Colombia

Flag of the Republic of Colombia

For Colombia, Esri provides a standard demographics dataset sourced from data supplied by Michael Bauer Research GmbH and a bilingual (English/Español) advanced demographics dataset sourced from data supplied by Esri Colombia. Visit Where to find ArcGIS Data to learn more about using Esri Demographics.

Release dates

The standard demographics dataset was updated in November 2026; the vintage is 2026.
The advanced demographics dataset was initially released in November 2026; the vintage is 2024.

Settlement points

Esri's Colombian standard demographics settlement points use the June 2026 Overture Maps Open Data (retrieved from https://registry.opendata.aws/overture). The settlement points contain estimated housing units derived from address points and building footprint polygons. Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE) Manzana Data and Overture Land Use and POI layers were used to enhance housing unit values and remove nonresidential data.
The advanced demographics settlement points also use the June 2026 Overture Maps Open Data (retrieved from https://registry.opendata.aws/overture). The settlement points contain estimated housing units derived from address points and building footprint polygons. Various additional layers were used to remove possible nonresidential points.

Geography levels

Esri geography name	Local geography name	Standard demographics count	Advanced demographics count
Country	Colombia	1	1
Departments	Departamentos	33	33
Municipalities	Municipios	1,122	1,122
Sectors	Sectores	—	19,511
Sections	Secciones	—	77,087

Visualize demographic data variables

The data browser is an interface to help you visualize and explore the data categories and analysis variables available in Esri Demographics. See Explore data variables to learn more about this visualization tool.

Standard demographics use cases

The Esri standard demographics dataset for Colombia is updated with Michael Bauer Research GmbH data updates to this region, approximately every two years. See the Related links section below for a variable list and release notes.

The following sections include example use cases that may help you understand Colombia's demographics.

Total Population

Total Population What is measured: The total number of individuals living in a specific area.

How you use it: Population counts are often used by local and national governments for policy planning, resource allocation, and informed decision-making based on the needs of various population groups within a country or region. You can use this data to explore the allocation of public services, economic development, political representation, social research, and resources available for disaster preparedness.

Population Density

Population Density What is measured: The number of people per unit of area (square mile or square kilometer).

How you use it: Population Density is typically used for national and local projects such as infrastructure design, urban planning to allocate and distribute public services, and environmental impact assessments of human activity based on where people are concentrated.

Population per Mill

Population per Mill What is measured: The region's proportional share of the total national population.

How you use it: Population per Mill is used to understand the comparative distribution of population in a country or region based on a per-thousand ratio. This data is used to support market trend analysis, infrastructure planning, and regional and national policy development. Population distribution is often used in health care to track disease prevalence or vaccination rates.

Male/Female Population Totals

Population by Gender Totals What is measured: The total number of females and males in a region's population.

How you use it: Population by Gender counts provide insight into the balance between females and males in a region, which is used for informed decision-making in areas such as education, workforce planning, health care, and skills training. This data is also used to help interpret complex results, such as health-care outcomes, crime statistics, targeted marketing campaigns, and housing shortages.

Population by 15-Year Age and Gender

Population Totals by Age and Gender What is measured: The distribution of regional population across 15-year age groups and gender.

How you use it: Total, Female, and Male Population by 15-Year Age counts can be used to help predict future social and economic trends and to plan for future resource allocation based on age groups in fields such as education, health care, and the labor force. This data is important for identifying potential challenges related to shifts in age or gender ratios within different age brackets.

Total Households

Total Households What is measured: The total number of households in a region.

How you use it: Total Household counts can help you understand the composition of a country's population based on how many people live in a single dwelling or housing unit. This data assists with informed decision-making in areas such as government policy, business strategy, community planning, and social research. You can use household counts to identify community needs, allocate public policy funds, perform business market analysis, and design targeted social programs. Local authorities use household counts to plan for community development projects, considering factors such as housing availability and density.

Average Household Size

Average Household Size What is measured: The median or average size of households (people who share the same living quarters) in a region.

How you use it: Average Household Size data helps you understand the overall population structure and informs policy decisions related to housing, resource allocation, and service provisioning. This data is used to analyze economic trends, specifically consumption patterns, based on the number of people sharing living spaces in a region.

Households by Income

Households by Income What is measured: Regional households grouped by specific household income intervals.

How you use it: Households by Income data is used to analyze income inequality within a country's population. Income quintiles can help you understand the distribution of wealth across different socioeconomic groups. This data can help you effectively target policies or marketing strategies based on income levels, identifying areas where specific demographics might need additional support or where certain products or services could have higher market potential based on income brackets.

Marital Status

What is measured: Regional population based on marital status categories.

How you use it: Marital Status categories are used to understand the social structure of the population, inform policy decisions related to family dynamics, plan the needs of programs with spousal benefits, analyze trends in regional marriage rates, and improve marketing campaigns based on life stages and household composition. This data is used in government policy planning, economic analysis, social and market research, and health-care planning.

Standardized Educational Attainment

Educational Attainment What is measured: Levels of education achieved by individuals in the regional population based on international, standardized metrics.

How you use it: Standardized Educational Attainment categories can improve understanding about the effectiveness of regional education programs. This data can be used to compare educational attainment or metrics across countries, regions, or globally. Standardized Educational Attainment is typically used to assess a country's economic potential, social development, and workforce capabilities. It can also be used to provide the parameters for public policies, workforce training, and social programs and to inform multiregional education program decision-making.

