Valle del Cauca Department

Department of Valle del Cauca
Departamento del Valle del Cauca
Coat of arms of Department of Valle del Cauca
Anthem: Himno al Valle del Cauca
Valle del Cauca shown in red
Valle del Cauca shown in red
Topography of the department
Topography of the department
Coordinates: 3°25′N 76°31′W / 3.417°N 76.517°W / 3.417; -76.517
CountryColombia
RegionAndean Region/Pacific Region
Established16 April 1910
CapitalSantiago de Cali
Government
 • GovernorClara Luz Roldán (2020-2023) (Social Party of National Unity)
Area
 • Total22,140 km2 (8,550 sq mi)
 • Rank23
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total4,475,886
 • Rank3
 • Density200/km2 (520/sq mi)
GDP
 • TotalCOP 139,863 billion
(US$ 32.9 billion)
Time zoneUTC−5
ISO 3166 codeCO-VAC
Municipalities42
HDI0.782[3]
high · 2nd of 33
Websitewww.valledelcauca.gov.co

Valle del Cauca, or Cauca Valley (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbaʎe ðel ˈkawka]), is a department in western Colombia abutting the Pacific Ocean. Its capital is Santiago de Cali. Other cities such as Buenaventura, Buga, Cartago, Palmira and Tuluá have great economical, political, social and cultural influence on the department's life. Valle del Cauca has the largest number of independent (i.e., nonmetropolitan) towns with over 100,000 inhabitants in the country, counting six within its borders.[4] Buenaventura has the largest and busiest seaport in Colombia, moving about 8,500,000 tons of merchandise annually.[5]

  1. ^ Population Statistics by DANE[dead link]
  2. ^ "Producto Interno Bruto por departamento", www.dane.gov.co
  3. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  4. ^ Official census Book, p. 54 (Spanish)(+ 70 mb file)
  5. ^ "Official Buenaventura's port statistics (Spanish)". Sprbun.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.