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Meta Department

Coordinates: 4°9′N 73°38′W / 4.150°N 73.633°W / 4.150; -73.633
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For similarly named areas, see Meta (disambiguation) § Places.
Department of Meta
Departamento del Meta
Department
View of the Caño Cristales
View of the Caño Cristales
Flag of Department of Meta
Flag
Coat of arms of Department of Meta
Coat of arms
Motto: 
Llano Grande de Colombia y Meta
Anthem: Himno de Meta (Colombia)
Meta shown in red
Meta shown in red
Topography of the department
Topography of the department
Coordinates: 4°9′N 73°38′W / 4.150°N 73.633°W / 4.150; -73.633
Country Colombia
RegionOrinoquía Region
EstablishedJuly 1, 1960
CapitalVillavicencio
Government
 • GovernorMarcela Amaya (2016-2019)
Area
 • Total
85,635 km2 (33,064 sq mi)
 • Rank4th
Population
 (2018)[1]
 • Total
1,039,722
 • Rank19th
 • Density12/km2 (31/sq mi)
GDP
[2]
 • TotalCOP 58,440 billion
(US$ 13.7 billion)
Time zoneUTC-05
ISO 3166 codeCO-MET
Provinces4
Municipalities29
HDI0.769[3]
high · 7th of 33
Websitewww.meta.gov.co

Meta Department (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈmeta]) is one of the 32 departments that compose the Republic of Colombia. Largely located within the country's Orinoquía natural region and covered by the Llanos, it is close to the geographic center of the country, east of the Andes mountains. Its capital is the city of Villavicencio.

History

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Meta was established as a department on 1 July 1960.[4]

Meta was a department particularly effected by the violence of the Colombian conflict,[5] with large areas being under the control of the FARC before the 2016 peace deal.[6]

In May 2021, flooding effected over 5,400 people and 1,100 homes in the department when the Meta River to 8.73 metres (28.6 ft).[7]

Geography

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Meta Department is close to the geographic center of Colombia, largely located within the country's Orinoquía natural region.[8] It is east of the Andes mountains. A significant portion of the department is a part of the Llanos, a grassland plain. The homonymous Meta River forms the northeastern border.[9] It is bordered by Cundinamarca, Casanare, Vichada, Caquetá, Guaviare, and Huila Departments.[10]

Parts of Chiribiquete Park, Tinigua National Natural Park, La Macarena National Natural Park,[11] and Caño Cristales are located in the department.[12][6]

It has an area of 85,635 square kilometres (33,064 sq mi), 7.49% of the country.[10]

Municipalities

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Meta Department is composed of 29 municipalities across 4 subregions. Its capital city is Villavicencio.[13]

Ariari Villavicencio Piedemonte Meta River
El Castillo • El Dorado • Fuente de Oro • Granada • La Uribe • Lejanías • Mapiripán • Mesetas • Puerto Concordia • Puerto Lleras • Puerto Rico • San Juan de Arama • Vista Hermosa Villavicencio Acacías • Barranca de Upía • Castilla la Nueva • Cubarral • Cumaral • El Calvario • Guamal • Restrepo • San Carlos de Guaroa • San Juanito • San Martín Cabuyaro • La Macarena • Puerto Gaitán • Puerto López

Demographics

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As of the 2018 Colombian census, Meta Department had a total population of 1,039,722 people.[1] In 2022, it had a Human Development Index of 0.769.[3]

The indigenous Sikuani,[14][15] Jiw,[16] Guayupe peoples are among those who inhabit the department.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1973 242,664—    
1985 474,046+95.4%
1993 618,427+30.5%
2005 783,168+26.6%
2018 1,039,722+32.8%
Source:[17]

Achagua, which is similar to Piapoco, is an Indigenous language spoken by a minority in the department.[18]

Government

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Like all departments in Colombia, Meta has a Governor and a Departmental Assembly.[19]

Economy

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Historically, the department's economy has been dependent on oil and gas. In the early 2020s, the national and departmental government began an effort to focus on and invest in tourism centered around its natural attractions.[6]

In 2022, Meta Department had a GDP of 58,439.5 billion Colombian pesos.[2]

Symbols

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The flag of Meta has 17 horizontal stripes (nine green, eight white), representing Meta's place as the seventeenth department created in Colombia.[20]

The department has a monument marking the exact geographic center of Colombia, in a place known as Alto de Menegua, a few kilometers from Puerto López.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "DANE". Archived from the original on November 13, 2009. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Producto Interno Bruto por departamento", www.dane.gov.co
  3. ^ a b "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  4. ^ "Meta: Departamento del Meta Colombia". todacolombia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  5. ^ "In Colombia's central Meta region, Security Council witnesses first-hand progress on peace deal | UN News". news.un.org. 2017-05-05. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  6. ^ a b c Villarraga, Herbert (2022-07-14). "Colombia's Meta province bets on tourism instead of oil". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  7. ^ "Colombia – Thousands Affected by Floods and Landslides". FloodList. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  8. ^ "Fortalecimiento institucional y de política para incrementar la conservación de la biodiversidad en predios privados (PP) en Colombia" (PDF). United Nations Development Program. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-05-11. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  9. ^ "Hidrografía del Meta: Hidrografía Departamento del Meta Colombiaa". todacolombia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  10. ^ a b "Meta: Departamento del Meta Colombia". todacolombia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  11. ^ Giatsidakis, A. (2023-12-05). "Colombia Declares the Serrania of Manacacias a National Park". Colombia One: News from Colombia and the World. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  12. ^ Dahl, Mie Hoejris (2025-07-25). "Illegal roads expand in Colombia's deforestation hotspots". Mongabay Environmental News. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  13. ^ "Municipios del Meta: División Política Departamento del Meta Colombia". todacolombia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-07-26.
  14. ^ Freixes, Josep (2024-09-02). "Mennonite and Indigenous Communities Clash Over Land Rights in Colombia". Colombia One: News from Colombia and the World. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  15. ^ "Extermination and systematic violation of the human rights of the Sikuani Indigenous People (Barrulia Community) in the municipality of Puerto Gaitán, Meta, Colombia". Forest Peoples Programme. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  16. ^ Khaikin, Lital. "Guardians of Guaviare: Southern Colombia's land fight". FairPlanet. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  17. ^ "Reloj de Población". DANE. Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadísitica. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  18. ^ "Achagua Language (ACA) – L1 & L2 Speakers, Status, Map, Endangered Level & Official Use | Ethnologue Free". Ethnologue (Free All). Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  19. ^ "Information about departments of Colombia". ColombiaInfo.org - The Colombia Information Site!. Retrieved 2025-07-15.
  20. ^ "Bandera del Meta: Bandera Departamento del Meta Colombia". todacolombia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  21. ^ "Avanza proyecto que declara al Alto de Menegua como Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación". Viveel Meta (in Spanish). 2019-05-15. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
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