Columbia
Military: Colombia
Military branches:
National Army (Ejercito Nacional), Republic of Colombia Navy (Armada Republica de Colombia, ARC, includes Naval Aviation, Naval Infantry (Infanteria de Marina, IM), and Coast Guard), Colombian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea de Colombia, FAC) (2012)
Military service age and obligation:
18-24 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; service obligation is 18 months (2012)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 11,692,647
females age 16-49: 11,727,625 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 9,150,400
females age 16-49: 9,861,760 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 430,634
female: 413,974 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
country comparison to the world: 27
Transnational Issues: Colombia
Disputes - international:
in December 2007, ICJ allocated San Andres, Providencia, and Santa Catalina islands to Colombia under 1928 Treaty but did not rule on 82 degrees W meridian as maritime boundary with Nicaragua; managed dispute with Venezuela over maritime boundary and Venezuelan-administered Los Monjes Islands near the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics, guerrilla, and paramilitary activities penetrate all neighboring borders and have caused Colombian citizens to flee mostly into neighboring countries; Colombia, Honduras, Nicaragua, Jamaica, and the US assert various claims to Bajo Nuevo and Serranilla Bank
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 3.9-5.5 million (conflict between government and illegal armed groups and drug traffickers since 1985) (2011)
stateless persons: 12 (2012)
Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of coca, opium poppy, and cannabis; world's leading coca cultivator with 83,000 hectares in coca cultivation in 2011, a 17% decrease over 2010, producing a potential of 195 mt of pure cocaine; the world's largest producer of coca derivatives; supplies cocaine to nearly all of the US market and the great majority of other international drug markets; in 2012, aerial eradication dispensed herbicide to treat over 100,549 hectares combined with manual eradication of 30,486 hectares; a significant portion of narcotics proceeds are either laundered or invested in Colombia through the black market peso exchange; important supplier of heroin to the US market; opium poppy cultivation is estimated to have fallen to 1,100 hectares in 2009 while pure heroin production declined to 2.1 mt; most Colombian heroin is destined for the US market (2008)