Colombia - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Colombia was 50,882,880 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 50,882,880 in 2020 and a minimum value of 16,057,710 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 16,057,710
1961 16,567,820
1962 17,092,920
1963 17,629,980
1964 18,175,190
1965 18,725,240
1966 19,279,730
1967 19,837,510
1968 20,393,700
1969 20,942,450
1970 21,480,060
1971 22,003,980
1972 22,516,430
1973 23,024,510
1974 23,538,390
1975 24,065,500
1976 24,608,100
1977 25,164,540
1978 25,733,670
1979 26,313,000
1980 26,900,510
1981 27,496,610
1982 28,101,820
1983 28,714,180
1984 29,331,230
1985 29,951,190
1986 30,572,480
1987 31,195,420
1988 31,822,530
1989 32,457,500
1990 33,102,570
1991 33,758,330
1992 34,422,570
1993 35,091,270
1994 35,758,980
1995 36,421,440
1996 37,076,390
1997 37,723,800
1998 38,364,310
1999 38,999,470
2000 39,629,960
2001 40,255,960
2002 40,875,360
2003 41,483,870
2004 42,075,950
2005 42,647,730
2006 43,200,900
2007 43,737,510
2008 44,254,970
2009 44,750,060
2010 45,222,700
2011 45,662,750
2012 46,075,720
2013 46,495,490
2014 46,967,700
2015 47,520,670
2016 48,175,050
2017 48,909,840
2018 49,661,060
2019 50,339,440
2020 50,882,880

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population