Literacy rates
• 94.7% literacy
• 94.6% male literacy
• 94.8% female literacy
Political system
Political structure
• Executive Branch Led by the president.
• Judicial Branch Has a supreme court.
• Legislative Branch Represented by the congress.
Political parties
• Major parties Colombian Liberal Party, Colombia Conservative Party, Social Party of National Unity, and the Democratic Center
• Other Parties Radical Change Party, Citizen Option Party, Alternative Democratic Pole, Colombian Green Party, and Mira Movement.
• Colombia has a Two-party system which means Colombia has two dominant political parties. Subsequent it is significant difficult for anybody to win under any other party.
Stability of government (stability index -2.5 weak; 2.5 strong)
Colombia’s political stability is -1.12. The average political stability in 2014 worldwide is about -0.04 points. The highest value was in Liechtenstein with 1.54 points and the lowest value was in Syria with -2.76 points. So we could conclude that Colombia’s stability is slightly weak.
Special taxes
• The deductibility of income from new investments in the agriculture of fruits, anchovies, rubber, and cacao.
• 40% deduction of the value of any beneficial fixed-asset investment – which a business can claim when filing their income tax.
• Tax holidays to attract specific industries.
Role of local government
Colombia is divided into 32 departments and the Bogotá federal district. It is also segmented into 1,011 municipalities. Departments regulate and control their own finances as well as their administration. Governors of departments are elected by the citizens – one for each 40,000 residents. Departments have the power to create municipal districts and to appraise the actions of the municipal governments to decide their constitutionality. Each municipality has a popularly elected municipal council. Mayors are chosen by direct vote to a two-year term.
Legal system
Organization of the judiciary system
The Colombian court system is divided into four different courts:
• The Supreme Court of Justice Resolves petitions on errors of law. It is the highest court having jurisdiction over civil, family, labor, agrarian, commercial and criminal cases. And it has 23 justices.
• The Council of State Is the highest court of administrative law. Has original jurisdiction over certain admiralty cases and river navigation matters. It has 27 justices.
• The Constitutional Court The constitutional court examines the constitutional legitimacy of laws approved by the legislative branch and some decrees issued by the executive branch. It is also liable for procedures related to actions created to protect the rights of those accused of criminal offenses, or actions against abuses of public administration officials, including members of the judiciary. The Court thus guards the integrity and supremacy of the constitution; and rules on amendments to its text, and on the enforcement of international treaties. There are 9 justices.
• The Superior Judicial Council has 2 chambers: administrative (administers the civilian judiciary); and jurisdictional disciplinary (which resolves jurisdictional conflicts arising between other courts and disciplines judges). Its 13 members are selected by the three sister highest courts and by Congress.
Code, common, socialist, or Islamic-law country?
Civil Law THE COLOMBIAN CODE
Participation in patents, trademarks, and other conventions
Copyrights – Colombia has one of the lowest software piracy rates in Latin America, piracy of both business and entertainment software continues to cause commercial harm to legitimate industry.
Patents and Trademarks – The patent regime in Colombia presently provides for a 20-year protection period for patents; a 10-year term for industrial designs; and 20- or 15-year protection for new plant varieties, depending on the species. Colombia is a member of the Inter-American Convention for Trademark and Commercial Protection.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – Colombia has a long tradition of corporate social responsibility across many industries. Beneficiaries of CSR programs include students, children, populations vulnerable to Colombia's armed conflict, victims of violence, and the environment.
OECD Anti-Bribery Convention – The Convention obligates the Parties to criminalize bribery of foreign public officials in the conduct of international business.
UN Convention – The UN Convention requires countries to establish criminal and other offenses to cover a wide range of acts of corruption. The UN Convention goes beyond previous anticorruption instruments, covering a broad range of issues ranging from basic forms of corruption such as bribery and solicitation, embezzlement, trading in influence to the concealment and laundering of the proceeds of corruption. The Convention contains transnational business bribery provisions that are functionally similar to those in the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and contains provisions on private sector auditing and books and records requirements.
OAS Convention – Establishes a set of preventive measures against corruption; provides for the criminalization of certain acts of corruption, including transnational bribery and illicit enrichment; and contains a series of provisions to strengthen the cooperation between its States Parties in areas such as mutual legal assistance and technical cooperation.
Social organizations
Group behavior
Colombia is very strong uncertainty avoidance indicating a low level of tolerance for uncertainty. Therefore, strict rules, laws, policies, and regulations are adopted and implemented. The ultimate goal of this population is to control everything in order to eliminate or avoid the unexpected. As a result of this high Uncertainty Avoidance characteristic, the society does not readily accept change and is very risk adverse. Colombia also has a low individualism rank compare to Latin countries. Colombia society is Collectivist as compared to Individualist. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount, and over-rides most other societal rules and regulations. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group. The power distance indicates a level of inequality of power and wealth within the society. Colombia has one of the higher masculinity rankings in Latin America. This indicates the country experiences a higher degree of gender differentiation of roles. The male dominates a significant portion of the society and power structure.
Social classes
An extensive gap splits the elite from the masses. Unlike the privileged, this group has few opportunities for social mobility. Social inequality is obvious in the lower class – whose members are often malnourished, poorly housed, disease-ridden, and uneducated. Membership is largely due to birthright, not to individual ability. The upper class makes up about 20% of the population. All three classes speak a deliberate and grammatically correct Spanish. People from the interior are more proper and ceremonial in social interactions, while coastal inhabitants are usually more trusting and carefree and their speech has rapid tempo.
Clubs, other organizations
Colombia is very into soccer. Everyone and anyone can become part of any of the soccer clubs.
Race, ethnicity, and subcultures
Colombia is a mixed race. 58% are mestizos, 14% mulattoes, 3% zambos, 4% blacks and 1 % are pure Amerindians. Caucasians mainly descendants of Spaniards constitute about 20% of the population.
Business customs and practices
Meeting and Greeting
• Handshaking is the accustomed greeting in business.
• Women often grasp forearms rather than shaking hands.
• Once a friendship has developed, greetings become warmer and a lot more hands on. Men will hug and women kiss once on the cheek.
• Schedule business appointments in advance.
• Foreigner are expected to be on time; but punctuality is relaxed.
• Have business cards printed in English on one side and in Spanish on the other. Always present the card with the Spanish side facing the colleague.
• Business people prefer a relaxed conversation before doing business.
• Lunch is a popular choice for a business meal.
• Normally, the person who has initiated the invitation will pay for a meal in a restaurant.
• Most Hispanics have two surnames: one from their father, which is listed first, followed by one from their mother. Only the father’s surname is used when addressing someone.
• Titles are critical and should be included on business cards. Address a person directly by using his or her title only.
• It is disrespectful to yawn in public.
Hierarchies
• People earn respect due to their age and/or position.
• Older people are naturally perceived as being wise
• You will always see the oldest person in a group served their food and drinks first.
• Colombians expect their senior employee, whether at home or at work, to make decisions.
Negotiating/Persuading
Formal protracted processes with slight sense of urgency. Negotiations are personal, between individuals, rather than between companies and the creation of trust is crucial.