San Andrés, San Andrés y Providencia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids San Andrés
City and municipality
From to top: Aerial view, Typical house, Casa Isleña Museum, Pedestrian Street, San Andres beach and San Luis Church.
Maps of the islands of San Andrés and Providencia
San Andrés, San Andrés y Providencia Location in Colombia
Country	Colombia
Region	Insular
Department	San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina
Area
• Total	26 km2 (10 sq mi)
Population  (2005)
• Total	55,426
• Density	2,130/km2 (5,520/sq mi)
• Languages spoken	San Andrés Creole English Spanish
• Ethnic groups	20% Raizals and 80% mainland Colombians
Time zone	UTC-5 (Colombia Time (COT))

San Andrés (Spanish pronunciation: [ˌsan anˈdɾes]) is the capital city of the department of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, or The Raizal Islands, in Colombia. As of 2005 its population was 55,426.

Overview

It is situated at the north end of San Andrés Island, on the Caribbean Sea, with the runway of Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport bisecting the western urban portion area clustering the cape of Punta Norte from the Eastern portion of the urban area. The population is considered to be about 20% Raizals and 80% mainland Colombians. The economy is mainly sustained by tourism and commercial fishing. Once a duty-free port, it still has a relatively vigorous shopping district selling various consumer goods at bargain prices, including Colombian gold and emerald jewellery, leather goods and other distinctively Colombian wares.

San Andrés has become such a byword for bargain shopping in Colombia that many towns and cities have a bargain shopping area known as a San Andresito ("little San Andres").

Twin towns

• San Clemente (California, USA)

Climate