Demographics of Colombia

The demographics of Colombia consist of statistics regarding Colombians' health, economic status, religious affiliations, ethnicity, population density, and other aspects of the population. Colombia is the second-most populous country in South America after Brazil, and the third-most populous in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico.

Demographics of Colombia
Colombia population pyramid in 2020
Population	52,695,952 (2024 estimate) (27th)^[1]
Density	46.15 inhab/sq km (174th)
Growth rate	0.8% (105th)
Birth rate	9.8 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate	5.1/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Life expectancy	79 (34th)
• male	76 (37th)
• female	83 (22nd)
Fertility rate	1.22 children/woman (2023 est.)
Net migration rate	−0.65 (2014)^[2]
Age structure
0–14 years	24.5%
15–64 years	64.1%
65 and over	11.4%
Sex ratio
Total	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.02 male(s)/female
15–64 years	0.95 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.75 male(s)/female
Language
Spoken	Spanish, Quimbaya, Chibchas other indigenous languages.

Colombia's population has grown steadily for most of its history, although the growth rate slowed markedly in the late 20th century, due in part to emigration resulting from a sustained internal conflict. However, the economy has improved noticeably in recent decades, especially in urban areas, and living standards have risen in line with this.

Census

Population history of Colombia

Statoids.^[3] National Censuses.^[4]^[5]

Population census

Year	Pop.	±%
1864	1,694,487	—
1870	2,681,637	+58.3%
1905*	4,533,777	+69.1%
1912	5,472,604	+20.7%
1918	5,855,077	+7.0%
1928	7,851,110	+34.1%
1938**	8,701,816	+10.8%
1951	11,548,172	+32.7%
1964	17,484,508	+51.4%
1973	20,785,235	+18.9%
1985	27,837,932	+33.9%
1993	33,109,839	+18.9%
2005	41,468,384	+25.2%
2018	48,258,494	+16.4%
*First census after 35 years **First modern census 2018 population census final estimate Note: Diverse sources Census respective year DANE Source: DANEDANE Simple[1]

 

The population density of Colombia. Red showing concentration of population.

 

Demographics of Colombia, Data of Our World in Data, year 2022; Number of inhabitants in millions.

2021 Census

From January to October 2021, 9.5% of the babies were given birth by Venezuelan mothers. According to the entity during that period, there were 505,114 births and 48,075 were to Venezuelan mothers. In 2017, the birth rate of migrant mothers from Venezuela was 0%, but it has been increasing since 2020, when it was 9.1%.^[6]

The births in Colombia have decreased, from 2015 to 2020, a 12.5% lower birth rate. In 2021 there were 12 births for every 1,000 people.^[6]

Bogotá and San Andrés are the places with the greatest reduction in births, while the departments of Guainía, Vichada and La Guajira had the highest increases, Guainía had an increase of 108.1%.^[7]

2018 Census

According to the 2018 census, Colombia has 48,258,494 inhabitants within its territory.^[8] All the data below is available in the DANE Census results.

^[9]

