La Guajira: population, the economy and jobs

La Guajira is a department of Colombia, number 18 of 33 by population. DANE projects the population of La Guajira at 1,082,618 in 2026 (529,106 men and 553,512 women), 2.0% of Colombia's 53.40 million; 16th smallest of the 32 departments and Bogota. The projections are based on the 2018 census and were updated in July 2025.

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in La Guajira: La Guajira's gross domestic product was 17.8 trillion pesos at current prices in 2025 (DANE preliminary figures), 0.96% of Colombia's 1,852.7 trillion pesos; 13th smallest of the 32 departments and Bogota.
• Health in La Guajira: 289 deaths of children under one year old whose families lived in La Guajira were registered in 2025, equal to 16.5 for every 1,000 live births registered to mothers living there (17,489) (6th highest of 33; Colombia 10.3). This ratio of the two registers is not DANE's adjusted infant mortality rate.
• Education in La Guajira: The net enrolment rate from the transition year to upper secondary in La Guajira was 100.1% in 2024, according to the Ministry of Education (the highest of 33), against 92.9% in 2019 and 77.0% in 2011.
• Poverty and living standards in La Guajira: 40.1% of the people of La Guajira were in multidimensional poverty in 2025, according to DANE (4th highest of 33 departments and Bogota; Colombia 9.9%). That is up 0.8 percentage points from 2024 and down 13.2 percentage points from 2018, when it was 53.3%.
• Government budget and revenue in La Guajira: The department of La Guajira scored 51.3 out of 100 in the National Planning Department's 2023 fiscal performance index, the "risk" range (11th lowest of 32 departments; departmental average 56.6).

How departments are governed in Colombia

Departments (32). Governor and departmental assembly directly elected for four years. Co-ordinate municipalities, regional roads, health and education networks.

Every tier of government in Colombia

Other departments of Colombia

• Bogota 7,945,996
• Antioquia 6,963,990
• Valle del Cauca 4,714,987
• Cundinamarca 3,601,277
• Atlantico 2,885,904
• Santander 2,410,700
• Bolivar 2,251,190
• Cordoba 2,014,312
• Narino 1,721,735
• Norte de Santander 1,717,792
• Cauca 1,613,329
• Magdalena 1,558,748
• Cesar 1,493,824
• Tolima 1,390,982
• Boyaca 1,295,848
• Huila 1,221,847
• Meta 1,166,652
• Caldas 1,056,839
• Sucre 1,047,052
• Risaralda 1,006,785
• Choco 599,468
• Quindio 557,850
• Casanare 477,966
• Caqueta 431,867
• Putumayo 395,590
• Arauca 280,022
• Vichada 154,190
• Amazonas 85,896
• Guaviare 84,833
• San Andres and Providencia 63,527
• Guainia 61,065
• Vaupes 44,490

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Sources

• Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE): PIB por departamento, base 2015, serie 2005-2025 preliminar: Cuadro 1 (current prices), Cuadro 2 (chained volumes and growth), Cuadro 3 (GDP per person), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 4c77d0bcc287…)
• Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE): PIB por departamento: valor agregado por actividades economicas, serie 2005-2025 preliminar, Cuadro 1 (current prices), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 9b625ba709ae…)
• Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE): Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares (GEIH): mercado laboral por departamentos, serie anual 2007-2025 (23 departments; totals, men, women and employment by industry), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 9d091d595122…)
• Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE): Proyecciones de poblacion departamental por area, sexo y edad simple, 2018-2050 (based on the 2018 census, updated July 2025), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 ba42efa193e9…)
• Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE): Estadisticas Vitales, defunciones no fetales 2025, cifras definitivas (published 24 September 2026): cuadros 7 (maternal deaths by department of residence), 9 (deaths by department of residence), 10 (deaths by probable manner of death and department of occurrence), 14 (deaths under one year by department of residence) and 16 (ten leading causes of death by department of residence), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 61a1f3e189ed…)
• Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluacion de la Educacion (ICFES): Resultados unicos Saber 11: average scores and number of candidates by department of the school, rounds 2019-4 and 2022-4 (datos.gov.co API response, aggregated by the API from ICFES microdata), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f4b8bdc7c323…)
• Departamento Nacional de Planeacion (DNP): Indice de Desempeno Fiscal (IDF), nueva metodologia, vigencia 2023: results for departments and municipalities (including Bogota D.C.), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 8ed6c18c648b…)
• 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…)
• Ministerio de Educacion Nacional (MEN): MEN_ESTADISTICAS_EN_EDUCACION_EN_PREESCOLAR, BASICA Y MEDIA_POR_DEPARTAMENTO, 2011-2024: net and gross enrolment coverage, dropout, failure and repetition rates by department (datos.gov.co API response), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 bac11bda6cae…)
• Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE): Estadisticas Vitales, nacimientos 2025, cifras definitivas (published 24 September 2026): cuadros 6 (birth weight by department of residence of the mother), 7A (births by age of the mother and department of residence) and 10 (type of delivery by department of residence), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 7b5f2cf18c2d…)
• 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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