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Chocó Department (Spanish pronunciation: [tʃoˈko], Spanish: Departamento del Chocó) is a department of Western Colombia known for its large Afro-Colombian population. It is in the west of the country, and is the only Colombian department to have coastlines on both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It contains all of Colombia's border with Panama. Its capital is Quibdó.

Department of Chocó Departamento del Chocó
Department
Flag Coat of arms
Chocó shown in red
Topography of the department
Coordinates: 5°42′N 76°40′W
Country	Colombia
Region	Pacific/Chocó Region
Established	3 November 1947
Capital	Quibdó
Government
• Governor	Ariel Palacios Calderón (2020–2023)
Area [1][2]
• Total	46,530 km2 (17,970 sq mi)
• Rank	9th
Population  (2018)[3]
• Total	534,826
• Rank	23rd
• Density	11/km2 (30/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-05
ISO 3166 code	CO-CHO
Municipalities	30
HDI (2019)	0.696[4] medium · 30th of 33

Chocó has a diverse geography, unique ecosystems and unexploited natural resources. However, its population has one of the lowest standards of living of all departments in Colombia. A major factor, cited by the government, is the rugged, montane rainforest environment, limiting any infrastructure improvements to the region. No major highway has been worked on since initial foundations were laid down in 1967. This roadway would have successfully linked Chocó to the nearest large city, Medellín, providing easier access to medical care, necessities, food, and more. Currently, depending on their location, residents of Chocó who are in a medical emergency, and who do have access to vehicular transport, face an unpredictable journey. This trip could take several hours to several days, depending on their starting point. This is provided that the existing small roads aren't flooded, shut down, or otherwise blocked; some remote indigenous communities have no other option than to canoe or boat by river to Quibdó, a trip which can last anywhere from two days to a week. For those needing more advanced services, Medellín is the closest major city to the capital Quibdó.

Often, a family’s resources, along with the patient’s potential physical condition, will prevent medical help being sought out; in August 2016, Colombian media reported that some 50 children starved in less than three months, creating awareness of the grave condition Chocó’s inhabitants are facing. That same year, an additional 10 adults and senior citizens, of the indigenous Chocó community, died due to preventable causes such as malaria and diarrhea.[5] There is no reliable electrical grid, sewage system or drinkable water (even in the capital Quibdó). In spite of the department’s ranking of “world's rainiest lowland” (the Chocó–Darién moist forests ecoregion), with close to 400 inches (10,000 mm) of annual precipitation,[6] Quibdó lacks sanitary drinking water.[7]

History

The department was created in 1944.[7] Its low population, mountainous and inhospitable topography, and distance from Bogotá resulted in Chocó receiving little attention from the Colombian government. During the reign of military dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, his administration proposed to eliminate Chocó and divide its territory between the departments of Antioquia and Valle del Cauca. But the 1957 coup d'état of General Gabriel París Gordillo overthrew Pinilla's government and ended such plans.

Geography

The Chocó Department makes up most of the ecoregion known as El Chocó that extends from Panama to Ecuador.

The municipality of Lloró holds the Highest Average Annual Precipitation record measured at 523.6 inches (13,300 mm) which makes it the wettest place in the world.[8] Three large rivers drain the Chocó Department, the Atrato (which runs north, with tributaries that also flow north), the San Juan, and the Baudó. Each has many tributaries. The Baudó Mountains on the coast and the inland Cordillera Occidental are cut by low valleys, with an altitude less than 1,000 meters, that form most of the territory. Most of the Chocó is thick rainforest. Much of the wood for Colombia's internal consumption is harvested from the Chocó, with a small percentage harvested for export. Chocó Department produces the majority of Colombia's significant platinum output (28,359 ounces of platinum in 2011). Chocó is also Colombia's top gold-producing region (653,625 ounces in 2011). In the late 19th century, it attracted a variety of miners from many countries seeking to make their fortunes in gold.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1973	203,635	—
1985	313,567	+54.0%
1993	406,199	+29.5%
2005	440,123	+8.4%
2018	534,826	+21.5%
Source:[9]

Chocó is inhabited predominantly by Afro-Colombians, descendants of enslaved Africans imported and brought to this area by the Spanish colonizers after conquering the Americas. The second largest race/ethnic group are the Emberá, a Native American people. More than half of their total population in Colombia lives in Chocó, some 35,500. They practice hunting and artisan fishing and live near rivers.[10]

The total population as of 2005 was less than half a million, with more than half living in the Quibdó valley. According to a 2005 census[11] the ethnic composition of the department is:

• Afro-Colombians (82.1%)
• Amerindians or Indigenous (12.7%)
• Whites and Mestizos (5.2%)

Towns and municipalities

Quibdó is the largest city, with a population of almost 100,000. Other important cities and towns include Istmina, Condoto, Nóvita and El Carmen in the interior, Acandí on the Caribbean Coast, and Bahía Solano on the Pacific Coast.

Resorts and Tourist destinations include Capurganá on the Caribbean Coast, and Juradó, Nuquí, and Bahía Solano on the West Coast.

Municipalities

See also

• Bojayá massacre

Notes

References

• (in Spanish) todacolombia.com – Chocó Department

External links

• VisitChoco.com Choco Department Tourism and Trip Planning website (English and Spanish)
• Mosquera-Machados, Silvia del Carmen (2002) "Cadre général du département du Choco" in Analyse multi-aléas et risques naturels dans le département du Chocó (nord-ouest de la Colombie) Université de Genève, Geneva in French
• "Mision de Observacion a la Situación de las Comunidades Afrodescendientes en Colombia: Anexo 1" in Spanish;
• Choco 7 dias - local newspaper founded by Elacio Murillo, former member of the Choco state assembly who was assassinated by gunmen on 12 January 2007.
• Alternative Development, Economic Interests and Paramilitaries in Uraba, TNI Drug Policy Briefing No 27, September 2008 by Moritz Tenthoff

На других языках

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[de] Departamento del Chocó

Das Departamento del Chocó ist ein Departamento im Nordwesten Kolumbiens. Es grenzt im Westen an den Pazifik und an Panama und im Norden an den Atlantik. Östlich liegen die Departamentos Antioquia und Risaralda. Im Süden grenzt Chocó an das Departamento Valle del Cauca. Neben der Hauptstadt Quibdó existieren in Chocó noch 29 weitere Municipios. Bei der Volkszählung 2018 lebten 534.826 Menschen in Chocó.[1]

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- [en] Chocó Department

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[ru] Чоко (департамент)

Чоко́ (исп. Chocó) — один из департаментов Колумбии. Располагается на западе страны, омывается Тихим океаном, а также имеет выход к Карибскому морю. Единственный из департаментов Колумбии, имеющий выход к двум океанам — Тихому и Атлантическому. На севере граничит с Панамой. Административный центр — город Кибдо.

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