Colombia Environment - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

deforestation resulting from timber exploitation in the jungles of the Amazon and the region of Chocó; illicit drug crops grown by peasants in the national parks; soil erosion; soil and water quality damage from overuse of pesticides; air pollution, especially in Bogota, from vehicle emissions

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 15.24 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 97.81 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 81.52 megatons (2020 est.)

Climate

tropical along coast and eastern plains; cooler in highlands

Land use

agricultural land: 37.5% (2018 est.)

arable land: 1.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.6% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 34.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 54.4% (2018 est.)

other: 8.1% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 82.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 1.01% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Revenue from forest resources

forest revenues: 0.1% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

coal revenues: 0.75% of GDP (2018 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and yellow fever

note: widespread ongoing transmission of a respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is occurring throughout Colombia; as of 9 December 2022, Columbia has reported a total of 6,323,357 cases of COVID-19 or 12,427.27 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with a total of 141,943 cumulative deaths or a rate 278.96 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 25 November 2022, 82.68% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 12,150,120 tons (2011 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 2,089,821 tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 17.2% (2013 est.)

Major rivers (by length in km)

Rio Negro river source (shared with Venezuela and Brazil [m]) - 2,250 km; Orinoco (shared with Venezuela [s]) - 2,101 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 sq km), Orinoco (953,675 sq km)

Major aquifers

Amazon Basin

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 3.49 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 3.73 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 6.391 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

2.36 trillion cubic meters (2017 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Colombia on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Colombia 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Colombia 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.