As of 2024, an estimate of **** million people lived in Bogotá — the capital of Colombia and most populated city in the country. With **** million, Medellín ranked second that year in the list of largest Colombian cities. Cali, located at the southwest of the country, followed closely behind with nearly *** million inhabitants.

Bogotá topped the list of best cities for startups in Colombia in 2025, registering a total score of *****. That year, this city also ranked third in the list of leading cities for startups in Latin America and the Caribbean. Medellín, the second-largest city in the country, followed second in the Colombian ranking with a score of *** points.

The size of the Colombia Oil & Gas Midstream Industry market was valued at USD XX Million in 2023 and is projected to reach USD XXX Million by 2032, with an expected CAGR of 1.52">> 1.52% during the forecast period. Recent developments include: October 2022: The construction of a 289-km OD natural gas pipeline from Canacol Energy Ltd's 300-MMscfd Jobo gas processing plant to Medellin, Colombia, was contracted out to Shanghai Engineering and Technology Corp. (SETCO). The pipeline's initial capacity is expected to be 100 MMscfd., May 2022: The Jobo-Medelln natural gas pipeline is to start construction, according to Colombian gas company Canacol. By December 2024, the 300-km (186-mile) pipeline is anticipated to be operational, carrying 100 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas from natural gas resources along the Caribbean coast to Colombia's second-largest city.. Key drivers for this market are: , Government Policies for the Adoption of Energy-efficient Lighting Systems; Adoption of IoT with Lighting Systems. Potential restraints include: 4., The global shift toward renewable sources for electricity generation. Notable trends are: Pipeline Sector is Likely to Remain Stagnant.

In 2023, international visitors accounted for more than half of hotel guests in Medellín, Colombia. This destination is the second-largest city in the South American country.

Abstract

The STEP (Skills Toward Employment and Productivity) Measurement program is the first ever initiative to generate internationally comparable data on skills available in developing countries. The program implements standardized surveys to gather information on the supply and distribution of skills and the demand for skills in labor market of low-income countries.

The uniquely-designed Household Survey includes modules that measure the cognitive skills (reading, writing and numeracy), socio-emotional skills (personality, behavior and preferences) and job-specific skills (subset of transversal skills with direct job relevance) of a representative sample of adults aged 15 to 64 living in urban areas, whether they work or not. The cognitive skills module also incorporates a direct assessment of reading literacy based on the Survey of Adults Skills instruments. Modules also gather information about family, health and language.

Geographic coverage

13 major metropolitan areas: Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Baranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cucuta, Cartagena, Pasto, Ibague, Pereira, Manizales, Monteira, and Villavicencio.

Analysis unit

The units of analysis are the individual respondents and households. A household roster is undertaken at the start of the survey and the individual respondent is randomly selected among all household members aged 15 to 64 included. The random selection process was designed by the STEP team and compliance with the procedure is carefully monitored during fieldwork.

Universe

The target population for the Colombia STEP survey is all non-institutionalized persons 15 to 64 years old (inclusive) living in private dwellings in urban areas of the country at the time of data collection. This includes all residents except foreign diplomats and non-nationals working for international organizations.

The following groups are excluded from the sample: - residents of institutions (prisons, hospitals, etc.) - residents of senior homes and hospices - residents of other group dwellings such as college dormitories, halfway homes, workers' quarters, etc. - persons living outside the country at the time of data collection.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

Stratified 7-stage sample design was used in Colombia. The stratification variable is city-size category.

First Stage Sample The primary sample unit (PSU) is a metropolitan area. A sample of 9 metropolitan areas was selected from the 13 metropolitan areas on the sample frame. The metropolitan areas were grouped according to city-size; the five largest metropolitan areas are included in Stratum 1 and the remaining 8 metropolitan areas are included in Stratum 2. The five metropolitan areas in Stratum 1 were selected with certainty; in Stratum 2, four metropolitan areas were selected with probability proportional to size (PPS), where the measure of size was the number of persons aged 15 to 64 in a metropolitan area.

Second Stage Sample The second stage sample unit is a Section. At the second stage of sample selection, a PPS sample of 267 Sections was selected from the sampled metropolitan areas; the measure of size was the number of persons aged 15 to 64 in a Section. The sample of 267 Sections consisted of 243 initial Sections and 24 reserve Sections to be used in the event of complete non-response at the Section level.

Third Stage Sample The third stage sample unit is a Block. Within each selected Section, a PPS sample of 4 blocks was selected; the measure of size was the number of persons aged 15 to 64 in a Block. Two sample Blocks were initially activated while the remaining two sample Blocks were reserved for use in cases where there was a refusal to cooperate at the Block level or cases where the block did not belong to the target population (e.g., parks, and commercial and industrial areas).

Fourth Stage Sample The fourth stage sample unit is a Block Segment. Regarding the Block segmentation strategy, the Colombia document 'FINAL SAMPLING PLAN (ARD-397)' states "According to the 2005 population and housing census conducted by DANE, the average number of dwellings per block in the 13 large cities or metropolitan areas was approximately 42 dwellings. Based on this finding, the defined protocol was to report those cases in which 80 or more dwellings were present in a given block in order to partition block using a random selection algorithm." At the fourth stage of sample selection, 1 Block Segment was selected in each selected Block using a simple random sample (SRS) method.

