The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The United Kingdom fits inside Colombia 4.7 times.
Colombia: 1,140,620 km² (2023) · United Kingdom: 243,610 km² (2023)
How much coast is there?
The United Kingdom’s coastline is 3.9 times as long as Colombia’s.
Colombia: 3,208 km (2026 edition) · United Kingdom: 12,429 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Colombia’s highest peak towers 4,385 m above the United Kingdom’s.
Colombia: 5,730 m (2026 edition) · United Kingdom: 1,345 m (2026 edition)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
The United Kingdom has 30% more people than Colombia.
Colombia: 53.4 million (2025) · United Kingdom: 69.5 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
The United Kingdom is 6 times as densely populated as Colombia.
Colombia: 48 per km² (2025) · United Kingdom: 287 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in the United Kingdom are 6.4 cm taller than in Colombia.
Colombia: 171.9 cm (2019) · United Kingdom: 178.2 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in the United Kingdom are 6.0 cm taller than in Colombia.
Colombia: 158 cm (2019) · United Kingdom: 163.9 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in the United Kingdom is 8.2 years older than in Colombia.
Colombia: 31.6 years (2023) · United Kingdom: 39.8 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Colombia have 0.1 more children on average than in the United Kingdom.
Colombia: 1.63 children per woman (2024) · United Kingdom: 1.55 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
20% of people in the United Kingdom are 65 or older, versus 10% in Colombia.
Colombia: 10.2% (2025) · United Kingdom: 19.7% (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
The United Kingdom has produced 15.8 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Colombia 0.4.
Colombia: 0.4 (2025) · United Kingdom: 15.8 (2025)
How many official languages?
Colombia and the United Kingdom are practically level.
Colombia: 1 (2026) · United Kingdom: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
The United Kingdom’s economy is 8.8 times the size of Colombia’s.
Colombia: $457 billion (2025) · United Kingdom: $4 trillion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
The United Kingdom produces 2.9 times as much per person as Colombia.
Colombia: Int$22,640 (2025) · United Kingdom: Int$64,607 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Colombia than in the United Kingdom (Gini 22 points higher).
Colombia: 54.4 (2024) · United Kingdom: 32.4 (2021)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 8.3% in Colombia, versus 4.7% in the United Kingdom.
Colombia: 8.3% (2025) · United Kingdom: 4.7% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Colombia spends 3.4% of its GDP on the military, the United Kingdom 2.3%.
Colombia: 3.4% (2024) · United Kingdom: 2.3% (2024)
How expensive is it?
The United Kingdom’s price level (US = 100) is 2.4× Colombia’s.
Colombia: 38% (2025) · United Kingdom: 89% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
The United Kingdom spends 9.1 times as much on health per person as Colombia.
Colombia: $644 (2024) · United Kingdom: $5,860 (2024)
How long do people live?
People in the United Kingdom live 3.5 years longer than in Colombia.
Colombia: 77.9 years (2024) · United Kingdom: 81.4 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Colombia is 2.6 times as likely to die before turning one as in the United Kingdom.
Colombia: 10.5 per 1,000 (2024) · United Kingdom: 4.1 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
The United Kingdom has 30% more doctors per person than Colombia.
Colombia: 2.5 per 1,000 (2023) · United Kingdom: 3.3 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is obesity?
29% of adults in the United Kingdom are obese, versus 25% in Colombia.
Colombia: 25.3% (2024) · United Kingdom: 29.2% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
13% of adults in the United Kingdom smoke, versus 8.0% in Colombia.
Colombia: 8% (2024) · United Kingdom: 12.8% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in the United Kingdom rate their lives 0.65 points higher than in Colombia.
Colombia: 6.04 (2025) · United Kingdom: 6.69 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in the United Kingdom drink 2.1 times as much alcohol as in Colombia.
Colombia: 4.9 litres (2023) · United Kingdom: 10.4 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
The United Kingdom has 35% more meat per person than Colombia.
Colombia: 62.6 kg (2023) · United Kingdom: 84.4 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
The United Kingdom has 308 kcal more food per person per day than Colombia.
Colombia: 3,126 kcal (2023) · United Kingdom: 3,435 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Colombia put in 948 more hours a year than in the United Kingdom.
Colombia: 2,471 hours (2023) · United Kingdom: 1,523 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in the United Kingdom went to school 4.5 years longer than in Colombia.
Colombia: 9 years (2023) · United Kingdom: 13.5 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
The United Kingdom welcomed 6.3 times as many tourists per resident as Colombia (2019).
Colombia: 0.09 (2022) · United Kingdom: 0.55 (2024)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
95% of people in the United Kingdom are online, versus 79% in Colombia.
Colombia: 79% (2024) · United Kingdom: 95% (2024)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in the United Kingdom have electricity, versus 99% in Colombia.
Colombia: 98.9% (2024) · United Kingdom: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
83% of people in the United Kingdom live in cities, versus 79% in Colombia.
Colombia: 79% (2025) · United Kingdom: 83% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Colombia has 174 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, the United Kingdom 122.
Colombia: 174 (2024) · United Kingdom: 122 (2024)
How much railway is there?
The United Kingdom’s railway network is 7.6 times as long as Colombia’s.
Colombia: 2,141 km (2019) · United Kingdom: 16,179 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the United Kingdom fly 2.2 times as many passengers per resident as those from Colombia.
Colombia: 0.79 (2023) · United Kingdom: 1.71 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 53% of Colombia, but only 13% of the United Kingdom.
Colombia: 52.8% (2023) · United Kingdom: 13.3% (2023)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the United Kingdom emits 2.6 times as much CO₂ as someone in Colombia.
Colombia: 1.8 t (2024) · United Kingdom: 4.5 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
77% of Colombia’s electricity is renewable, versus 52% in the United Kingdom.
Colombia: 77% (2025) · United Kingdom: 52% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Colombia carries 72% more fine dust than in the United Kingdom.
Colombia: 15.1 µg/m³ (2024) · United Kingdom: 8.8 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 22 times as likely to be murdered in Colombia as in the United Kingdom.
Colombia: 24.9 per 100k (2023) · United Kingdom: 1.1 per 100k (2021)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Colombia are 6.8 times as deadly as in the United Kingdom.
Colombia: 16.2 per 100k (2021) · United Kingdom: 2.4 per 100k (2021)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Colombia is on average 14.5 °C warmer than the United Kingdom.
Colombia: 24.4°C (2016–2025 avg) · United Kingdom: 9.9°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Colombia gets 2.9 times as much rain as the United Kingdom.
Colombia: 3,155 mm (2016–2025 avg) · United Kingdom: 1,070 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is Colombia bigger than the United Kingdom?
Colombia is larger. The United Kingdom fits inside Colombia 4.7 times.
Which has more people, Colombia or the United Kingdom?
The United Kingdom has 30% more people than Colombia (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Colombia or the United Kingdom?
People in the United Kingdom live 3.5 years longer than in Colombia. Life expectancy at birth is 77.9 years in Colombia and 81.4 in the United Kingdom.
Are people taller in Colombia or the United Kingdom?
Men in the United Kingdom are 6.4 cm taller than in Colombia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