Educational Attainment

Educational Attainment What is measured: Levels of education achieved by individuals in the regional population based on local educational levels or metrics.

How you use it: Educational Attainment categories help improve understanding of the overall regional education experience. This data is typically used to inform a country's education planning, economic potential, and social development. Governments and businesses—such as companies looking to relocate or expand into a region—may use this data to evaluate whether a region has an existing skilled workforce in industries such as technology, health care, or manufacturing. This data can help identify potential regional policy gaps requiring further educational programs or workforce training. Policymakers use local educational attainment data to identify regions with imbalances in economic outcomes, or to locate areas that may require targeted support, adult education programs, or improved social services.

Purchasing Power

What is measured: The ability of individuals or households to buy goods and services in a region. Purchasing Power data consists of four metrics:

Total—The sum of all regional household disposable income.
Per Mill—The region's proportional share of the nation's disposable income.
Per Capita—The per-person average of all regional disposable income.
Index—The comparison of regional disposable income to the national average, which has an index value of 100. For example, if a region's purchasing power index is 89, it has 11 percent less disposable income than the national average; if the region's index is 117, it has 17 percent more purchasing power than average.

How you use it: Purchasing Power data can help improve understanding of the potential consumer market in a country or region, specifically to determine pricing strategies and market potential options. This data can be used to develop targeted product, business, and sales strategies when entering a new market or expanding within an existing one.

Consumer Spending

What is measured: The amount of money spent by consumers on goods and services in a region. Consumer Spending data consists of four metrics:

Total—The sum of all regional annual spending on a product or service category—for example, the total amount spent in this region annually on Alcoholic Beverages.
Per Mill—The region's proportional share of the nation's overall annual spending on a category.
Per Capita—The estimated amount spent annually in this region per person on a category.
Index—A comparison of the region's spending on a category to national spending, which has an index value of 100. If a region's spending index is 89, the region spends 11 percent less than the national average on this category; if the regional index is 117, it spends 17 percent more than the national average.

How you use it: Consumer Spending data can be used to understand economic health, consumer behaviors, regional buying trends, and the preferences of different population segments across a country. This data can be used to inform marketing, product development, investment, and public policy strategies based on factors such as age, income level, and geographic location data. Consumer Spending data can support market analysis initiatives, economic forecasting, investment planning, and policy development.

Advanced demographics sample questions and use cases

Colombia's advanced demographics provide additional insight about this region for most data categories. You will find a range of detailed information about Colombian regional population, detailed age categories, education, income percentages and discretionary savings, marital status, and spending habits. See the Advanced demographics related links section below for release notes and variable lists in English and Spanish.

Some sample questions that could be answered using Colombia's advanced demographics include the following:

What is the ratio of dependent children to adult population of working age in Barranquilla?
What is the percentage of credit card debt in Medellín?
How many households in Pereira are in the lowest income percentiles?
Where can I find the highest concentration of Colombian population with a graduate degree?

The following sections include example use cases that may help you understand Colombian advanced demographics.

Median Age

What is measured: The exact age that divides the country's population into two equal groups: exactly half of the Colombian population is older than the median age, and the other half is younger.

How you use it: Colombian median age variables can be used by public health planners performing health-care resource allocation. Because Colombia is undergoing a steady demographic transition—with its median age rising from around 22 years old in 1990 to approximately 31 years old today—the population profile varies drastically by region. The Colombian health-care system, Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud, relies heavily on demographic data to distribute funding and specialized services.

In low median age departments (such as Chocó and La Guajira), the government and NGOs prioritize maternal care, pediatric services, immunizations, and reproductive health education.
In high median age departments (such as Quindío, Caldas, and Bogotá—also known as the Coffee Axis or eje cafetero), resources are shifted toward managing age-related chronic conditions. This includes cardiovascular health, diabetes, oncology, and eldercare facilities.

Median age information can also be used in commercial real estate and retail expansion projects. Private companies use localized median age data to determine where to launch specific products or open new branches. Areas with lower median ages (often university districts or expanding suburban zones) may be ideal for tech retail, fast-casual dining, and affordable co-living spaces, while areas with higher median ages may be better suited for retirement planning services and accessible housing projects.

Senior Dependency Ratio

Senior dependency ratio What is measured: The demographic balance between the country's aging population and its working-age population. Precisely, it calculates the number of dependents aged 65 and older for every 100 individuals of working age (typically defined as ages 15 to 64).

How you use it: Economists use the senior dependency ratio to calculate the exact point where incoming labor contributions will no longer cover outgoing pension obligations. This data directly triggered Colombia's recent legislative debates surrounding pension reforms, determining the necessity of shifting subsidies, altering contribution windows, or adjusting the minimum retirement ages (currently 57 for women and 62 for men). Local secretariats of health use regional senior dependency ratios to project demand for chronic disease management (such as hypertension, diabetes, and cognitive decline) versus pediatric care. A municipality with a high senior dependency ratio (like those in coffee-growing regions or parts of Antioquia) may pivot its budget away from neonatal infrastructure to allocate more capital toward specialized geriatric care, home-health programs, and long-term care facilities. Actuaries and market analysts use this ratio to price annuities, create targeted health insurance policies for older demographics, and evaluate macro-demand for specialized senior housing.