Rank		Department	Census population		Change, 2005–2018		Percent of the total Colombia population, 2018^[note 1]	Population density		2024 population projection
Current	2005		2018	2005	Percent ^[note 2]	Absolute		Extension km2	Population density 2024	Rank	2024 population
1	1	Bogotá	7,412,566	6,840,116	8.4%	+572,450	15.36%	1,587	4,996.6	1	7,929,539
2	2	Antioquia	6,407,102	5,696,183	12.5%	+710,919	13.27%	63,612	108.5	2	6,903,721
3	3	Valle del Cauca	4,475,886	4,161,425	7.6%	+314,461	9.27%	22,140	209.9	3	4,647,367
4	4	Cundinamarca	2,919,060	2,280,037	28.0%	+639,023	6.05%	24,210	146.8	4	3,553,293
5	5	Atlántico	2,535,517	2,166,156	17.1%	+369,361	5.25%	3,388	834.5	5	2,827,124
6	6	Santander	2,184,837	1,957,789	11.6%	+227,048	4.53%	30,537	77.8	6	2,376,736
7	7	Bolívar	2,070,110	1,878,993	10.2%	+191,917	4.29%	25,978	87.2	7	2,264,523
8	9	Córdoba	1,784,783	1,467,929	21.6%	+316,854	3.70%	25,020	76.5	8	1,914,778
9	8	Nariño	1,630,592	1,541,956	5.7%	+88,636	3.38%	33,268	51.4	9	1,709,890
10	13	Norte de Santander	1,491,689	1,243,975	19.9%	+247,714	3.09%	21,658	78.9	10	1,709,570
11	11	Cauca	1,464,488	1,268,937	15.4%	+195,551	3.03%	29,308	53.7	11	1,574,506
12	14	Magdalena	1,341,746	1,149,917	16.7%	+191,829	2.78%	23,188	65.3	12	1,513,782
13	10	Tolima	1,330,187	1,365,342	−2.6%	−35,155	2.76%	23,562	58.6	14	1,380,948
14	12	Boyacá	1,217,376	1,255,311	−3.0%	−37,935	2.52%	23,189	56.6	15	1,311,983
15	17	Cesar	1,200,574	903,279	32.9%	+297,295	2.49%	22,905	60.9	13	1,395,486
16	15	Huila	1,100,386	1,011,418	8.8%	+88,968	2.28%	19,890	59.9	16	1,192,273
17	19	Meta	1,039,722	783,168	32.8%	+256,554	2.15%	85,635	13.4	17	1,145,766
18	16	Caldas	998,255	968,740	3.0%	+29,515	2.07%	7,888	132.6	19	1,046,110
19	18	Risaralda	943,401	897,509	5.1%	+45,892	1.95%	4,140	235.2	21	973,879
20	20	Sucre	904,863	772,010	17.2%	+132,853	1.88%	10,917	92.2	20	1,006,044
21	21	La Guajira	880,560	681,575	29.2%	+198,985	1.82%	20,848	50.7	18	1,057,252
22	22	Quindío	539,904	534,552	1.0%	+5,352	1.12%	1,845	306.8	23	566,048
23	23	Chocó	534,826	440,123	21.6%	+94,703	1.11%	46,530	13.0	22	605,478
24	26	Casanare	420,504	293,253	43.4%	+127,251	0.87%	44,640	10.6	24	475,144
25	24	Caquetá	401,489	420,337	−4.5%	−18,848	0.83%	88,965	4.8	25	428,162
26	25	Putumayo	348,182	310,132	12.3%	+38,050	0.72%	24,885	15.6	26	388,716
27	27	Arauca	262,174	232,118	12.9%	+30,056	0.54%	23,818	13.3	27	317,398
28	31	Vichada	107,808	55,872	93.0%	+51,936	0.22%	100,242	1.3	28	125,477
29	28	Guaviare	82,767	95,551	−13.4%	−12,874	0.17%	53,460	1.9	29	100,497
30	30	Amazonas	76,589	67,726	13.1%	+8,863	0.16%	109,665	0.8	30	86,318
31	29	San Andrés y Providencia	61,280	70,554	−13.1%	−9,274	0.13%	52	1,197.1	31	62,249
32	33	Guainía	48,114	35,230	36.6%	+12,884	0.10%	72,238	0.8	32	57,934
33	32	Vaupés	40,797	39,279	3.9%	+1,518	0.08%	54,135	0.9	33	47,961
−	−	Colombia	48,258,494	42,888,592	12.5%	+5,369,902	-	1,141,748	46.2	-	52,695,952

Current vital statistics by department

Total Fertility Rates (number of children born per mother).^[10]

Department (2023)	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Rate of natural increase	Total Fertility Rate	Expected number of births	Expected number of deaths	Life expectancy 2023^[11]
Antioquia	12.1	6.7	5.4	1.1	58,922	35,247	77.0
Atlántico	14.1	6.3	7.8	1.4	31,707	14,213	76.3
Bogotá	11.4	5.6	5.8	0.9	60,905	34,318	79.1
Bolívar	15.8	6.1	9.7	1.6	29,896	10,472	77.1
Boyacá	12.8	6.7	6.1	1.2	11,317	7,007	79.7
Caldas	11.0	7.6	3.4	0.9	6,698	6,623	78.1
Caquetá	17.5	6.1	11.4	1.5	5,133	1,864	74.7
Cauca	14.3	5.8	8.5	1.1	14,102	6,655	78.7
Cesar	17.3	5.2	12.1	1.6	18,123	5,407	76.5
Córdoba	15.7	5.9	9.8	1.4	21,077	8,130	78.5
Cundinamarca	12.9	5.5	7.4	1.0	29,038	15,040	79.7
Chocó	20.2	5.2	15.0	1.3	6,509	1,851	76.9
Huila	16.6	6.3	10.3	1.6	15,136	6,355	76.3
La Guajira	21.6	7.2	14.4	2.2	20,233	3,115	68.3
Magdalena	16.4	5.8	10.6	1.6	19,845	6,519	76.7
Meta	14.5	6.3	8.2	1.4	12,865	5,419	75.1
Nariño	13.9	6.5	7.4	0.9	12,572	7,601	77.9
Norte de Santander	14.8	7.1	7.7	1.4	18,960	8,556	75.5
Quindío	10.5	8.7	1.8	1.0	4,224	4,202	76.4
Risaralda	11.6	7.7	3.9	1.1	8,187	6,703	76.8
Santander	12.4	6.6	5.8	1.2	21,873	11,966	78.5
Sucre	15.3	6.3	9.0	1.5	11,980	4,625	77.3
Tolima	12.0	8.1	3.9	1.3	13,010	8,693	76.6
Valle del Cauca	13.1	7.4	5.7	1.0	36,482	28,700	76.5
Arauca	17.6	6.4	11.2	1.3	3,429	1,132	74.3
Casanare	16.1	5.1	11.0	1.4	5,424	1,706	75.6
Putumayo	16.5	5.0	11.5	1.2	3,987	1,249	77.5
San Andrés	12.9	7.5	5.4	1.3	608	335	71.2
Amazonas	23.0	7.2	15.8	1.3	853	209	68.7
Guainía	26.4	8.5	17.9	1.5	720	146	63.1
Guaviare	20.5	7.0	13.5	1.4	1,124	338	70.1
Vaupés	31.0	8.9	22.1	2.1	673	120	60.7
Vichada	23.9	5.8	18.1	1.5	1,589	234	70.5
Colombia	9.8	5.1	4.7	1.22	510,357	265,047	77.23

