Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Switzerland fits inside Colombia 28 times.
Colombia: 1,140,620 km² (2023) · Switzerland: 41,291 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Colombia: 3,208 km (2026 edition) · Switzerland: 0 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Colombia’s highest peak towers 1,096 m above Switzerland’s.
Colombia: 5,730 m (2026 edition) · Switzerland: 4,634 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Colombia has 5.9 times as many people as Switzerland.
Colombia: 53.4 million (2025) · Switzerland: 9.09 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Switzerland is 4.8 times as densely populated as Colombia.
Colombia: 48 per km² (2025) · Switzerland: 230 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Switzerland are 6.9 cm taller than in Colombia.
Colombia: 171.9 cm (2019) · Switzerland: 178.7 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Switzerland are 6.4 cm taller than in Colombia.
Colombia: 158 cm (2019) · Switzerland: 164.3 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Switzerland is 11 years older than in Colombia.
Colombia: 31.6 years (2023) · Switzerland: 42.3 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Colombia have 0.3 more children on average than in Switzerland.
Colombia: 1.63 children per woman (2024) · Switzerland: 1.29 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
20% of people in Switzerland are 65 or older, versus 10% in Colombia.
Colombia: 10.2% (2025) · Switzerland: 20.4% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Switzerland has produced 20.9 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Colombia 0.4.
Colombia: 0.4 (2025) · Switzerland: 20.9 (2025)
How many official languages?
Switzerland has 4 official languages, Colombia 1.
Colombia: 1 (2026) · Switzerland: 4 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Switzerland’s economy is 2.3 times the size of Colombia’s.
Colombia: $457 billion (2025) · Switzerland: $1.04 trillion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Switzerland produces 4.5 times as much per person as Colombia.
Colombia: Int$22,640 (2025) · Switzerland: Int$102,513 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Colombia than in Switzerland (Gini 20.6 points higher).
Colombia: 54.4 (2024) · Switzerland: 33.8 (2022)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 8.3% in Colombia, versus 4.9% in Switzerland.
Colombia: 8.3% (2025) · Switzerland: 4.9% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Colombia spends 3.4% of its GDP on the military, Switzerland 0.7%.
Colombia: 3.4% (2024) · Switzerland: 0.7% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Switzerland’s price level (US = 100) is 3× Colombia’s.
Colombia: 38% (2025) · Switzerland: 112% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Switzerland spends 18 times as much on health per person as Colombia.
Colombia: $644 (2024) · Switzerland: $11,784 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Switzerland live 6.5 years longer than in Colombia.
Colombia: 77.9 years (2024) · Switzerland: 84.4 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Colombia is 3.1 times as likely to die before turning one as in Switzerland.
Colombia: 10.5 per 1,000 (2024) · Switzerland: 3.4 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Switzerland has 77% more doctors per person than Colombia.
Colombia: 2.5 per 1,000 (2023) · Switzerland: 4.5 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is obesity?
25% of adults in Colombia are obese, versus 13% in Switzerland.
Colombia: 25.3% (2024) · Switzerland: 12.9% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
23% of adults in Switzerland smoke, versus 8.0% in Colombia.
Colombia: 8% (2024) · Switzerland: 23.1% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Switzerland rate their lives 0.98 points higher than in Colombia.
Colombia: 6.04 (2025) · Switzerland: 7.02 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Switzerland drink 80% more alcohol than in Colombia.
Colombia: 4.9 litres (2023) · Switzerland: 8.8 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Switzerland has 2% more meat per person than Colombia.
Colombia: 62.6 kg (2023) · Switzerland: 64 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Switzerland has 276 kcal more food per person per day than Colombia.
Colombia: 3,126 kcal (2023) · Switzerland: 3,402 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Colombia put in 942 more hours a year than in Switzerland.
Colombia: 2,471 hours (2023) · Switzerland: 1,529 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Switzerland went to school 4.9 years longer than in Colombia.
Colombia: 9 years (2023) · Switzerland: 13.9 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Switzerland welcomed 12 times as many tourists per resident as Colombia (2019).
Colombia: 0.09 (2022) · Switzerland: 1.04 (2022)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
97% of people in Switzerland are online, versus 79% in Colombia.
Colombia: 79% (2024) · Switzerland: 97% (2025)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Switzerland have electricity, versus 99% in Colombia.
Colombia: 98.9% (2024) · Switzerland: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
86% of people in Switzerland live in cities, versus 79% in Colombia.
Colombia: 79% (2025) · Switzerland: 86% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Colombia has 174 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Switzerland 129.
Colombia: 174 (2024) · Switzerland: 129 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Switzerland’s railway network is 93% longer than Colombia’s.
Colombia: 2,141 km (2019) · Switzerland: 4,122 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Switzerland fly 3.8 times as many passengers per resident as those from Colombia.
Colombia: 0.79 (2023) · Switzerland: 3.05 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 53% of Colombia, but only 32% of Switzerland.
Colombia: 52.8% (2023) · Switzerland: 32.4% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Switzerland emits 2.1 times as much CO₂ as someone in Colombia.
Colombia: 1.8 t (2024) · Switzerland: 3.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
77% of Colombia’s electricity is renewable, versus 68% in Switzerland.
Colombia: 77% (2025) · Switzerland: 67.8% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Colombia carries 68% more fine dust than in Switzerland.
Colombia: 15.1 µg/m³ (2024) · Switzerland: 9 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 42 times as likely to be murdered in Colombia as in Switzerland.
Colombia: 24.9 per 100k (2023) · Switzerland: 0.6 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Colombia are 6.8 times as deadly as in Switzerland.
Colombia: 16.2 per 100k (2021) · Switzerland: 2.4 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Colombia is on average 17.9 °C warmer than Switzerland.
Colombia: 24.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · Switzerland: 6.5°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Colombia gets 2 times as much rain as Switzerland.
Colombia: 3,155 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Switzerland: 1,616 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Colombia bigger than Switzerland?
Colombia is larger. Switzerland fits inside Colombia 28 times.
Which has more people, Colombia or Switzerland?
Colombia has 5.9 times as many people as Switzerland (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Colombia or Switzerland?
People in Switzerland live 6.5 years longer than in Colombia. Life expectancy at birth is 77.9 years in Colombia and 84.4 in Switzerland.
Are people taller in Colombia or Switzerland?
Men in Switzerland are 6.9 cm taller than in Colombia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
