Number of people living in extreme poverty in Colombia
Colombia: Number of people living in extreme poverty was 48.39 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Colombia, 1992–2024
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Colombia recorded 48.39 million people for number of people living in extreme poverty in 2024. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 16.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in extreme poverty in Colombia peaked at 48.39 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 27.42 million people, in 1996.
That places Colombia 25th out of 120 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Number of people living in extreme poverty in Colombia, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 28.35 million people | — |
| 1996 | 27.42 million people | -3.3% |
| 1999 | 27.62 million people | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 29.74 million people | +7.7% |
| 2001 | 27.97 million people | -5.9% |
| 2002 | 31.76 million people | +13.5% |
| 2003 | 32.85 million people | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 33.56 million people | +2.2% |
| 2005 | 35.05 million people | +4.4% |
| 2008 | 36.65 million people | +4.6% |
| 2009 | 37.58 million people | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 38.80 million people | +3.2% |
| 2011 | 40.15 million people | +3.5% |
| 2012 | 39.89 million people | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 40.70 million people | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 41.47 million people | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 42.18 million people | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 42.67 million people | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 43.55 million people | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 44.21 million people | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 44.27 million people | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 42.65 million people | -3.7% |
| 2021 | 45.44 million people | +6.5% |
| 2022 | 46.94 million people | +3.3% |
| 2023 | 47.80 million people | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 48.39 million people | +1.2% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 48.39 million people is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 16.37 million people, 3.0× the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 48.39 million people is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 11.75 million people, 4.1× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 27.80 million people | 27.42 million people | 28.35 million people | 3 |
| 2000s | 33.15 million people | 27.97 million people | 37.58 million people | 8 |
| 2010s | 41.79 million people | 38.80 million people | 44.27 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 46.25 million people | 42.65 million people | 48.39 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Colombia
More poverty & inequality data for Colombia
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 9 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.65 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 4,422 kg per hectare (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 2.81 % change on previous year (2024)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 25.22 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 25.2% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in extreme poverty in Colombia?
- Number of people living in extreme poverty in Colombia was 48.39 million people in 2024, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 48.39 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest number of people living in extreme poverty recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.42 million people in 1996.
- How does Colombia rank for number of people living in extreme poverty?
- Colombia ranks 25th out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of people living in extreme poverty rising or falling in Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Colombia data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people living in extreme poverty. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of people living in households with an income or consumption above $3 per day.