20th and 21st centuries

Colombian census from 1912:^[12][13]

• On 1912 census estimated 5,472,604 inhabitants.
• On 1918 census estimated 5,855,077 inhabitants.
• On 1928 census estimated 7,851,110 inhabitants.
• On 1938 census estimated 8,697,041 inhabitants.
• On 1951 census estimated 11,548,172 inhabitants.
• On 1964 census estimated 17,484,508 inhabitants.
• On 1973 census estimated 20,785,234 inhabitants.
• On 1985 census estimated 27,837,932 inhabitants.
• On 1993 census estimated 33,109,839 inhabitants.
• On 2005 census estimated 42,888,592 inhabitants.
• On 2018 census estimated 48,258,494 inhabitants.

UN estimates

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects^[14][15] the total population was 51,516,562 in 2021, compared to only 12,342,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2015 was 24.3%, 68.7% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 7% was 65 years or older .^[16]

	Total population (x 1000)	Proportion aged 0–14 (%)	Proportion aged 15–64 (%)	Proportion aged 65+ (%)
1950	12 341	42.6	54.0	3.4
1955	14 225	44.8	52.0	3.2
1960	16 480	46.4	50.4	3.2
1965	19 144	46.9	49.9	3.2
1970	22 061	45.9	50.7	3.4
1975	24 757	43.4	53.0	3.6
1980	27 738	40.6	55.7	3.7
1985	31 012	37.9	58.2	3.9
1990	34 272	36.3	59.6	4.1
1995	37 442	34.3	61.3	4.4
2000	40 404	31.5	63.8	4.7
2005	43 286	28.9	65.9	5.2
2010	45 918	26.4	67.8	5.9
2015	48 229	24.3	68.7	7.0
2020	50 883	22.2	68.8	9.1

Structure of the population

Structure of the population according to the 2018 census results: ^[17]

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	23 550 072	24 708 422	48 258 494	100
0–4	1 698 699	1 621 485	3 320 184	6.88
5–9	1 862 778	1 780 738	3 643 516	7.55
10–14	2 017 205	1 925 513	3 942 718	8.17
15–19	2 152 328	2 055 812	4 208 140	8.72
20–24	2 166 806	2 137 851	4 304 657	8.92
25–29	2 007 553	2 026 857	4 034 410	8.36
30–34	1 804 867	1 857 952	3 662 819	7.59
35–39	1 703 524	1 809 693	3 513 217	7.28
40–44	1 428 451	1 568 401	2 996 852	6.21
45–49	1 360 889	1 529 794	2 890 683	5.99
50–54	1 327 108	1 510 491	2 837 599	5.88
55–59	1 153 378	1 336 760	2 490 138	5.16
60–64	916 911	1 076 164	1 993 075	4.13
65–69	699 748	820 394	1 520 142	3.15
70–74	501 888	598 405	1 100 293	2.28
75–79	357 112	443 978	801 090	1.66
80+	415 967	582 994	998 961	2.07
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	5 578 682	5 327 736	10 906 418	22.60
15–64	16 021 815	16 909 775	32 931 590	68.24
65+	1 974 715	2 445 771	4 420 486	9.16

Urbanization

See also: Colombia § Largest cities and towns

Movement from rural to urban areas was very heavy in the middle of the twentieth century, but has since tapered off. The urban population increased from 31% of the total population in 1938, to 57% in 1951 and about 70% by 1990. Currently the figure is about 77%. The list of the most populated cities in the country only contains the population living in the urban area of the municipalities, according to the results of the 2018 population census.^[18]

