu, the Arhuacos, the Muisca, the Kuna fowk, the Witoto, the Páez, the Tucano an the Guahibo. The departamentos wi the biggest Indian population are Cauca, La Guajira an Guainia.

## Immigrant groups

Acause o its strategic location Colombie haes receivit several immigration waves durin its history. Maist o these immigrants hae settled in the Caribbean Coast; Barranquilla (the lairgest ceety in the Colombie Caribbean Coast) an ither Caribbean ceeties hae the lairgest population o Lebanese, Italian, German, French, Portuguese an Gypsy stryndants. Thare are important commonties o American an Cheenese stryndants in the Caribbean Coast an aw. Maist immigrants are Venezuelans, maistly based in Bogotá, Colombie's caipital.

## Eddication

Saxty percent o students complete primary schuiling (5 year) an muive ontae seicontar schuilin (6 year). Maist primar schuils are private. Approximately 80 percent o Colombie childer enter schuil, but thay uisually join a preschuil academy till age 6 an then go tae schuil. The schuil year extends frae Februar tae November in aw o the major ceeties an principal auries o the kintra, vera few auries hae schuil years that go frae August tae Julie. Primar education is free an compulsory for nine year for childer atween 6 an 12 year o age. The net primar enrollment (percentage o relevant age-group) in 2001 wis 86.7 percent. The completion rate (percentage o age-group) for childer attendin elementar schuil (primaria) in 2001 totaled 89.5 percent. In mony landwart auries, teachers are poorly qualifeed, an anerlie five year o primar schuil are affered. Seicontar education (educación media) begins at age 11 an lasts up tae sax year. Seicontar-schuil graduates are awairdit the diploma (heich-schuil diploma). Net seicontar enrollment in 2001 wis 53.5 percent. Schuil life expectancy in 2001 wis 11.1 year. Tot public spendin as a percentage o gross domestic product (GDP) in 2001 wis 4.4 percent – ane o the heichest rates in Laitin Americae – as compared wi 2.5 percent at the end o the 1980s. Govrenment expenditurs on education in 1999 totaled 19.7 percent o tot govrenment spendin. The ratio o pupils tae teachers in 2001 in primar schuil wis 26:1 an in seicontar schuil, 19:2. Colombia haes 24 public varsities. A tot o 92.5 percent o the population is literate (male: 92.4 percent; female: 92.6 percent), accordin tae a 2003 estimate. Literacy is at 93 percent in urban auries, but anerlie 67 percent in landwart auries. Fowk in Colombie are educatit in Spaingie (see an aw Colombie Spaingie). The seicont maist spoken leid is Inglis.

## Releegion

The Naitional Admeenistrative Depairtment o Statistics (DANE) daes no collect releegious statistics, an accurate reports are haurd tae obtain. Based on various studies, mair nor 95% o the population adheres tae Christianity, in which a huge segment o the population, atween 81% an 94%, practices Roman Catholicism an 4% follae Protestanism. Aboot 1% o Colombies practice indigenous religions.

Unner 1% practice Islam, Hinduism, an Buddhism. Despite strang nummers o adherents, aroond 60% o respondents tae a poll bi *El Tiempo* report that thay dae no practice thair faith actively.

The Colombie constitution guarantees releegious freedom, but states that the State "is no atheist or agnostic, nor indifferent tae Colombies' releegious sentiment." Releegious groups are readily able tae obtain recognition as organisit associations, but some smawer anes face difficulty in obtainin recognition as releegious entities, which is required tae affer chaplaincy services in public facilities.

## See an aw
* Colombie diaspora
* Cultur o Colombie
* Colombie in popular cultur
* Laitin Americans

## References