Cundinamarca Department

For the department from 1820, seeCundinamarca Department (1820).For the department from 1824, seeCundinamarca Department (1824).

Cundinamarca Department Departamento de Cundinamarca
Department
Flag Coat of arms
Motto(s): Cundinamarca Corazón de Colombia (Spanish:Cundinamarca, Heart of Colombia)
Anthem:Himno de Cundinamarca
Cundinamarca is shown in red
Topography of the department
Coordinates:5°00′00″N74°10′00″W
Country	Colombia
Region	Andean Region
Established	June 15, 1857
Capital	Bogotá
Government
• Governor	Jorge Emilio Rey Ángel (2024-2027)
Area
• Total	22,623 km2(8,735 sq mi)
• Rank	17th
Elevation	3,341 m (10,961 ft)
Population (2020)
• Total	3,242,999
• Rank	4th
• Density	140/km2(370/sq mi)
GDP
• Total	COP91,946 billion (US$21.6 billion)
Time zone	UTC-05
ISO 3166 code	CO-CUN
Provinces	15
HDI(2019)	0.774 high·9th of 33
Website	Official website

Department of Cundinamarca(Departamento de Cundinamarca,Spanish pronunciation:[kundinaˈmaɾka]) is one of thedepartments of Colombia.Its area covers 22,623 square kilometres (8,735 sq mi) (not including the Capital District) and it has a population of 2,919,060 as of 2018. It was created on August 5, 1886, under the constitutional terms presented on the same year. Cundinamarca is located in the center of Colombia.

Cundinamarca's capital city isBogotá,the capital of Colombia. This is a special case among Colombian departments, sinceBogotá is not legally a part of Cundinamarca,yet it is the only department that has its capital designated by theConstitution(if the capital were to be ever moved, it would take a constitutional reform to do so, instead of a simple ordinance passed by the Cundinamarca Assembly). Incensuses,the populations for Bogotá and Cundinamarca are tabulated separately; otherwise, Cundinamarca's population would total over 11 million.

Entity	Population (2023E)	Area (km2)	Area (square miles)	Density (per km2)	GDP (billion US$)
Cundinamarca(without Bogotá)	3,577,200	22,623	8,735	160	21.6
Bogotá	7,968,100	1,587	613	4,909	83.9
Cundinamarca and Bogotá	11,545,300	24,210	9,348	476	105.5

Etymology

The name of Cundinamarca comes fromKuntur marqa,anindigenousexpression, probably derived fromQuechuanand means "condor's nest".

Geography

Most of Cundinamarca is on theEastern Cordillera(Cordillera Oriental), just south ofBoyacá,bordered by theMagdalena Riveron the west, reaching down into theOrinoco Riverbasinon the east, and bordering onTolimato the south. The capital district ofBogotáis nearly completely surrounded by Cundinamarca territory and was formed by carving up Cundinamarca. Because of this and other border changes, the present department of Cundinamarca is much smaller than the original state.

Demography and ethnography

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1973	1,125,642	—
1985	1,512,928	+34.4%
1993	1,875,337	+24.0%
2005	2,280,037	+21.6%
2018	2,919,060	+28.0%
Source:

Municipalities with over 50,000 inhabitants

Municipal population position

According to the latest census conducted in 2005, 2,280,037 people live in Cundinamarca, excluding 6,776,009 of the capital, Bogotá.

The city of Bogotá and the municipalities ofSoacha,La Calera,Cota,Chía,Madrid,Funza,Mosquera,Fusagasugá,FacatativáandZipaquiráform a single metropolitan area.

Rank	City or municipality	Inhabitants (1985)	Inhabitants (1993)	Inhabitants (2005)	Inhabitants (2015)*	Inhabitants (2020)*
1	Soacha	132,758	254,625	401,996	511,262	567,546
2	Fusagasugá	63,886	82,003	108,949	134,523	147,631
3	Facatativá	55,324	75,711	107,463	132,106	144,149
4	Zipaquirá	60,202	75,166	101,562	122,347	132,419
5	Chía	38,862	55,742	97,907	126,647	141,917
6	Girardot	81,019	90,904	97,889	105,085	107,796
7	Mosquera	16,505	22,250	63,237	82,750	93,461
8	Madrid	33,795	42,584	62,436	77,627	85,090
9	Funza	31,366	41,119	61,391	75,350	82,321
10	Cajicá	23,618	31,316	45,391	56,875	62,713
Source:DANE*projection

Important cities

Cundinamarca is made up of 116 municipalities, six of which recorded a population of over 100,000 and could be considered as cities: Soacha, Fusagasugá, Girardot, Facatativá, Zipaquirá and Chia, while Bogotá District is in the category of capital.

Chisaca Lake on theSumapaz Paramo

• Metropolitan Area of Bogotá:Comprises the towns of Soacha, Facatativá, Chia, Madrid, Funza, and Mosquera, among others. Its activities are centered in the industrial sector. Estate activity is important especially in the suburbs closer to Bogotá: Chía, La Calera andTocancipá.
• Girardot:In the far southwest and bordering Department ofTolima,is the capital of theUpper Magdalena Province.Its main economic activity is trade, as a result of a major tourist dynamics and its proximity to major agricultural areas of Tolima. It has a college and important trade fairs and events.
• Fusagasugáis located between Bogotá and Girardot, and it is an hour of each city. The capital city of the Province ofSumapaz,it is an important focus of agricultural marketing and regional services, standing out as an educational city with a large university and an increasing population trend. Its economy is mainly focused on trade and agricultural marketing, with a significant production of ornamental plants and flowers for export, for which it is known as the garden city of Colombia.
• Zipaquirá:Despite being part of the metropolitan area of Bogotá, it has managed to position itself as one of the most important centers of Colombia'ssalt miningindustry. Its economy is focused on commerce and services.

Other major towns are Ubaté due to high livestock and dairy production. Guaduas, is an important cultural center. Chocontá and Fred are agricultural centers.

Provinces

Cundinamarca has 15 provinces and the Capital District (Bogotá), which simultaneously acts as capital of the Republic, capital of the Department and a separately administered District (or Department) in itself.

Subachoquevalley inWestern Savanna Province

1. Almeidas
2. Upper Magdalena (Alto Magdalena)
3. Lower Magdalena (Bajo Magdalena)
4. Gualivá
5. Guavio
6. Central Magdalena (Magdalena Centro)
7. Medina
8. Eastern (Oriente)
9. Rionegro
10. Central Savanna (Sabana Centro)
11. Western Savanna (Sabana Occidente)
12. Soacha
13. Sumapaz
14. Tequendama
15. Ubaté

Tourism

• Chingaza National Natural Park
• La Chorrera Falls, one of thetallest waterfalls in the world
• Cucunubá,wool capital of Colombia
• Lake Guatavita
• Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá
• Sumapaz Páramo
• Tequendama Falls
• Tominé Reservoir

Sports

The department is home to the basketball teamCóndores de Cundinamarca,which plays its home games in theColiseo de la LunainChía.

See also

• Altiplano Cundiboyacense
• Postage stamps and postal history of Cundinamarca
• 1939 Gachetá massacre

External links

• "Gobernación de Cundinamarca"(in Spanish). Gobernación del Cundinamarca. Archived fromthe originalon 2022-01-15.