Rank	Place name	2023 projections	2018 Census	2005 Census	Change since 2018
1	Bogotá	7,875,975	7,412,566	6,776,691	6.61%
2	Medellín	2,573,621	2,427,129	2,223,078	7.19%
3	Cali	2,364,426	2,227,642	2,083,102	2.85%
4	Barranquilla	1,322,933	1,205,284	1,142,451	9.76%
5	Cartagena	931,503	876,885	842,632	6.23%
6	Soacha	778,364	655,025	396,544	18.83%
7	Cúcuta	777,386	685,445	567,559	13.41%
8	Soledad	675,127	602,644	460,745	12.03%
9	Bucaramanga	605,047	570,752	509,135	6.01%
10	Bello	546,902	495,483	358,167	10.38%
11	Villavicencio	531,600	492,052	356,461	8.04%
12	Ibagué	503,558	492,554	468,378	2.23%
13	Santa Marta	496,778	455,299	385,186	9.11%
14	Valledupar	490,252	431,794	299,112	13.54%
15	Manizales	430,259	405,234	353,138	6.17%
16	Pereira	406,676	385,838	371,439	5.40%
17	Montería	407,463	388,499	286,631	4.88%
18	Neiva	354,786	335,994	295,847	5.59%
19	Armenia	300,207	287,245	273,076	4.51%
20	Pasto	319,661	308,095	312,480	3.75%
21	Floridablanca	323,279	280,025	243,773	15.45%
22	Palmira	285,389	275,254	228,056	3.68%
23	Itagüí	273,885	247,918	213,187	10.47%
24	Popayán	277,979	266,561	226,867	4.28%
25	Sincelejo	273,124	249,323	219,655	9.54%
26	Envigado	238,618	215,766	165,462	10.59%
27	Buenaventura	249,730	235,064	292,889	6.24%
28	Dosquebradas	215,644	204,280	169,820	5.55%
29	Barrancabermeja	188,192	177,272	170,821	6.16%
30	Tuluá	190,010	174,951	160,916	8.61%

Vital statistics

UN estimates

The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.^[19]

Year	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate
1950	11,770	551,064	205,952	345,112	46.7	17.4	29.3	6.41
1951	12,090	565,988	205,240	360,748	46.7	17.0	29.7	6.44
1952	12,420	583,360	202,559	380,801	46.9	16.3	30.6	6.49
1953	12,770	600,964	199,936	401,028	47.0	15.6	31.4	6.54
1954	13,130	618,002	198,066	419,936	47.0	15.1	31.9	6.58
1955	13,510	635,597	196,985	438,612	47.0	14.5	32.5	6.63
1956	13,910	653,149	196,894	456,255	46.9	14.1	32.8	6.66
1957	14,330	671,025	190,300	480,725	46.7	13.3	33.4	6.70
1958	14,760	688,958	191,205	497,753	46.6	12.9	33.7	6.72
1959	15,210	705,451	187,724	517,727	46.3	12.3	34.0	6.74
1960	15,690	722,255	186,589	535,666	46.0	11.9	34.1	6.74
1961	16,180	738,333	186,049	552,284	45.6	11.5	34.1	6.71
1962	16,690	752,124	185,533	566,591	45.0	11.1	33.9	6.71
1963	17,210	763,468	184,487	578,981	44.3	10.7	33.6	6.58
1964	17,740	772,893	184,027	588,866	43.5	10.4	33.1	6.47
1965	18,280	776,098	183,487	592,611	42.4	10.0	32.4	6.33
1966	18,810	776,398	182,973	593,925	41.2	9.7	31.5	6.16
1967	19,340	774,512	182,646	591,866	40.0	9.4	30.6	5.96
1968	19,870	769,229	181,980	587,249	38.6	9.1	29.5	5.74
1969	20,390	762,378	180,816	581,562	37.3	8.9	28.4	5.51
1970	20,910	756,293	179,623	576,670	36.1	8.6	27.5	5.28
1971	21,410	751,603	177,215	574,388	35.0	8.3	26.7	5.06
1972	21,910	747,867	174,530	573,337	34.1	8.0	26.1	4.86
1973	22,400	749,007	172,407	576,600	33.4	7.7	25.7	4.68
1974	22,900	752,841	169,838	583,003	32.8	7.4	25.4	4.53
1975	23,400	761,181	167,106	594,075	32.5	7.1	25.4	4.40
1976	23,910	772,388	165,226	607,162	32.2	6.9	25.3	4.28
1977	24,440	783,971	163,447	620,524	32.0	6.7	25.3	4.18
1978	25,000	796,756	162,378	634,378	31.8	6.5	25.3	4.07
1979	25,580	811,077	162,475	648,602	31.7	6.3	25.4	3.97
1980	26,180	819,818	161,752	658,066	31.3	6.2	25.1	3.86
1981	26,790	829,626	162,670	666,956	30.9	6.1	24.8	3.74
1982	27,410	837,994	163,482	674,512	30.5	6.0	24.5	3.63
1983	28,040	842,011	165,467	676,544	30.0	5.9	24.1	3.53
1984	28,690	849,133	167,428	681,705	29.6	5.8	23.8	3.43
1985	29,330	855,217	191,701	663,516	29.1	6.5	22.6	3.34
1986	29,960	861,901	173,581	688,320	28.7	5.8	22.9	3.27
1987	30,600	868,789	178,536	690,253	28.4	5.8	22.6	3.21
1988	31,260	876,126	182,343	693,783	28.0	5.8	22.2	3.16
1989	31,920	884,747	186,089	698,658	27.7	5.8	21.9	3.12
1990	32,600	892,755	190,271	702,484	27.4	5.8	21.6	3.08
1991	33,270	899,439	193,733	705,706	27.0	5.8	21.2	3.05
1992	33,940	901,828	196,248	705,580	26.6	5.8	20.8	3.01
1993	34,610	903,555	197,750	705,805	26.1	5.7	20.4	2.97
1994	35,300	901,290	199,584	701,706	25.5	5.7	19.8	2.92
1995	35,970	897,429	200,808	696,621	24.9	5.6	19.3	2.86
1996	36,630	892,339	202,580	689,759	24.4	5.5	18.9	2.80
1997	37,290	885,195	204,267	680,928	23.7	5.5	18.2	2.74
1998	37,940	879,217	206,553	672,664	23.2	5.4	17.8	2.68
1999	38,590	874,245	209,686	664,559	22.6	5.4	17.2	2.63
2000	39,220	867,516	209,911	657,605	22.1	5.4	16.7	2.57
2001	39,840	859,788	213,177	646,611	21.6	5.4	16.2	2.52
2002	40,450	850,588	212,844	637,744	21.0	5.3	15.7	2.46
2003	41,060	839,623	212,707	626,916	20.4	5.2	15.2	2.40
2004	41,650	827,013	213,860	613,153	19.9	5.1	14.8	2.33
2005	42,220	813,688	214,241	599,447	19.3	5.1	14.2	2.26
2006	42,770	799,623	214,631	584,992	18.7	5.0	13.7	2.20
2007	43,310	787,414	216,353	571,061	18.2	5.0	13.2	2.14
2008	43,820	776,110	216,895	559,215	17.7	4.9	12.8	2.08
2009	44,310	765,905	217,753	548,152	17.3	4.9	12.4	2.03
2010	44,820	758,072	220,750	537,322	16.9	4.9	12.0	1.99
2011	45,310	752,881	224,162	528,719	16.6	4.9	11.7	1.96
2012	45,780	748,734	228,230	520,504	16.3	5.0	11.3	1.93
2013	46,240	744,381	233,264	511,117	16.1	5.0	11.1	1.90
2014	46,680	739,615	238,498	501,117	15.8	5.1	10.7	1.88
2015	47,120	734,664	243,633	491,031	15.6	5.2	10.4	1.86
2016	47,630	730,565	248,057	482,508	15.4	5.2	10.2	1.84
2017	48,350	726,008	252,689	473,319	15.1	5.2	9.9	1.82
2018	49,280	727,649	260,364	467,285	14.8	5.3	9.5	1.79
2019	50,190	733,940	270,504	463,436	14.7	5.4	9.3	1.76
2020	50,930	733,491	335,656	397,835	14.4	6.6	7.8	1.74
2021	51,520	730,233	397,649	332,584	14.2	7.7	6.5	1.72
2022	51,874	723,264	384,947	338,317	13.9	7.4	6.5	1.69

