Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish: República de Colombia (help·info), IPA [re'puβ̞lika ð̞e ko'lombja]), is a country in northwestern South America. It's bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil, to the south by Ecuador and Peru, to the North by the Caribbean Sea, and to the west by Panama and the Pacific Ocean.

The word "Colombia" comes from the name of Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón in Spanish, Cristoforo Colombo in Italian) and was conceived by the revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a reference to the New World, especially to all American territories and colonies under Spanish and Portuguese rule. The name was not given to the country itself, but to a short-lived republic consisting of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama (see Great Colombia). This republic collapsed in 1830 when Venezuela and Ecuador separated, the Department of Cundinamarca became a new country, the Republic of New Granada. In 1863 New Granada changed its name officially to United States of Colombia, and in 1886 adopted its present day name: Republic of Colombia.