Colombia’s coastline is 15% longer than South Africa’s

Colombia: 3,208 km (2026 edition) · South Africa: 2,798 km (2026 edition)

Colombia’s highest peak towers 2,280 m above South Africa’s

Colombia: 5,730 m (2026 edition) · South Africa: 3,450 m (2026 edition)

Farmland covers 79% of South Africa, versus 37% of Colombia

Colombia: 36.5% (2024) · South Africa: 79.4% (2024)

South Africa has 21% more people than Colombia

Colombia: 53.4 million (2025) · South Africa: 64.7 million (2025)

South Africa is 11% more densely populated than Colombia

Colombia: 48 per km² (2025) · South Africa: 53 per km² (2025)

The typical person in Colombia is 3.4 years older than in South Africa

Colombia: 31.6 years (2023) · South Africa: 28.2 years (2023)

Women in South Africa have 0.6 more children on average than in Colombia

Colombia: 1.63 children per woman (2024) · South Africa: 2.21 children per woman (2024)

10% of people in Colombia are 65 or older, versus 6.9% in South Africa

Colombia: 10.2% (2025) · South Africa: 6.9% (2025)

South Africa hosts 31 times as many refugees per resident as Colombia

Colombia: 0.027 per 1,000 (2025) · South Africa: 0.9 per 1,000 (2025)

South Africa has produced 1.5 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Colombia 0.4

Colombia: 0.4 (2026) · South Africa: 1.5 (2026)

South Africa has 11 official languages, Colombia 1

Colombia: 1 (2026) · South Africa: 11 (2026)

Colombia’s economy is 7% larger than South Africa’s

Colombia: $457 billion (2025) · South Africa: $427 billion (2025)

Colombia produces 42% more per person than South Africa

Colombia: Int$22,640 (2025) · South Africa: Int$15,906 (2025)

Income is more unequally shared in Colombia than in South Africa (Gini 0.3 points higher)

Colombia: 54.4 (2024) · South Africa: 54.1 (2022)

17% of people in South Africa live on less than $3 a day, versus 8.5% in Colombia

Colombia: 8.5% (2024) · South Africa: 17.4% (2022)

Unemployment is 32% in South Africa, versus 8.3% in Colombia

Colombia: 8.3% (2025) · South Africa: 32.4% (2025)

Colombia spends 3.2% of its GDP on the military, South Africa 0.7%

Colombia: 3.2% (2025) · South Africa: 0.7% (2025)

South Africa’s central government collects 26% of GDP in tax, Colombia’s 15%

Colombia: 15.2% (2024) · South Africa: 25.9% (2024)

South Africa’s price level (US = 100) is 1.1× Colombia’s

Colombia: 38% (2025) · South Africa: 41% (2025)

Colombia spends 20% more on health per person than South Africa

Colombia: $644 (2024) · South Africa: $537 (2023)

A baby in South Africa is 2.3 times as likely to die before turning one as in Colombia

Colombia: 10.5 per 1,000 (2024) · South Africa: 24.2 per 1,000 (2024)

Colombia has 3.2 times as many doctors per person as South Africa

Colombia: 2.5 per 1,000 (2023) · South Africa: 0.8 per 1,000 (2022)

Colombia: 1.7 per 1,000 (2020) · South Africa: no data

The suicide rate in South Africa is 2.4 times that in Colombia

Colombia: 6.8 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 16.2 per 100k (2023)

31% of adults in South Africa are obese, versus 25% in Colombia

Colombia: 25.3% (2024) · South Africa: 31.3% (2024)

24% of adults in South Africa smoke, versus 8.0% in Colombia

Colombia: 8% (2024) · South Africa: 23.7% (2024)

People in Colombia rate their lives 1.03 points higher than in South Africa

Colombia: 6.04 (2025) · South Africa: 5.01 (2025)

Adults in South Africa drink 77% more alcohol than in Colombia

Colombia: 4.9 litres (2023) · South Africa: 8.6 litres (2023)

Colombia has 7% more meat per person than South Africa

Colombia: 62.6 kg (2023) · South Africa: 58.3 kg (2023)

Colombia has 432 kcal more food per person per day than South Africa

Colombia: 3,126 kcal (2023) · South Africa: 2,694 kcal (2023)

Workers in Colombia put in 289 more hours a year than in South Africa

Colombia: 2,471 hours (2023) · South Africa: 2,181 hours (2023)

Adults in South Africa went to school 2.6 years longer than in Colombia

Colombia: 9 years (2023) · South Africa: 11.6 years (2023)

South Africa welcomed 60% more tourists per resident than Colombia (2019)

Colombia: 0.09 (2022) · South Africa: 0.14 (2024)

South Africa has 3 more World Heritage sites than Colombia (12 against 9)

Colombia: 9 (2026) · South Africa: 12 (2026)

South Africa has won 95 Olympic medals, Colombia 38

Colombia: 38 (2026 edition) · South Africa: 95 (2026 edition)

79% of people in Colombia are online, versus 78% in South Africa

Colombia: 79% (2024) · South Africa: 78% (2024)

Home internet in Colombia is 3.1 times as fast as in South Africa

Colombia: 246 Mbps (2026) · South Africa: 78 Mbps (2026)

99% of people in Colombia have electricity, versus 90% in South Africa

Colombia: 98.9% (2024) · South Africa: 90.2% (2024)

79% of people in Colombia live in cities, versus 64% in South Africa

Colombia: 79% (2025) · South Africa: 64% (2025)

South Africa has 179 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Colombia 174

Colombia: 174 (2024) · South Africa: 179 (2024)

South Africa’s railway network is 9.8 times as long as Colombia’s

Colombia: 2,141 km (2019) · South Africa: 20,953 km (2021)

Airlines from Colombia fly 3.3 times as many passengers per resident as those from South Africa

Colombia: 0.79 (2023) · South Africa: 0.24 (2023)

Forest covers 54% of Colombia, but only 19% of South Africa

Colombia: 53.7% (2024) · South Africa: 18.8% (2024)

The average person in South Africa emits 3.9 times as much CO₂ as someone in Colombia

Colombia: 1.8 t (2024) · South Africa: 6.9 t (2024)

77% of Colombia’s electricity is renewable, versus 14% in South Africa

Colombia: 77% (2025) · South Africa: 13.6% (2025)

The air in South Africa carries 62% more fine dust than in Colombia

Colombia: 15.1 µg/m³ (2024) · South Africa: 24.4 µg/m³ (2024)

You are 75% more likely to be murdered in South Africa than in Colombia

Colombia: 24.9 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 43.7 per 100k (2022)

Roads in South Africa are 24% deadlier than in Colombia

Colombia: 26.7 per 100k (2023) · South Africa: 33.1 per 100k (2023)

Colombia is on average 6.0 °C warmer than South Africa

Colombia: 24.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 18.4°C (2016–2025 avg)

Colombia gets 6.2 times as much rain as South Africa

Colombia: 3,155 mm (2016–2025 avg) · South Africa: 511 mm (2016–2025 avg)