Colombia was one of the three countries that emerged after the dissolution of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A decades-long conflict between government forces, paramilitaries, and antigovernment insurgent groups heavily funded by the drug trade, principally the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), escalated during the 1990s. More than 31,000 former United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitaries demobilized by the end of 2006, and the AUC as a formal organization ceased to operate. In the wake of the paramilitary demobilization, new criminal groups arose, whose members include some former paramilitaries. After four years of formal peace negotiations, the Colombian Government signed a final peace accord with the FARC in November 2016, which was subsequently ratified by the Colombian Congress. The accord calls for members of the FARC to demobilize, disarm, and reincorporate into society and politics. The accord also committed the Colombian Government to create three new institutions to form a ‘comprehensive system for truth, justice, reparation, and non-repetition,’ to include a truth commission, a special unit to coordinate the search for those who disappeared during the conflict, and a ‘Special Jurisdiction for Peace’ to administer justice for conflict-related crimes. Despite decades of internal conflict and drug-related security challenges, Colombia maintains relatively strong and independent democratic institutions characterized by peaceful, transparent elections and the protection of civil liberties.
land: 1,038,700 sq km
water: 100,210 sq km
note: includes Isla de Malpelo, Roncador Cay, and Serrana Bank
border countries (5): Brazil 1,790 km; Ecuador 708 km; Panama 339 km; Peru 1,494 km; Venezuela 2,341 km
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
mean elevation: 593 m
arable land: 1.4% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 1.6% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 34.5% (2018 est.)
forest: 54.4% (2018 est.)
other: 8.1% (2018 est.)
49,336,454 (2023 est.)
noun: Colombian(s)
adjective: Colombian
Mestizo and White 87.6%, Afro-Colombian (includes Mulatto, Raizal, and Palenquero) 6.8%, Amerindian 4.3%, unspecified 1.4% (2018 est.)
Spanish (official) and 65 Amerindian languages
major-language sample(s):
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Christian 92.3% (predominantly Roman Catholic), other 1%, unspecified 6.7% (2020 est.)
Colombia is in the midst of a demographic transition resulting from steady declines in its fertility, mortality, and population growth rates. The birth rate has fallen from more than 6 children per woman in the 1960s to just below replacement level today as a result of increased literacy, family planning services, and urbanization. However, income inequality is among the worst in the world, and almost one-third of the population lives below the poverty line.Colombia experiences significant legal and illegal economic emigration and refugee outflows. Large-scale labor emigration dates to the 1960s; the United States and, until recently, Venezuela have been the main host countries. Emigration to Spain picked up in the 1990s because of its economic growth, but this flow has since diminished because of Spain’s ailing economy and high unemployment. Venezuela’s political and economic crisis since 2015 has prompted many Colombians to return home.Forced displacement continues to be prevalent because of violence among guerrillas, paramilitary groups, and Colombian security forces. Afro-Colombian and indigenous populations are disproportionately affected. Even with the Colombian Government’s December 2016 peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the risk of displacement remains as other rebel groups fill the void left by the FARC. As of April 2023, almost 6.9 million people were internally displaced in Colombia. This estimate may undercount actual numbers because many internally displaced persons are not registered. Historically, Colombia also has one of the world’s highest levels of forced disappearances. The Colombian Truth Commission estimated than nearly 122,000 people were the victims of forced disappearances during the countries five-decade-long armed conflict—including human rights activists, trade unionists, Afro-Colombians, indigenous people, and farmers in rural conflict zones.Because of political violence and economic problems, Colombia received limited numbers of immigrants during the 19th and 20th centuries, mostly from the Middle East, Europe, and Japan. More recently, growth in the oil, mining, and manufacturing sectors has attracted increased labor migration; the primary source countries are Venezuela, the US, Mexico, and Argentina. Colombia has also become a transit area for illegal migrants from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean – especially Haiti and Cuba – who are en route to the US or Canada. Between 2016 and October 2022, Colombia was host to the largest number of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, totaling almost 2.9 million. Ecuadorian migrants also go to Colombia, most of them attempting to transit the dense and dangerous jungles of the Darien Gap to enter Panama and head onward to the US.
