Poverty and living standards in Bolivar, Colombia: official figures
17.0% of the people of Bolivar were in multidimensional poverty in 2025, according to DANE (11th highest of 33 departments and Bogota; Colombia 9.9%). That is up 1.4 percentage points from 2024 and down 14.9 percentage points from 2018, when it was 31.9%.
Is poverty higher in rural Bolivar?
In 2025 multidimensional poverty in Bolivar was 13.8% in municipal head towns and 25.7% in villages and rural areas (Colombia 6.3% and 22.4%). People in poverty were deprived in 40.1% of the weighted indicators on average.
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyAre women poorer than men in Bolivar?
In 2025, 16.2% of women and girls and 17.9% of men and boys in Bolivar were in multidimensional poverty, according to DANE's survey of living conditions.
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow many people in Bolivar lack clean water?
14.5% of people in Bolivar lived in households without access to an improved water source in 2025 (15th highest of 33; Colombia 8.3%), and 31.5% in households without adequate sewage or toilet disposal (Colombia 9.2%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow many homes in Bolivar are overcrowded?
7.6% of people in Bolivar lived in critically overcrowded homes in 2025 (14th highest of 33; Colombia 5.4%), and 9.1% in homes with inadequate floors such as earth (Colombia 4.6%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow common is informal work in Bolivar?
83.4% of people in Bolivar lived in households where at least one worker was informal in 2025 (14th highest of 33; Colombia 70.0%), and 10.7% in households affected by long-term unemployment (Colombia 13.1%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow common is child labour in Bolivar?
In 2025, 1.1% of people in Bolivar lived in households with child labour (Colombia 1.2%), and 5.2% in households where young children faced barriers to early-childhood care services (Colombia 5.3%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyWhat is the poverty rate in Bolivar?
44.8% of the people of Bolivar were in monetary poverty in 2025, about 1,032,000 people (5th highest of 24 areas DANE reports; Colombia 28.0%). The rate was 48.0% in 2024 and 54.0% in 2021.
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow many people live in extreme poverty in Bolivar?
15.7% of the people of Bolivar were in extreme monetary poverty in 2025, about 361,000 people, meaning their household income per person was below the cost of a basic food basket (8th highest of 24; Colombia 9.6%). It was 19.2% in 2024.
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyWhat is the poverty line in Bolivar?
Average household income per person in Bolivar was 792,435 pesos a month in 2025 (Colombia 1,281,590), against a monetary poverty line of 438,437 pesos per person a month. The Gini coefficient of income inequality was 0.512 (6th highest of 24; Colombia 0.531).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyAre women more likely to be poor in Bolivar?
In 2025, 46.1% of women and 43.6% of men in Bolivar were in monetary poverty (Colombia 29.1% and 26.8%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow Bolivar compares with other departments
People in multidimensional poverty (2025)
Bolivar ranks 11 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in multidimensional poverty |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Cordoba | 19.8% |
| 9 | Amazonas | 18.1% |
| 10 | Magdalena | 17.6% |
| 11 | Bolivar | 17.0% |
| 12 | Caqueta | 15.0% |
| 13 | Cesar | 14.8% |
| 14 | Putumayo | 13.6% |
People in monetary poverty (2025)
Bolivar ranks 5 of 24, highest first. DANE reports 23 departments and Bogota
| Rank | Region | People in monetary poverty |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | La Guajira | 60.2% |
| 3 | Sucre | 51.8% |
| 4 | Magdalena | 46.5% |
| 5 | Bolivar | 44.8% |
| 6 | Cesar | 44.4% |
| 7 | Cordoba | 44.0% |
| 8 | Cauca | 40.9% |
People in extreme monetary poverty (2025)
Bolivar ranks 8 of 24, highest first. DANE reports 23 departments and Bogota
| Rank | Region | People in extreme monetary poverty |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Cauca | 18.5% |
| 6 | Cordoba | 17.9% |
| 7 | Cesar | 16.5% |
| 8 | Bolivar | 15.7% |
| 9 | Huila | 14.5% |
| 10 | Caqueta | 12.3% |
| 11 | Boyaca | 10.6% |
People in households without an improved water source (2025)
Bolivar ranks 15 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in households without an improved water source |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Cordoba | 16.7% |
| 13 | Cauca | 16.4% |
| 14 | Meta | 16.2% |
| 15 | Bolivar | 14.5% |
| 16 | Norte de Santander | 13.1% |
| 17 | Magdalena | 10.4% |
| 18 | Tolima | 9.0% |
People in households with informal work (2025)
Bolivar ranks 14 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in households with informal work |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Guainia | 86.0% |
| 12 | Magdalena | 84.9% |
| 13 | Vaupes | 84.1% |
| 14 | Bolivar | 83.4% |
| 15 | Cesar | 83.3% |
| 16 | Guaviare | 82.7% |
| 17 | Huila | 81.7% |
More on Bolivar: overview · economy and jobs · health · education and schools · government budget · Colombia
Sources
- Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE): Pobreza multidimensional, anexo departamental 2025 (Encuesta Nacional de Calidad de Vida): incidence by department and area, household deprivations by indicator, intensity and incidence by sex, 2018-2025 (updated 14 April 2026), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 73caab08046d…)
- Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE): Pobreza monetaria y desigualdad, anexo departamental 2025 (GEIH): incidence of monetary and extreme monetary poverty, people in poverty, per-capita income, poverty lines and Gini, total national, 23 departments and Bogota D.C., 2021-2025 (published 12 August 2026), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 e27a18ee48d0…)
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