Official births and deaths statistics

^[20][21]

Year	Population	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase	Crude birth rate	Crude death rate	Rate of natural increase	Crude migration increase	TFR	Male life expectancy	Female life expectancy	Mother's mean age at first birth
1998	38,012,359	720,984	175,363	545,621	18.9	4.6	14.3		2.17	66.1	74.2	26.27
1999	38,585,016	746,194	183,553	562,641	19.3	4.7	14.5	0.3	2.22	66.6	74.6	26.25
2000	39,140,080	752,834	187,432	565,402	19.2	4.7	14.4	-0.3	2.22	67.1	75.0	26.25
2001	39,674,811	724,319	191,513	532,806	18.2	4.8	13.4	0	2.12	67.6	75.4	26.26
2002	40,190,679	700,455	192,262	508,193	17.4	4.7	12.6	0.2	2.04	68.0	75.7	26.27
2003	40,693,254	710,702	192,121	518,581	17.4	4.7	12.7	-0.4	2.05	68.5	76.1	26.23
2004	41,188,093	723,099	188,933	534,166	17.5	4.5	12.9	-1.0	2.07	68.9	76.5	26.23
2005	41,671,878	719,968	189,022	530,946	17.2	4.5	12.7	-1.1	2.05	69.3	76.8	26.22
2006	42,170,126	714,450	192,814	521,636	16.9	4.5	12.3	-0.6	2.02	69.6	77.0	26.16
2007	42,658,630	709,253	193,936	515,317	16.6	4.5	12.0	-0.6	1.98	69.9	77.3	26.11
2008	43,134,017	715,453	196,943	518,510	16.5	4.5	12.0	-1.0	1.97	70.2	77.5	26.10
2009	43,608,630	699,775	196,933	502,842	16.0	4.5	11.5	-0.7	1.91	70.5	77.7	26.08
2010	44,086,292	654,627	200,524	454,103	14.8	4.5	10.3	0.5	1.78	70.8	77.9	26.11
2011	44,553,416	665,499	195,823	469,676	14.9	4.3	10.5	-0.1	1.79	71.1	78.1	26.14
2012	45,001,571	676,835	199,756	477,079	15.0	4.4	10.6	-0.6	1.81	71.4	78.3	26.03
2013	45,434,942	658,835	203,071	455,764	14.5	4.4	10.0	-0.5	1.75	71.7	78.5	26.08
2014	45,866,010	669,137	210,051	459,086	14.5	4.5	10.0	-0.6	1.76	71.9	78.7	26.20
2015	46,313,898	660,999	219,472	441,527	14.2	4.7	9.5	0.1	1.73	72.2	78.9	26.35
2016	46,830,116	647,521	223,078	424,443	13.8	4.7	9.0	2.0	1.68	72.5	79.1	26.35
2017	47,419,200	656,704	227,624	429,080	13.8	4.8	9.0	3.4	1.69	72.7	79.3	26.41
2018	48,258,494	649,115	236,932	412,183	13.5	4.9	8.5	9.0	1.64	73.3	79.8	26.48
2019	49,395,678	642,660	244,355	398,305	13.0	4.9	8.0	15.3	1.59	73.5	79.9	26.49
2020	50,372,424	629,402	300,853	328,549	12.5	5.9	6.5	13.1	1.53	72.1	78.9	26.54
2021	51,049,498	616,914	363,089	253,825	12.1	7.1	4.9	8.4	1.49	69.7	76.9	26.55
2022	51,682,692	573,625	287,251	286,374	11.1	5.6	5.5	6.8	1.37	72.1	78.5	26.76
2023	52,215,503	510,357	265,047	245,310	9.8	5.1	4.7		1.22	74.5	80.1	26.92

