Colombia - Demographics

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Colombia See also: List of Colombian Departments by population

With an estimated 46 million people in 2008, Colombia is the third-most populous country in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico. It is also home to the third-largest number of Spanish speakers in the world after Mexico and Spain. It is slightly ahead of Argentina by almost 6 million people. At the outset of the 20th century, Colombia's population was approximately 4 million. The population increased at a rate of 1.9% between 1975 and 2005, predicted to drop to 1.2% over the next decade. Colombia is projected to have a population of 50.7 million by 2015. These trends are reflected in the country's age profile. In 2005 over 30% of the population was under 15 years old, compared to just 5.1% aged 65 and over.

The population is concentrated in the Andean highlands and along the Caribbean coast. The nine eastern lowland departments, comprising about 54% of Colombia's area, have less than 3% of the population and a density of less than one person per square kilometer (two persons per square mile). Traditionally a rural society, movement to urban areas was very heavy in the mid-twentieth century, and Colombia is now one of the most urbanized countries in Latin America. The urban population increased from 31% of the total in 1938 to 60% in 1975, and by 2005 the figure stood at 72.7%. The population of Bogotá alone has increased from just over 300,000 in 1938 to approximately 8 million today. In total thirty cities now have populations of 100,000 or more. As of 2010 Colombia has the world's largest populations of internally displaced persons (IDPs), estimated up to 4.5 million people.

Colombia is ranked the third in the world in the Happy Planet Index.

Largest cities or towns of Colombia
	Rank	City name	Department	Pop.	Rank	City name	Department	Pop.
Bogotá Medellín	1	Bogotá	Bogotá	7.571.345	11	Santa Marta	Magdalena	485,112	Cali Barranquilla
	2	Medellín	Antioquia	3,729,970	12	Soacha	Cundinamarca	483,007
	3	Cali	Valle del Cauca	3,225,580	13	Pasto	Nariño	422,618
	4	Barranquilla	Atlántico	2,185,359	14	Villavicencio	Meta	410,222
	5	Cartagena de Indias	Bolívar	1,492,545	15	Manizales	Caldas	402,972
	6	Cúcuta	Norte de Santander	1,358,676	16	Montería	Córdoba	400,790
	7	Bucaramanga	Santander	1,276,329	17	Bello	Antioquia	391,591
	8	Pereira	Risaralda	616,512	18	Valledupar	Cesar	380,302
	9	Ibagué	Tolima	600,000	19	Buenaventura	Valle del Cauca	369,753
	10	Soledad	Atlántico	561,851	20	Neiva	Huila	333,116