0-14 years: 22.45% (male 5,663,590/female 5,413,209)
15-64 years: 66.66% (male 16,066,724/female 16,820,068)
65 years and over: 10.89% (2023 est.) (male 2,367,369/female 3,005,494)
total dependency ratio: 43.5
youth dependency ratio: 31
elderly dependency ratio: 12.5
potential support ratio: 8 (2021 est.)
total: 32.4 years (2023 est.)
male: 31.2 years
female: 33.6 years
0.54% (2023 est.)
15.1 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
7.8 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-1.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
the majority of people live in the north and west where agricultural opportunities and natural resources are found; the vast grasslands of the llanos to the south and east, which make up approximately 60% of the country, are sparsely populated
urban population: 82.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.01% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
11.508 million BOGOTA (capital), 4.102 million Medellin, 2.864 million Cali, 2.349 million Barranquilla, 1.381 million Bucaramanga, 1.088 million Cartagena (2023)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
21.7 years (2015 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
75 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 11.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 13.1 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.2 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 74.9 years (2023 est.)
male: 71.3 years
female: 78.7 years
1.94 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.95 (2023 est.)
81% (2015/16)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 87.5% of population
total: 97.7% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 12.5% of population
total: 2.3% of population (2020 est.)
9% of GDP (2020)
2.33 physicians/1,000 population (2020)
1.7 beds/1,000 population (2018)
improved: urban: 99.1% of population
rural: 87.7% of population
total: 97% of population
unimproved: urban: 0.9% of population
rural: 12.3% of population
total: 3% of population (2020 est.)
degree of risk: high (2023)
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
22.3% (2016)
total: 4.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 3.09 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.06 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.92 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 8.5% (2020 est.)
male: 12.4% (2020 est.)
female: 4.6% (2020 est.)
3.7% (2015/16)
55.3% (2023 est.)
4.9% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.6%
male: 95.4%
female: 95.9% (2020)
total: 14 years
male: 14 years
female: 15 years (2020)
deforestation resulting from timber exploitation in the jungles of the Amazon and the region of Chocó; illicit drug crops grown by peasants in the national parks; soil erosion; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands
agricultural land: 37.5% (2018 est.)
arable land: 1.4% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 1.6% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 34.5% (2018 est.)
forest: 54.4% (2018 est.)
other: 8.1% (2018 est.)
urban population: 82.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 1.01% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.1% of GDP (2018 est.)
0.75% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 14.04 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 97.81 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 81.52 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 12,150,120 tons (2011 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 2,089,821 tons (2013 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 17.2% (2013 est.)
Rio Negro river source (shared with Venezuela and Brazil [m]) - 2,250 km; Orinoco (shared with Venezuela [s]) - 2,101 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km), Orinoco (953,675 sq km)
Amazon Basin
municipal: 3.72 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 360 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 25.04 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
2.36 trillion cubic meters (2020 est.)
prior to COVID-19, one of the most consistent growth economies; declining poverty; large stimulus package has mitigated economic fallout, but delayed key infrastructure investments; successful inflation management; sound flexible exchange rate regime; domestic economy suffers from lack of trade integration and infrastructure
$754.645 billion (2021 est.)
$681.844 billion (2020 est.)
$733.546 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
10.68% (2021 est.)
-7.05% (2020 est.)
3.19% (2019 est.)
$14,600 (2021 est.)
$13,400 (2020 est.)
$14,600 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$323.255 billion (2019 est.)
3.5% (2021 est.)
2.53% (2020 est.)