Current vital statistics

^[22]

Period	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase
January 2023	43,744	22,864	+20,880
January 2024	37,740	23,528	+14,212
Difference	-6,004 (-13.7%)	+664 (+2.90%)	-6,668

Ethnicity

Main article: Race and ethnicity in Colombia

Ethnic groups in Colombia^[23]
Ethnic group			percent
Unclassified (Mostly White and Mestizo)			87.58%
Black (includes Mulatto, Raizal, and Palenquero)			6.76%
Amerindian			4.31%
Romani			0.006%

Colombia is ethnically diverse, its original people descending from the original native inhabitants, Spanish and European colonists, Africans originally brought to the country as slaves, and 20th-century immigrants from Europe and the Middle East, all contributing to a diverse cultural heritage.^[24] The demographic distribution reflects a pattern that is influenced by colonial history. Whites tend to live mainly in urban centers, like Bogotá, Medellín or Cali, and the burgeoning highland cities. The populations of the major cities also include mestizos. Mestizos include artisans and small tradesmen that have played a major part in the urban expansion of recent decades.^[25]

The 2005 census (outdated) reported that the "non-ethnic population", consisting of whites and mestizos (those of majority Indigenous American ancestry), constituted 86% of the national population. 10.6% is of black ancestry. Indigenous Colombians comprise 3.4% of the population. Less than 0.01% of the population is Roma. An extraofficial estimate considers that the 49% of the Colombian population is Mestizo or of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry, and that approximately 19-37% is White, mainly of Spanish lineage, but there is also a large population of Middle East descent; among the upper class there is a considerable input of Italian ancestry.^[26]

Many of the Indigenous peoples experienced a reduction in population during the Spanish rule^[27] and many others were absorbed into the mestizo population, but the remainder currently represents over eighty distinct cultures. Reserves (resguardos) established for indigenous peoples occupy 30,571,640 hectares (305,716.4 km²) (27% of the country's total) and are inhabited by more than 800,000 people.^[28] Some of the largest indigenous groups are the Wayuu,^[29] the Paez, the Pastos, the Emberá and the Zenú.^[30] The departments of La Guajira, Cauca, Nariño, Córdoba and Sucre have the largest indigenous populations.^[31]

The Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia (ONIC), founded at the first National Indigenous Congress in 1982, is an organization representing the indigenous peoples of Colombia. In 1991, Colombia signed and ratified the current international law concerning indigenous peoples, Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989.^[32]

Black Africans were brought as slaves, mostly to the coastal lowlands, beginning early in the 16th century and continuing into the 19th century. Large Afro-Colombian communities are found today on the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. The population of the department of Chocó, running along the northern portion of Colombia's Pacific coast, is over 70% black.^[33] Britons and Jamaicans migrated mainly to the islands of San Andres and Providencia Islands. A number of other Europeans and North Americans migrated to the country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including people from the former USSR during and after the Second World War.^[34][35]

Many immigrant communities have settled on the Caribbean coast, in particular recent immigrants from the Middle East. Barranquilla (the largest city of the Colombian Caribbean) and other Caribbean cities have the largest populations of Phoenician (Lebanese), Palestinian and other Middle Easterners.^[36][37] There are also important communities of Romanis and Jews.^[24] There is a major migration trend of Venezuelans, due to the political crisis and economic collapse in Venezuela.^[38]

