The

Republic of Gran Colombia Gran Colombia (, "Great Colombia"), also known as Greater Colombia and officially the Republic of Colombia (Spanish language, Spanish: ''República de Colombia''), was a state that encompassed much of northern South America and parts of Central ...

was a former independent country in northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, a post-Spanish colonial country that existed from 1819 to 1831. Its initial subdivisions, created in 1820, were revised and expanded in 1824 to 12 departments.

1820 Departments

The initial country subdivision of Gran Colombia was into three departments, without larger districts or smaller provinces. They were: *

Cundinamarca Department Department of Cundinamarca (, ) is one of the departments of Colombia. Its area covers (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 pre ...

* Quito Department * Venezuela Department

1824 districts, departments, and provinces

Northern District

The Northern District () was in present-day

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Its departments and provinces were: * Apure Department: 2 provinces —

Barinas Province Barinas Province (1786 - 1864) was a province of the Captaincy General of Venezuela and later of Venezuela. It was founded on 15 February 1786, with territory formerly part of the Maracaibo Province (Spanish Empire), Maracaibo Province. In 1823 ...

and Achaguas Province. * Orinoco Department: 4 provinces — Cumaná Province, Barcelona Province,

Guayana Province Guayana Province (1585−1864) was a province of Spanish Colonial Venezuela and independent Venezuela, located in the The Guianas, Guyana region of northeastern South America. The province was part of the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spa ...

and Margarita Province. * Venezuela Department: 2 provinces — Caracas Province and Carabobo Province. * Zulia Department: 4 provinces — Maracaybo/Maracaibo,

Coro Province Coro Province (1811 - 1864) was a province in the Zulia Department of Gran Colombia, and later one of the provinces of Venezuela, after Venezuelan independence in 1830. In 1864 it became one of the States of Venezuela, as Coro State, and was r ...

, Mérida Province and Trujillo Province.

Central District

The Central District () was in present-day

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. Its departments and provinces were: * Boyaca Department: 4 provinces — Tunja Province, Casanare Province, Pamplona Province, and Socorro Province. *

Cauca Department Cauca Department (, ) is a department of Southwestern Colombia. Located in the southwestern part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Valle del Cauca Department to the north, Tolima Department to the northeast, Huila De ...

: 4 provinces — Popayán Province,

Buenaventura Province Buenaventura Province was one of the provinces of Gran Colombia. It belonged to the Cauca Department Cauca Department (, ) is a department of Southwestern Colombia. Located in the southwestern part of the country, facing the Pacific Ocean t ...

, Chocó Province, Pasto Province. *

: 4 provinces — Bogotá Province, Antioquia Province, Mariquita Province, Neiva Province. * Isthmus Department (now Panama): 2 provinces — Isthmus Province and Veraguas Province. *

Magdalena Department Magdalena () is a Departments of Colombia, department of Colombia, located in the north of the country by the Caribbean Sea, with more than 1.3 million people. The capital of the Magdalena Department is Santa Marta and was named after the Mag ...

: 3 provinces — Cartagena Province, Riohacha Province, Santa Marta Province. Control of a strip of the

Mosquito Coast The Mosquito Coast, also known as Mosquitia, is a historical and Cultural area, geo-cultural region along the western shore of the Caribbean Sea in Central America, traditionally described as extending from Cabo Camarón, Cape Camarón to the C ...

along the Atlantic Ocean (in present-day

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

) was disputed with the British and the

Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America (), initially known as the United Provinces of Central America (), was a sovereign state in Central America that existed between 1823 and 1839/1841. The republic was composed of five states (Costa Rica ...

Southern District

The Southern District () was in present-day

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, and north of Marañón River in present-day

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. Its departments and provinces were: * Azuay Department: 3 provinces — Cuenca Province,

Loja Province Loja Province () is one of 24 Provinces of Ecuador, provinces in Ecuador and shares its southern border on the west with El Oro Province, on the north with El Azuay, and on the east with Zamora-Chinchipe Province, Zamora-Chinchipe. Founded on i ...

, Jaén de Bracamoros y Maynas Province. * Guayaquil Department: 2 provinces — Guayaquil Province and

Manabí Province Manabí () is a province in the Republic of Ecuador. Its capital is Portoviejo. The province is named after the Manabí people. Demographics Ethnic groups as of the Ecuadorian census of 2010: * Mestizo 69.7% * Montubio 19.2% * Afro-Ecuad ...

. * Ecuador Department: 3 provinces — Pichincha Province,

Chimborazo Province Chimborazo () is a Provinces of Ecuador, province in the central Ecuadorian Andes. It is a home to a section of Sangay National Park. The capital is Riobamba. The province contains Chimborazo (volcano), Chimborazo (6,267 m), Ecuador's highest mou ...

and Imbabura Province.

Maps of subdivisions