Life in Colombia: Every Number That Shapes It (1800–2100)

To understand a nation is to look past the headlines and into the statistics that define the rhythm of a lifetime. In Colombia, the shift is profound: life expectancy has climbed from 51.95 to 77.3 years, while the shadow of child mortality has receded from 161.47 down to 13.3 per 1,000 births. These figures represent more than mere policy; they measure the lengthening of childhood and the expansion of the human horizon, tracing a path where fewer lives are cut short and more years are spent building a future.

The arc of the last century reveals a transition from a rural, agrarian past to a modern society. In the 1950s, only 41.12 % of the population resided in cities, a figure that has reached 81.4 % today. Education has followed this upward trajectory, with years of schooling rising from 2.98 to 8.9 years. The domestic landscape has transformed alongside these social changes, as electricity at home moved from 40.75 to 100 %, fundamentally altering the daily environment and connectivity of the average household across the country.

For someone born in Colombia in the 2020s, the experience of daily life is shaped by an average income of 14,600 international dollars and a landscape where 70 % have internet access. Extreme poverty has fallen from 36.1 to 6 %, and the average male height has reached 171 cm. While the homicide rate remains relatively stable at 24.3 per 100,000, the demands on an individual have shifted, with annual working hours dropping from 2,314 to 1,970 hours/year. You can see your own parallel life in Colombia by exploring these data points.