3.52% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: BBB- (2020)
Moody’s rating: Baa2 (2014)
Standard & Poors rating: BBB- (2017)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 7.2% (2017 est.)
industry: 30.8% (2017 est.)
services: 62.1% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 68.2% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 14.8% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 22.2% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0.2% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 14.6% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -19.7% (2017 est.)
sugar cane, milk, oil palm fruit, potatoes, rice, bananas, cassava leaves, plantains, poultry, maize
textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds
9.65% (2021 est.)
26.137 million (2021 est.)
14.34% (2021 est.)
15.04% (2020 est.)
9.96% (2019 est.)
total: 26.4% (2021 est.)
male: 21.9%
female: 32.8%
35.7% (2019 est.)
54.2 (2020 est.)
on food: 19.2% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
on alcohol and tobacco: 3% of household expenditures (2018 est.)
lowest 10%: 1.2%
highest 10%: 39.6% (2015 est.)
revenues: $94.985 billion (2019 est.)
expenditures: $103.098 billion (2019 est.)
-2.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
90.4% of GDP (2020 est.)
72.7% of GDP (2019 est.)
71.65% of GDP (2018 est.)
note: data cover general government debt, and includes debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities
14.23% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
-$17.621 billion (2021 est.)
-$9.347 billion (2020 est.)
-$14.808 billion (2019 est.)
$50.793 billion (2021 est.)
$38.224 billion (2020 est.)
$51.324 billion (2019 est.)
note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.
United States 31%, China 11%, Panama 6%, Ecuador 5% (2019)
crude petroleum, coal, coffee, gold, refined petroleum (2021)
$70.84 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$51.312 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$65.47 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
United States 27%, China 20%, Mexico 7%, Brazil 6% (2019)
refined petroleum, cars, broadcasting equipment, packaged medicines, corn (2019)
$58.019 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$58.499 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$52.653 billion (31 December 2019 est.)
$135.644 billion (2019 est.)
$128.238 billion (2018 est.)
Colombian pesos (COP) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
3,743.59 (2021 est.)
3,694.854 (2020 est.)
3,280.832 (2019 est.)
2,955.704 (2018 est.)
2,951.327 (2017 est.)
population without electricity: 2 million (2020)
electrification - total population: 99.9% (2021)
electrification - urban areas: 100% (2021)
electrification - rural areas: 99.9% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 19.769 million kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 69,856,680,000 kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 251 million kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 1.302 billion kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 5.724 billion kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 32.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 65.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 51.395 million metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 8.547 million metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 69.861 million metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 79,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 4.554 billion metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 756,400 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 352,400 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 481,300 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 2.036 billion barrels (2021 est.)
303,600 bbl/day (2015 est.)
56,900 bbl/day (2015 est.)
57,170 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 11,305,086,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
consumption: 11,708,232,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2020 est.)
imports: 403.146 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 87.782 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)
81.007 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 12.666 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 47.679 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 20.662 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
34.703 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 12 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 157
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 33,704,037 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 1,349,450,000 (2018) mt-km
HJ, HK
836 (2021)
121
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
715
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
3 (2021)
4,991 km gas, 6,796 km oil, 3,429 km refined products (2013)
total: 2,141 km (2019)
standard gauge: 150 km (2019) 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 1,991 km (2019) 0.914-m gauge
total: 205,379 km (2019)
24,725 km (2019) (18,225 km navigable; the most important waterway, the River Magdalena, of which 1,092 km is navigable, is dredged regularly to ensure safe passage of cargo vessels and container barges)
total: 148 (2022)
by type: general cargo 28, oil tanker 12, other 108
major seaport(s): Atlantic Ocean (Caribbean) - Cartagena, Santa Marta, Turbo
Pacific Ocean - Buenaventura
oil terminal(s): Covenas offshore terminal
container port(s) (TEUs): Buenaventura (1,082,746), Cartagena (3,343,810) (2021)
river port(s): Barranquilla (Rio Magdalena)
dry bulk cargo port(s): Puerto Bolivar (coal)
Pacific Ocean - Buenaventura
manyapis