Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Portugal fits inside Colombia 12 times.
Colombia: 1,140,620 km² (2023) · Portugal: 92,230 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Colombia’s coastline is 79% longer than Portugal’s.
Colombia: 3,208 km (2026 edition) · Portugal: 1,793 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Colombia’s highest peak towers 3,379 m above Portugal’s.
Colombia: 5,730 m (2026 edition) · Portugal: 2,351 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Colombia has 4.9 times as many people as Portugal.
Colombia: 53.4 million (2025) · Portugal: 10.8 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Portugal is 2.4 times as densely populated as Colombia.
Colombia: 48 per km² (2025) · Portugal: 118 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Portugal are 2.5 cm taller than in Colombia.
Colombia: 171.9 cm (2019) · Portugal: 174.4 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Portugal are 3.3 cm taller than in Colombia.
Colombia: 158 cm (2019) · Portugal: 161.2 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Portugal is 15 years older than in Colombia.
Colombia: 31.6 years (2023) · Portugal: 46.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Colombia have 0.2 more children on average than in Portugal.
Colombia: 1.63 children per woman (2024) · Portugal: 1.41 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
25% of people in Portugal are 65 or older, versus 10% in Colombia.
Colombia: 10.2% (2025) · Portugal: 24.9% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Portugal has produced 1.9 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Colombia 0.4.
Colombia: 0.4 (2025) · Portugal: 1.9 (2025)
How many official languages?
Colombia and Portugal are practically level.
Colombia: 1 (2026) · Portugal: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Colombia’s economy is 32% larger than Portugal’s.
Colombia: $457 billion (2025) · Portugal: $347 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Portugal produces 2.3 times as much per person as Colombia.
Colombia: Int$22,640 (2025) · Portugal: Int$53,146 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Colombia than in Portugal (Gini 20.5 points higher).
Colombia: 54.4 (2024) · Portugal: 33.9 (2023)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 8.3% in Colombia, versus 6.2% in Portugal.
Colombia: 8.3% (2025) · Portugal: 6.2% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Colombia spends 3.4% of its GDP on the military, Portugal 1.5%.
Colombia: 3.4% (2024) · Portugal: 1.5% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Portugal’s price level (US = 100) is 1.6× Colombia’s.
Colombia: 38% (2025) · Portugal: 60% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Portugal spends 4.6 times as much on health per person as Colombia.
Colombia: $644 (2024) · Portugal: $2,971 (2024)
How long do people live?
People in Portugal live 4.5 years longer than in Colombia.
Colombia: 77.9 years (2024) · Portugal: 82.4 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Colombia is 3.9 times as likely to die before turning one as in Portugal.
Colombia: 10.5 per 1,000 (2024) · Portugal: 2.7 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Portugal has 2.3 times as many doctors per person as Colombia.
Colombia: 2.5 per 1,000 (2023) · Portugal: 5.9 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is obesity?
25% of adults in Colombia are obese, versus 23% in Portugal.
Colombia: 25.3% (2024) · Portugal: 23% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
29% of adults in Portugal smoke, versus 8.0% in Colombia.
Colombia: 8% (2024) · Portugal: 28.6% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
Colombia and Portugal are practically level.
Colombia: 6.04 (2025) · Portugal: 6.03 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Portugal drink 2.8 times as much alcohol as in Colombia.
Colombia: 4.9 litres (2023) · Portugal: 13.7 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Portugal has 59% more meat per person than Colombia.
Colombia: 62.6 kg (2023) · Portugal: 99.3 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Portugal has 427 kcal more food per person per day than Colombia.
Colombia: 3,126 kcal (2023) · Portugal: 3,553 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Colombia put in 736 more hours a year than in Portugal.
Colombia: 2,471 hours (2023) · Portugal: 1,735 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Portugal went to school 0.67 years longer than in Colombia.
Colombia: 9 years (2023) · Portugal: 9.7 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Portugal welcomed 31 times as many tourists per resident as Colombia (2019).
Colombia: 0.09 (2022) · Portugal: 2.71 (2024)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
88% of people in Portugal are online, versus 79% in Colombia.
Colombia: 79% (2024) · Portugal: 88% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Portugal have electricity, versus 99% in Colombia.
Colombia: 98.9% (2024) · Portugal: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
79% of people in Colombia live in cities, versus 61% in Portugal.
Colombia: 79% (2025) · Portugal: 61% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Colombia has 174 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Portugal 124.
Colombia: 174 (2024) · Portugal: 124 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Portugal’s railway network is 18% longer than Colombia’s.
Colombia: 2,141 km (2019) · Portugal: 2,527 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Portugal fly 2.1 times as many passengers per resident as those from Colombia.
Colombia: 0.79 (2023) · Portugal: 1.69 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 53% of Colombia, but only 36% of Portugal.
Colombia: 52.8% (2023) · Portugal: 36.2% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Portugal emits 95% more CO₂ than someone in Colombia.
Colombia: 1.8 t (2024) · Portugal: 3.4 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
81% of Portugal’s electricity is renewable, versus 77% in Colombia.
Colombia: 77% (2025) · Portugal: 81% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Colombia carries 44% more fine dust than in Portugal.
Colombia: 15.1 µg/m³ (2024) · Portugal: 10.5 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 35 times as likely to be murdered in Colombia as in Portugal.
Colombia: 24.9 per 100k (2023) · Portugal: 0.7 per 100k (2022)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Colombia are 2.3 times as deadly as in Portugal.
Colombia: 16.2 per 100k (2021) · Portugal: 7.2 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Colombia is on average 8.5 °C warmer than Portugal.
Colombia: 24.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · Portugal: 15.9°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Colombia gets 4.1 times as much rain as Portugal.
Colombia: 3,155 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Portugal: 777 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Colombia bigger than Portugal?
Colombia is larger. Portugal fits inside Colombia 12 times.
Which has more people, Colombia or Portugal?
Colombia has 4.9 times as many people as Portugal (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Colombia or Portugal?
People in Portugal live 4.5 years longer than in Colombia. Life expectancy at birth is 77.9 years in Colombia and 82.4 in Portugal.
Are people taller in Colombia or Portugal?
Men in Portugal are 2.5 cm taller than in Colombia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
