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Department of Colombia

Capital district and departments of Colombia
Distrito Capital y los Departamentos de Colombia (Spanish)
La Guajira Department Magdalena Department Atlántico Department Cesar Department Bolívar Department Norte de Santander Department Sucre Department Córdoba Department Santander Department Antioquia Department Boyacá Department Arauca Department Chocó Department Caldas Department Cundinamarca Department Casanare Department Vichada Department Valle del Cauca Department Tolima Department Meta Department Huila Department Guainía Department Guaviare Department Cauca Department Vaupés Department Nariño Department Caquetá Department Putumayo Department Amazonas Department Risaralda Department Risaralda Department Quindío Department Quindío Department Bogotá Bogotá Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa CatalinaDepartments of colombia.svg
About this image
Category Unitary state
Location Republic of Colombia
Number 32 Departments
1 Capital District
Populations (Departments only):33,152 (Vaupés) – 5,750,478 (Antioquia)
Areas (Departments only):50 km2 (19.3 sq mi) (San Andrés) – 109,665.0 km2 (42,341.89 sq mi) (Amazonas)
Government Department government, National government
Subdivisions Municipality

Colombia is a unitary republic formed by thirty-two departments (Spanish: departamentos, sing. departamento) and a Capital District (Distrito Capital). Each department has a Governor (gobernador) and a Department Assembly (Asamblea Departamental), elected by popular vote for a four-year period. The governor cannot be re-elected in consecutive periods. Departments are country subdivisions and are granted a certain degree of autonomy.

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 for four-year periods.

Each one of the departments of Colombia in the map below links to a corresponding article. Current governors serving four-year terms from 2015 to 2019 are also shown, along with their respective political party or coalition.

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 covering 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.


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