Norte de Santander Department

North Santander Norte de Santander
Department
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Himno de Norte de Santander
Norte de Santander shown in red
Topography of the department
Coordinates: 7°54′N 72°30′W / 7.900°N 72.500°W / 7.900; -72.500
Country	Colombia
Region	Andes Region
Established	25 July 1910
Capital	Cúcuta
Government
• Governor	William Villamizar Laguado (2024-2027)
Area
• Total	21,648 km2 (8,358 sq mi)
• Rank	24th
Population  (2023)[1]
• Total	1 658 835
• Rank	9th
• Density	7,481/km2 (19,380/sq mi)
GDP [2]
• Total	COP 23,057 billion (US$ 5.4 billion)
Time zone	UTC-05
ISO 3166 code	CO-NSA
Provinces	6
Municipalities	40
HDI (2019)	0.750[3] high · 16th of 33
Website	www.nortedesantander.gov.co/

North Santander (Spanish: Norte de Santander) (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnoɾte ðe santanˈdeɾ]) is a department of Northeastern Colombia. It is in the north of the country, bordering Venezuela. Its capital is Cúcuta, one of the country's major cities.

North Santander is bordered by Venezuela to the east and north, by Santander Department and Boyacá Department to the south, and by Santander Department and Cesar Department to the west.^[4]

The official Department name is "Departamento de Norte de Santander" (North Santander Department) in honor of Colombian military and political leader Francisco de Paula Santander, who was born and raised near Cúcuta. North Santander Department is located in the northwestern zone of the Colombian Andean Region.

The area of present-day Norte de Santander played an important role in the history of Colombia, during the War of Independence from Spain when Congress gave origin to the Greater Colombia in Villa del Rosario.