Colombia Jurisdictions

Colombia Jurisdictions

Colombia is divided into 32 departamentos and the District Capital of Santa Fe de Bogotá.

The departments are further subdivided into municipalities (municipios), whose administration is headed by a mayor and a municipal council elected by popular vote. Some departments with large number of municipalities have chosen to recognize the existence of either Provinces, Districts, Regions or Subregions, being a set of municipalities with cultural, geographical or historical affinities. An urban center of major importance is recognized as the capital and from there local institutions work with the set of municipalities.

Municipios either include several towns or just neighborhoods depending on the population density of the area. All municipios are required by the Colombian government to have a website containing various information including the history of the municipio, climate and vegetation, economic information, photographs, maps, etc. These sites have a website address with the municipio name, departamento and gov.co included in it. Some sites contain little or no information while others are very good resources.