Poverty and living standards in Norte de Santander, Colombia: official figures
13.3% of the people of Norte de Santander were in multidimensional poverty in 2025, according to DANE (15th highest of 33 departments and Bogota; Colombia 9.9%). That is down 1.9 percentage points from 2024 and down 16.2 percentage points from 2018, when it was 29.5%.
Is poverty higher in rural Norte de Santander?
In 2025 multidimensional poverty in Norte de Santander was 9.1% in municipal head towns and 29.5% in villages and rural areas (Colombia 6.3% and 22.4%). People in poverty were deprived in 41.2% of the weighted indicators on average.
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyAre women poorer than men in Norte de Santander?
In 2025, 12.6% of women and girls and 14.1% of men and boys in Norte de Santander were in multidimensional poverty, according to DANE's survey of living conditions.
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow many people in Norte de Santander lack clean water?
13.1% of people in Norte de Santander lived in households without access to an improved water source in 2025 (16th highest of 33; Colombia 8.3%), and 5.6% in households without adequate sewage or toilet disposal (Colombia 9.2%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow many homes in Norte de Santander are overcrowded?
10.2% of people in Norte de Santander lived in critically overcrowded homes in 2025 (9th highest of 33; Colombia 5.4%), and 3.8% 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 Norte de Santander?
81.0% of people in Norte de Santander lived in households where at least one worker was informal in 2025 (16th lowest of 33; Colombia 70.0%), and 12.1% in households affected by long-term unemployment (Colombia 13.1%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow common is child labour in Norte de Santander?
In 2025, 2.1% of people in Norte de Santander lived in households with child labour (Colombia 1.2%), and 5.6% 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 Norte de Santander?
33.7% of the people of Norte de Santander were in monetary poverty in 2025, about 565,000 people (11th highest of 24 areas DANE reports; Colombia 28.0%). The rate was 35.3% in 2024 and 49.1% in 2021.
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow many people live in extreme poverty in Norte de Santander?
7.9% of the people of Norte de Santander were in extreme monetary poverty in 2025, about 133,000 people, meaning their household income per person was below the cost of a basic food basket (11th lowest of 24; Colombia 9.6%). It was 8.7% in 2024.
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyWhat is the poverty line in Norte de Santander?
Average household income per person in Norte de Santander was 881,718 pesos a month in 2025 (Colombia 1,281,590), against a monetary poverty line of 447,544 pesos per person a month. The Gini coefficient of income inequality was 0.467 (6th lowest of 24; Colombia 0.531).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyAre women more likely to be poor in Norte de Santander?
In 2025, 34.5% of women and 33.0% of men in Norte de Santander were in monetary poverty (Colombia 29.1% and 26.8%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow Norte de Santander compares with other departments
People in multidimensional poverty (2025)
Norte de Santander ranks 15 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in multidimensional poverty |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Caqueta | 15.0% |
| 13 | Cesar | 14.8% |
| 14 | Putumayo | 13.6% |
| 15 | Norte de Santander | 13.3% |
| 16 | Narino | 13.2% |
| 17 | Cauca | 13.0% |
| 18 | Arauca | 12.7% |
People in monetary poverty (2025)
Norte de Santander ranks 11 of 24, highest first. DANE reports 23 departments and Bogota
| Rank | Region | People in monetary poverty |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Cauca | 40.9% |
| 9 | Huila | 39.8% |
| 10 | Caqueta | 34.9% |
| 11 | Norte de Santander | 33.7% |
| 12 | Narino | 33.4% |
| 13 | Boyaca | 31.6% |
| 14 | Tolima | 28.0% |
People in extreme monetary poverty (2025)
Norte de Santander ranks 14 of 24, highest first. DANE reports 23 departments and Bogota
| Rank | Region | People in extreme monetary poverty |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Boyaca | 10.6% |
| 12 | Narino | 10.1% |
| 13 | Meta | 8.0% |
| 14 | Norte de Santander | 7.9% |
| 15 | Valle del Cauca | 7.7% |
| 16 | Atlantico | 7.4% |
| 17 | Tolima | 7.3% |
People in households without an improved water source (2025)
Norte de Santander ranks 16 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in households without an improved water source |
|---|---|---|
| 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% |
| 19 | Huila | 8.5% |
People in households with informal work (2025)
Norte de Santander ranks 18 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in households with informal work |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Cesar | 83.3% |
| 16 | Guaviare | 82.7% |
| 17 | Huila | 81.7% |
| 18 | Norte de Santander | 81.0% |
| 19 | Casanare | 80.5% |
| 20 | Amazonas | 78.2% |
| 21 | Tolima | 77.2% |
More on Norte de Santander: 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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