Colombia is a unitary republic made up of thirty-two administrative divisions referred to as departments (Spanish: departamentos, sing. ) and one Capital District (Distrito Capital). 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
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Departments of Colombia
|-
! ID
! Map
! Region
! Capital
! Area (km<sup>2</sup>)
! Population (December 2022)
! Density per<br />km<sup>2</sup>
! Established as a department
! Flag
!Code
! Governor (2024–2027)
! Party or Coalition
Indigenous territories in Colombia are mostly located in the departments of Amazonas, Cauca, La Guajira, Guaviare, and Vaupés. 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.
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.
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.
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
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
!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
|-
|
|1991
|Intendancy of Amazonas
|1931
|
|-
|
|1886
|Province of Antioquia
|1576
|
|-
|
|1991
|Commissary of Arauca
|1911
|
|-
|
|1910
|Province of Sabanilla
|1852
|
|-
|
|1861
|Federal District of Bogotá
|1861
|
|-
|
|1886
|Province of Cartagena
|1533
|
|-
|
|1824
|Province of Tunja
|1539
|
|-
|
|1905
|Department of Caldas
|1905
|
|-
|
|1981
|Intendancy of Caquetá
|1905
|
|-
|
|1991
|Province of Casanare
|1660
|
|-
|
|1824
|Province of Popayán
|1537
|
|-
|
|1967
|Department of Cesar
|1967
|
|-
|
|1947
|Province of Chocó
|1726
|
|-
|
|1951
|Department of Córdoba
|1951
|
|-
|
|1824
|Province of Santafé de Bogotá
|1550
|
|-
|
|1991
|Commissary of Guainía
|1963
|
|-
|
|1991
|Commissary of Guaviare
|1977
|
|-
|
|1910
|Province of Neiva
|1610
|
|-
|
|1965
|Province of Riohacha
|1789
|
|-
|
|1824
|Province of Santa Marta
|1533
|
|-
|
|1959
|Intendancy of Meta
|1905
|
|-
|
|1910
|Province of Pasto
|1823
|
|-
|
|1910
|Province of Pamplona
|1555
|
|-
|
|1991
|Commissary of Putumayo
|1912
|
|-
|
|1966
|Department of Quindío
|1966
|
|-
|
|1966
|Department of Risaralda
|1966
|
|-
|
|1991
|Providence Island Colony
|1630
|
|-
|
|1886
|Province of Socorro
|1795
|
|-
|
|1966
|Department of Sucre
|1966
|
|-
|
|1886
|Province of Mariquita
|1550
|
|-
|
|1910
|Province of Cauca
|1835
|
|-
|
|1991
|Commissary of Vaupés
|1910
|
|-
|
|1991
|Commissary of Vichada
|1913
|
|}
Map gallery
<gallery mode=packed heights=230px>
File:Departamentos colombia.svg|Departments of Colombia with municipalities
File:Colombia-departamentos.svg|Map with numbered departments
File:Colombia, administrative divisions - es - colored (+box).svg|Departments of Colombia with names
File:Colombia, administrative divisions - es - colored.svg|Political map of Colombia
File:Colombia relief location map.jpg|Topography of Colombia, highly variable per department
</gallery>
See also
- 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