Bogota, or Santa Fe De Bogotá, is the capital of the republic of Colombia and  the interior department of Cundinamarca, as well as the largest and most populous city in the country. Its metropolitan area brings the population to over 7 million people.

The city is located in the southeastern part of the Bogotá savanna at the base of two mountains, Guadalupe and Monserrate and has a subtropical highland climate.

Bogota was officially founded in 1538 by spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and was named Santa Fe de Bogota after his birthplace Santa Fe, and after the southern capital of the Chibchas, Bacata (or Funza). It was made the capital of the viceroyalty of Nueva Granada, and soon became one of the centres of Spanish colonial power and civilization on the South American continent.

Bogota is a flavorful mix of its Spanish, English and the indigenous peoples' heritages.
 

• The city was founded by the Muisca people long before the arrival of the Spanish, who established their own city there. They called the settlement Bacatá, which in the Chibcha language means “The Lady of the Andes.”
   
• With independence in 1819, Bogotá became the capital of the Gran Colombia, and -subsequently- of the Republic of Colombia.
   
• Bogotá covers a total area of 1,587 square kilometers  and has a population density of around 15,930 residents per square mile.
   
• Bogotá was named the UNESCO City of Music in 2013
  
  • Head of State: President Ivan Duque Marquez
  • Language: Spanish
  • Country motto: Freedom and order
  • Currency: Colombian peso (COP)
  • Median age: 30.4 years
  • Life expectancy: 76.2 years
  • Religion: 92.3% Christianity, 6.7% unaffiliated, 0.8% Folk.
     

The government of Colombia takes place within the framework of a presidential participatory democratic republic as established in the Constitution of 1991. In accordance with the principle of separation of powers, government is divided into three branches: the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch.

As the head of the executive branch, the President of Colombia serves as both head of state and head of government, followed by the Vice President and the Council of Ministers. The president is elected by popular vote to serve four-year term.

Bogota is home for the Congress, Supreme Court of Justice and the center of the executive administration as well as the residence of the President. These buildings, along with the Office of the Mayor, are located within a few meters from each other on the Bolívar Square.

The Mayor of Bogotá and the City Council – both elected by popular vote – are responsible for city administration. The current mayor of the city, elected in 2020, is Claudia Lopez Hernandez.

The city is divided into 20 localities each governed by an administrative board elected by popular vote.

Historically an agrarian economy, mainly focused on the production of fruits and coffee, Colombia urbanised rapidly in the 20th century. Colombia is rich in natural resources, and its main exports include mineral fuels, oils, distillation products, fruit and other agricultural products, sugars and sugar confectionery, food products, plastics, precious stones, metals, forest products, chemical goods, pharmaceuticals, vehicles, electronic products, electrical equipments, perfumery and cosmetics, machinery, manufactured articles, textile and fabrics, clothing and footwear, glass and glassware, furniture, prefabricated buildings, military products, home and office material, construction equipment, software, among others. Principal trading partners are the United States, China, the European Union and some Latin American countries.

However, there is a big gap on the population wealthy. The recent economic growth has led to a considerable increase of new millionaires but in 2017, the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) reported that 26.9% of the population were living below the poverty line, of which 7.4% in "extreme poverty".

Bogotá is a major center for the import and export of goods for Colombia and the Andean Community in Latin America and is the home of Colombia's tire, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries, but its chief activities are commercial. It is the hub of air travel in the nation and the home of South America's first commercial airline Avianca (Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia). Bogotá also receives money from exports such as flowers and emeralds. In downtown Bogotá, millions of dollars in domestically produced rough and cut emeralds are bought and sold daily.

Bogotá is also responsible for 56% of the tourism that arrives to Colombia contributing with the 2.5% of the country GDP.

Bogotá's growth has placed a strain on its roads and highways, but since 1998 significant efforts to upgrade the infrastructure have been undertaken. There are two bus systems: the traditional system and the TransMilenio, a form of bus rapid transit that compensate for the lack of a subway or rail system.

Bogotá's main airport, El Dorado International Airport, is the third busiest airport in Latin America in terms of passenger traffic, and the busiest in terms of cargo.

A secondary airport, CATAM, serves as a base for Military and Police Aviation.

Guaymaral Airport is another small airport located in the northern boundaries of Bogota. It is used mainly for private aviation activities.