Ethnic groups in Colombia (Estimation) Ethnic group Population Mestizo   50.3% White   26.4% Indigenous   9.5% Black   9.0% Mulatto   4.4% Asian   0.4%

^[39]

Languages

Main article: Languages of Colombia

See also: Colombian Spanish

Spanish (of which Colombia has the third-largest population of speakers in the world after Mexico and the United States) is the official language, with 99.2% of Colombians speaking Spanish, and there are small communities in urban areas speaking other European languages such as German, French, English, Italian, and Portuguese. There are 65 indigenous languages and two Creole languages, one Creole in San Basilio de Palenque and one in San Andrés; and also San Andrés is the only place of Colombia where are three official languages: Spanish, English and a creole language.^[40][41][42]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Colombia

Religion in Colombia (2014) – Pew Research Center^[43]

  Catholicism (79%)

  Protestantism (13%)

  Unaffiliated (6%)

  Other (2%)

Religion in Colombia – Other studies ^[44][45]

  Catholicism (70.9%)

  Protestantism (16.7%)

  Atheist or agnostic (4.7%)

  Claim to believe in God but do not follow a specific religion (3.5%)

  Jehovah's Witnesses and Adventism (1.8%)

  Other (0.2%)

  The remaining people either did not respond or replied that they did not know. (2.2%)

The National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) does not collect religious statistics, and accurate reports are difficult to obtain. However, based on various studies and a survey, about 90% of the population adheres to Christianity, the majority of which (70.9%) are Roman Catholic, while a significant minority (16.7%) adhere to Protestantism (primarily Evangelicalism). Some 4.7% of the population is atheist or agnostic, while 3.5% claim to believe in God but do not follow a specific religion. 1.8% of Colombians adhere to Jehovah's Witnesses and Adventism and less than 1% adhere to other religions, such as Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Mormonism, Hinduism, Hare Krishna movement, Rastafari movement, Eastern Orthodox Church, and spiritual studies. The remaining people either did not respond or replied that they did not know. In addition to the above statistics, 35.9% of Colombians reported that they did not practice their faith actively.^[43][44][45] 1,519,562 people in Colombia, or around 3% of the population reported following an indigenous religion.

While Colombia remains a mostly Roman Catholic country by baptism numbers, the 1991 Colombian constitution guarantees freedom of religion and all religious faiths and churches are equally free before the law.^[46]

Migration

Main article: Colombian diaspora

Historically, a sizable percentage of Colombian emigration has also been motivated by the need to escape from political persecution and bipartisan violence during the periods of "La Violencia" (1948–1958), and later due to the effects of the nation's current conflict (since 1964). This has resulted in numerous applications for political asylum abroad.

Colombians have emigrated in comparably high rates to the United States. Other Colombians migrated to Canada and Europe (most to Spain, but also to France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Sweden). Among other locations.^{[citation needed]}

Foreign-born population 2018 census

Country of birth	2018^[47]
	Number	%
Venezuela	2,837,900	86.96
USA	150,124	2.09
Ecuador	58,111	1.88
Spain	44,954	1.55
Peru	5,481	0.57
Argentina	5,220	0.54
Mexico	5,088	0.53
Brazil	4,218	0.44
Chile	4,182	0.43
Italy	3,104	0.32
France	2,954	0.31
Panama	2,909	0.30
Cuba	2,383	0.25
Germany	2,133	0.22
Costa Rica	1,675	0.17
United Kingdom	1,591	0.17
Canada	1,570	0.16

Colombian population living abroad

Country of residency	2020^[48]
	Number	%
USA	1,557,000	40.91
Venezuela	1,000,000	28.31
Spain	481,000	8.75
Ecuador	279,000	5.07
Mexico	198,500	3.61
Chile	135,000	2.45
Canada	86,000	1.56
Panama	58,350	1.07
Argentina	50,000	0.91
United Kingdom	48,000	0.87
Brazil	43,500	0.79
Peru	40,500	0.73
Costa Rica	40,000	0.72
France	40,000	0.72
Germany	24,000	0.44
Australia	22,000	0.40
Italy	20,000	0.36
Netherlands	18,000	0.33
Sweden	15,000	0.27
Bolivia	13,000	0.24
Switzerland	12,000	0.22
Aruba	8,000	0.15
Dominican Republic	8,000	0.15
Curacao	4,500	0.08
China	4,000	0.07
Norway	4,000	0.07
Belgium	3,500	0.06
Israel	3,500	0.06
Japan	3,000	0.05
UAE	2,500	0.04
New Zealand	2,500	0.04
Portugal	2,500	0.04
Austria	2,000	0.03
Cuba	2,000	0.03
Russia	2,000	0.03
Uruguay	2,000	0.03
Guatemala	1,500	0.02
Paraguay	1,500	0.02
Honduras	1,300	0.02
Nicaragua	1,200	0.02
Lebanon	1,000	0.01
Turkey	1,000	0.01

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

 

Life expectancy in Colombia since 1900

 

Life expectancy in Colombia since 1960 by gender

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.^[49]

Population

48,637,910 (May 2016 est.)

