Caldas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaldas]) is a department of Colombia named after Colombian patriotic figure Francisco José de Caldas. It is part of the Paisa Region and its capital is Manizales. The population of Caldas is 998,255, and its area is 7,291 km. Caldas is also part of the Colombian Coffee-Growers Axis region along with the Risaralda and Quindio departments, which were politically separated from Caldas in 1966.

Caldas has 6 districts.

The Miel I Dam is situated in Caldas.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1938	769,968	—
1951	1,067,324	+38.6%
1964	712,916	−33.2%
1973	698,042	−2.1%
1985	883,024	+26.5%
1993	1,030,062	+16.7%
2005	968,740	−6.0%
2018	998,255	+3.0%
Source:

The population of Caldas is 984,128 (2013), half of whom live in Manizales. The racial composition is:

• White / Mestizo (93.16%)
• Amerindian or Indigenous (4.29%)
• Black or Afro-Colombian (2.54%)

The local inhabitants of Caldas are known as caldenses. Of the five main regional groups in Colombia, the predominant group in Caldas are known as paisa, referring to those living in the Paisa region, which covers most of Antioquia, as well as the departments of Caldas, Risaralda and Quindío.

• Government of Caldas official website (in Spanish)