Poverty and living standards in Santander, Colombia: official figures
6.9% of the people of Santander were in multidimensional poverty in 2025, according to DANE (8th lowest of 33 departments and Bogota; Colombia 9.9%). That is up 0.1 percentage points from 2024 and down 5.7 percentage points from 2018, when it was 12.6%.
Is poverty higher in rural Santander?
In 2025 multidimensional poverty in Santander was 5.0% in municipal head towns and 13.9% in villages and rural areas (Colombia 6.3% and 22.4%). People in poverty were deprived in 38.5% of the weighted indicators on average.
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyAre women poorer than men in Santander?
In 2025, 6.8% of women and girls and 7.1% of men and boys in 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 Santander lack clean water?
7.0% of people in Santander lived in households without access to an improved water source in 2025 (tied for 12th lowest of 33; Colombia 8.3%), and 5.5% in households without adequate sewage or toilet disposal (Colombia 9.2%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow many homes in Santander are overcrowded?
3.5% of people in Santander lived in critically overcrowded homes in 2025 (tied for 6th lowest of 33; Colombia 5.4%), and 2.9% 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 Santander?
68.7% of people in Santander lived in households where at least one worker was informal in 2025 (8th lowest of 33; Colombia 70.0%), and 11.2% in households affected by long-term unemployment (Colombia 13.1%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow common is child labour in Santander?
In 2025, 1.4% of people in Santander lived in households with child labour (Colombia 1.2%), and 4.5% 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 Santander?
24.0% of the people of Santander were in monetary poverty in 2025, about 568,000 people (9th lowest of 24 areas DANE reports; Colombia 28.0%). The rate was 27.4% in 2024 and 40.3% in 2021.
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow many people live in extreme poverty in Santander?
5.7% of the people of Santander were in extreme monetary poverty in 2025, about 135,000 people, meaning their household income per person was below the cost of a basic food basket (6th lowest of 24; Colombia 9.6%). It was 7.7% in 2024.
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyWhat is the poverty line in Santander?
Average household income per person in Santander was 1,265,179 pesos a month in 2025 (Colombia 1,281,590), against a monetary poverty line of 531,713 pesos per person a month. The Gini coefficient of income inequality was 0.473 (tied for 7th lowest of 24; Colombia 0.531).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyAre women more likely to be poor in Santander?
In 2025, 25.1% of women and 22.8% of men in Santander were in monetary poverty (Colombia 29.1% and 26.8%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow Santander compares with other departments
People in multidimensional poverty (2025)
Santander ranks 26 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in multidimensional poverty |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | Casanare | 8.9% |
| 24 | Atlantico | 8.2% |
| 25 | Caldas | 7.9% |
| 26 | Santander | 6.9% |
| 27 | Quindio | 6.7% |
| 28 | Boyaca | 6.4% |
| 29 | Valle del Cauca | 4.9% |
People in monetary poverty (2025)
Santander ranks 16 of 24, highest first. DANE reports 23 departments and Bogota
| Rank | Region | People in monetary poverty |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Boyaca | 31.6% |
| 14 | Tolima | 28.0% |
| 15 | Atlantico | 27.3% |
| 16 | Santander | 24.0% |
| 17 | Meta | 22.1% |
| 18 | Valle del Cauca | 21.8% |
| 19 | Quindio | 20.9% |
People in extreme monetary poverty (2025)
Santander ranks 19 of 24, highest first. DANE reports 23 departments and Bogota
| Rank | Region | People in extreme monetary poverty |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Atlantico | 7.4% |
| 17 | Tolima | 7.3% |
| 18 | Cundinamarca | 6.0% |
| 19 | Santander | 5.7% |
| 20 | Antioquia | 5.4% |
| 21 | Quindio | 5.1% |
| 22 | Caldas | 4.7% |
People in households without an improved water source (2025)
Santander ranks 21 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in households without an improved water source |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Tolima | 9.0% |
| 19 | Huila | 8.5% |
| 20 | Sucre | 8.1% |
| 21 | Santander | 7.0% |
| 22 | Caldas | 7.0% |
| 23 | Antioquia | 6.8% |
| 24 | Cesar | 6.4% |
People in households with informal work (2025)
Santander ranks 26 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | People in households with informal work |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | Meta | 76.2% |
| 24 | Atlantico | 73.7% |
| 25 | Quindio | 69.2% |
| 26 | Santander | 68.7% |
| 27 | Valle del Cauca | 66.3% |
| 28 | Risaralda | 65.3% |
| 29 | Caldas | 64.0% |
More on 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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