Median age

total: 27.7 years

male: 26.7 years

female: 28.6 years (2010 est.)

Sex ratio

At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

15–64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female

total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate

0.7% (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS – people living with HIV/AIDS

170,000 (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS – deaths

9,800 (2007 est.)

Nationality

noun: Colombia adjective: Colombian(s)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 99.4%

male: 99.1% (2018 census)

female: 99.7% (2018 census)

Notes

•  Colombia portal

1. Because of rounding of the individual percentages, the entries in this column may not sum to 100%.
2. This figure for each department compares to a national increase of 12.5%.

References

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2. . CIA. Archived from the original on 9 July 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
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4. Calderón Schrader, Camilo. "Atlas básico de historia de Colombia". Revista Credencial Historia. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
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6. Laura Ramírez (14 February 2022). "Nacimientos en Colombia: 9,5% fueron de madres venezolanas en 2021". Diario AS. Spain.
7. "En Colombia hay menos nacimientos, pero aumentaron los embarazos adolescentes". Infobae. 19 July 2022.
8. "Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda 2018". Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística - DANE. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
9. Note: Crude migration change % is trend analysis, an extrapolation-based average population change (current year minus previous) minus the natural change of the current year (see table vital statistics). The average population is an estimate of the population in the middle of the year and not the end of the year.
10. "Boletín técnico: nacimientos" (PDF). DANE. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
11. "Principales Indicadores – cambio demográfico nacional 2020-2070 y departamental 2020-2050 con base en el CNPV 2018". DANE. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
12. "La historia del censo en Colombia" Archived 5 December 2012 at archive.today. Caracol. 28 September 2005. Consulted 16 April 2012.
13. "Entrega de resultados Censo nacional de población y vivienda (CNPV)- 2018" (PDF). Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística - DANE. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
14. "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
15. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
16. "World Population Prospects". Population Division - United Nations. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
17. "Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda 2018 - Herramientas - Explorador de datos". Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística - DANE. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
18. "Población ajustada por cobertura - Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda 2018". Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística - DANE. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
19. "UN Population Division Data Portal". United Nations Population Division. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
20. . Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística - DANE. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
21. "Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE) - Estimaciones del Cambio Demográfico 1950-2018". Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística - DANE. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
22. "Nacimientos y Defunciones". Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística - DANE. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
23. . 2018 National Population and Housing Census. Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística - DANE. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
24. (PDF). pedagogica.edu.co (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
25. Bushnell & Hudson, pp. 87–88.
26. Bushnell, David & Rex A. Hudson (2010) "The Society and Its Environment"; Colombia: a country study: pp. 87, 92. Washington D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.
27. "Society and slavery". colombia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 September 2013.
28. . siac.gov.co (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
29. "Hostein, N. (2010). El pueblo wayuu de la Guajira colombo-venezolana: un panorama de su cultura. Cuadernos de Antropología, 20(1)". Revistas.ucr.ac.cr. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
30. "Los pueblos indígenas de Colombia en el umbral del nuevo milenio. Población, cultura y territorio: bases para el fortalecimiento social y económico de los pueblos indígenas". dnp.gov.co. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
31. "visibilización estadística de los grupos étnicos" (PDF). Censo General 2005. Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE). Retrieved 15 June 2013.
32. "Ratifications for Colombia". International Labour Organization. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
33. (PDF) (in Spanish). Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística - DANE. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
34. Luis Álvaro Gallo Martínez (2011). (PDF). rodriguezuribe.co. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
35. Wabgou, M.; Vargas, D.; Carabalí, J. A. (2012). "Las migraciones internacionales en Colombia. Investigación & Desarrollo, 20(1) 142–167". Universidad del Norte.
36. Vargas Arana, Pilar, and Luz Marina Suaza Vargas. "Los árabes en Colombia: Del rechazo a la integración". (2007).
37. "The Arab immigration to Colombia". nodo50.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 January 2014.
38. "Características de los migrantes de Venezuela a Colombia" (PDF). Observatorio Laboral (in Spanish). 14 August 2017.
39. "Raza/Etnia a la que pertenece". Latinobarómetro 2023 Colombia. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
40. (in Spanish). banrepcultural.org. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
41. (in Spanish). ambafrance-co.org. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
42. (in Spanish). lenguasdecolombia.gov.co. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
43. "Religion in Latin America, Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region". pewforum.org. Pew Research Center. 13 November 2014.
44. Beltrán Cely; William Mauricio (2013). (PDF) (in Spanish). Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Centro de Estudios Sociales (CES), Maestría en Sociología. ISBN 978-958-761-465-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
45. Beltrán Cely; William Mauricio. (PDF). Universitas humanística 73 (2012): 201–238. – bdigital.unal.edu.co. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
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49. "The World Factbook". CIA. Retrieved 7 July 2016.

•   This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2006 edition.)

External links

• (in Spanish) Colombian Department of Statistics
• (in Spanish)