The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The United Arab Emirates fits inside Colombia 12 times.
Colombia: 1,140,620 km² (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 98,648 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
Colombia’s coastline is 2.4 times as long as the United Arab Emirates’.
Colombia: 3,208 km (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,318 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Colombia’s highest peak towers 3,825 m above the United Arab Emirates’.
Colombia: 5,730 m (2026 edition) · United Arab Emirates: 1,905 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Colombia has 4.6 times as many people as the United Arab Emirates.
Colombia: 53.4 million (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 11.5 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
The United Arab Emirates is 3.4 times as densely populated as Colombia.
Colombia: 48 per km² (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 162 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in the United Arab Emirates are 2.2 cm taller than in Colombia.
Colombia: 171.9 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 174.1 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in the United Arab Emirates are 2.6 cm taller than in Colombia.
Colombia: 158 cm (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 160.5 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Colombia is 0.37 years older than in the United Arab Emirates.
Colombia: 31.6 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 31.2 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Colombia have 0.4 more children on average than in the United Arab Emirates.
Colombia: 1.63 children per woman (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 1.21 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
10% of people in Colombia are 65 or older, versus 1.8% in the United Arab Emirates.
Colombia: 10.2% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 1.8% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Colombia has produced 0.4 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, the United Arab Emirates 0.0.
Colombia: 0.4 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 0 (2025)
How many official languages?
Colombia and the United Arab Emirates are practically level.
Colombia: 1 (2026) · United Arab Emirates: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
The United Arab Emirates’ economy is 21% larger than Colombia’s.
Colombia: $457 billion (2025) · United Arab Emirates: $552 billion (2024)
How much is produced per person?
The United Arab Emirates produces 3.5 times as much per person as Colombia.
Colombia: Int$22,640 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: Int$79,344 (2024)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Colombia than in the United Arab Emirates (Gini 28 points higher).
Colombia: 54.4 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 26.4 (2018)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 8.3% in Colombia, versus 2.2% in the United Arab Emirates.
Colombia: 8.3% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 2.2% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
The United Arab Emirates spends 5.6% of its GDP on the military, Colombia 3.4%.
Colombia: 3.4% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 5.6% (2014)
How expensive is it?
The United Arab Emirates’ price level (US = 100) is 1.7× Colombia’s.
Colombia: 38% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 63% (2024)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
The United Arab Emirates spends 3.7 times as much on health per person as Colombia.
Colombia: $644 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: $2,402 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in the United Arab Emirates live 5.2 years longer than in Colombia.
Colombia: 77.9 years (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 83.1 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Colombia is 2.8 times as likely to die before turning one as in the United Arab Emirates.
Colombia: 10.5 per 1,000 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 3.8 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
The United Arab Emirates has 18% more doctors per person than Colombia.
Colombia: 2.5 per 1,000 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 3 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
30% of adults in the United Arab Emirates are obese, versus 25% in Colombia.
Colombia: 25.3% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 30.3% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
9.0% of adults in the United Arab Emirates smoke, versus 8.0% in Colombia.
Colombia: 8% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 9% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in the United Arab Emirates rate their lives 0.78 points higher than in Colombia.
Colombia: 6.04 (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 6.82 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Colombia drink 7.6 times as much alcohol as in the United Arab Emirates.
Colombia: 4.9 litres (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 0.6 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
The United Arab Emirates has 8% more meat per person than Colombia.
Colombia: 62.6 kg (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 67.8 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Colombia and the United Arab Emirates are practically level.
Colombia: 3,126 kcal (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 3,125 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in the United Arab Emirates put in 44 more hours a year than in Colombia.
Colombia: 2,471 hours (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 2,514 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in the United Arab Emirates went to school 4 years longer than in Colombia.
Colombia: 9 years (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 13 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
The United Arab Emirates welcomed 26 times as many tourists per resident as Colombia (2019).
Colombia: 0.09 (2022) · United Arab Emirates: 2.28 (2019)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
100% of people in the United Arab Emirates are online, versus 79% in Colombia.
Colombia: 79% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in the United Arab Emirates have electricity, versus 99% in Colombia.
Colombia: 98.9% (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
86% of people in the United Arab Emirates live in cities, versus 79% in Colombia.
Colombia: 79% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 86% (2025)
How many phones per person?
The United Arab Emirates has 203 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Colombia 174.
Colombia: 174 (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 203 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Colombia’s railway network is 7.7 times as long as the United Arab Emirates’.
Colombia: 2,141 km (2019) · United Arab Emirates: 279 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the United Arab Emirates fly 10 times as many passengers per resident as those from Colombia.
Colombia: 0.79 (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 7.91 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 53% of Colombia, but only 4.5% of the United Arab Emirates.
Colombia: 52.8% (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 4.5% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the United Arab Emirates emits 11 times as much CO₂ as someone in Colombia.
Colombia: 1.8 t (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 20.1 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
77% of Colombia’s electricity is renewable, versus 8.8% in the United Arab Emirates.
Colombia: 77% (2025) · United Arab Emirates: 8.8% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in the United Arab Emirates carries 3.7 times as much fine dust as in Colombia.
Colombia: 15.1 µg/m³ (2024) · United Arab Emirates: 55.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 36 times as likely to be murdered in Colombia as in the United Arab Emirates.
Colombia: 24.9 per 100k (2023) · United Arab Emirates: 0.7 per 100k (2022)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Colombia are 2.7 times as deadly as in the United Arab Emirates.
Colombia: 16.2 per 100k (2021) · United Arab Emirates: 5.9 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
The United Arab Emirates is on average 4.4 °C warmer than Colombia.
Colombia: 24.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · United Arab Emirates: 28.8°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Colombia gets 67 times as much rain as the United Arab Emirates.
Colombia: 3,155 mm (2016–2025 avg) · United Arab Emirates: 47 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Colombia bigger than the United Arab Emirates?
Colombia is larger. The United Arab Emirates fits inside Colombia 12 times.
Which has more people, Colombia or the United Arab Emirates?
Colombia has 4.6 times as many people as the United Arab Emirates (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Colombia or the United Arab Emirates?
People in the United Arab Emirates live 5.2 years longer than in Colombia. Life expectancy at birth is 77.9 years in Colombia and 83.1 in the United Arab Emirates.
Are people taller in Colombia or the United Arab Emirates?
Men in the United Arab Emirates are 2.2 cm taller than in Colombia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