Fifth Stage Sample The fifth stage sample unit is a dwelling. At the fifth stage of sample selection, 5582 dwellings were selected from the sampled Blocks/Block Segments using a simple random sample (SRS) method. According to the Colombia document 'FINAL SAMPLING PLAN (ARD-397)', the selection of dwellings within a participant Block "was performed differentially amongst the different socioeconomic strata that the Colombian government uses for the generation of cross-subsidies for public utilities (in this case, the socioeconomic stratum used for the electricity bill was used). Given that it is known from previous survey implementations that refusal rates are highest amongst households of higher socioeconomic status, the number of dwellings to be selected increased with the socioeconomic stratum (1 being the poorest and 6 being the richest) that was most prevalent in a given block".

Sixth Stage Sample The sixth stage sample unit is a household. At the sixth stage of sample selection, one household was selected in each selected dwelling using an SRS method.

Seventh Stage Sample The seventh stage sample unit was an individual aged 15-64 (inclusive). The sampling objective was to select one individual with equal probability from each selected household.

Sampling methodologies are described for each country in two documents and are provided as external resources: (i) the National Survey Design Planning Report (NSDPR) (ii) the weighting documentation (available for all countries)

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The STEP survey instruments include:

• The background questionnaire developed by the World Bank (WB) STEP team
• Reading Literacy Assessment developed by Educational Testing Services (ETS).

All countries adapted and translated both instruments following the STEP technical standards: two independent translators adapted and translated the STEP background questionnaire and Reading Literacy Assessment, while reconciliation was carried out by a third translator.

The survey instruments were piloted as part of the survey pre-test.

The background questionnaire covers such topics as respondents' demographic characteristics, dwelling characteristics, education and training, health, employment, job skill requirements, personality, behavior and preferences, language and family background.

The background questionnaire, the structure of the Reading Literacy Assessment and Reading Literacy Data Codebook are provided in the document "Colombia STEP Skills Measurement Survey Instruments", available in external resources.

Cleaning operations

STEP data management process:

1) Raw data is sent by the survey firm 2) The World Bank (WB) STEP team runs data checks on the background questionnaire data. Educational Testing Services (ETS) runs data checks on the Reading Literacy Assessment data. Comments and questions are sent back to the survey firm. 3) The survey firm reviews comments and questions. When a data entry error is identified, the survey firm corrects the data. 4) The WB STEP team and ETS check if the data files are clean. This might require additional iterations with the survey firm. 5) Once the data has been checked and cleaned, the WB STEP team computes the weights. Weights are computed by the STEP team to ensure consistency across sampling methodologies. 6) ETS scales the Reading Literacy Assessment data. 7) The WB STEP team merges the background questionnaire data with the Reading Literacy Assessment data and computes derived variables.

Detailed information on data processing in STEP surveys is provided in "STEP Guidelines for Data Processing", available in external resources. The template do-file used by the STEP team to check raw background questionnaire data is provided as an external resource, too.`

Response rate

An overall response rate of 48% was achieved in the Colombia STEP Survey.

In March 2024, Colombian households spent around *** trillion Colombian pesos on fashion. By cities, it was Bogotá, the capital, that generated the highest fashion expenditure, at over *** billion Colombian pesos. Medellín, the second-biggest city in Colombia, followed with *** billion pesos. Meanwhile, the household spending on fashion in Neiva, capital of the Department of Huila, accounted only for approximately ** billion Colombian pesos that month.

Cali reported the highest change in the vacancy rate for industrial and logistics real estate among the major cities in Colombia. It increased from *** percent in the second quarter of 2023 to *** percent in the second quarter of 2024, making Cali the city with the highest vacancy rate that year. Meanwhile, Medellín had the lowest vacancy rate for industrial and logistics real estate in the second quarter of 2024.

In the second quarter of 2024, Medellín experienced the highest average sales price for office real estate among the major cities of Colombia. The average sales price of an office in Medellín was **** million Colombian pesos per square meter. Interestingly, Barranquilla saw the highest rise in office prices as compared to the second quarter of 2023, showing an increase of over ** percent, surpassing Cali which exhibited the lowest prices.

Bogotá was the Colombian city with the highest number of Burger King establishments as of July 2021, with ** in total. Medellín ranked second, with ** restaurants, while Rionegro, a nearby town and the main point of entry to the city by air, also had two Burger King restaurants as of that month.

Bogotá harbors the largest number of startups than any other Colombian city. Nearly *** startup companies were located in the Colombian capital and its larger metropolitan area. Medellín came in second, with *** startups headquartered there. Most startups in Chile are located in Santiago.

The city of Bogotá, Colombia, ranked second as the Latin American metropolis most prone to traffic jams in 2024. According to the index, the Colombian capital experienced an average traffic increase of 44 percent during rush hours. Peru's capital, Lima, recorded the fifth-worst congestion level that year, meaning that driving in the city took around 39 percent longer at peak time than under low traffic conditions. Out of the top 10 Latin American cities evaluated in 2024, five are located in Colombia.

Bogotá had the highest average monthly rent for retail real estate among the major cities in Colombia in 2024. In the second quarter of the year, the average monthly rent was approximately ******* Colombian pesos per square meter, that was ***** Colombian pesos in average less than in 2023. Medellín followed closely, with an average monthly rent of over ******* Colombian pesos per square meter. Out of the four markets under observation, Medellín and Cali were the only ones where rents increased between the second quarter of 2023 and the second quarter of 2024.

Most of the new constructed area completed in Colombia in 2024 corresponded to apartment projects. Apartments made up for half of the total constructed area, with over ********** square meters of ********** square meters of buildings completed that year. That same year, houses were the second biggest segment in Colombia.

During the second quarter of 2024, Medellín exhibited the highest average monthly rent for industrial and logistics real estate among the major cities in Colombia. The average monthly rent in Medellín was ****** Colombian pesos per square meter. In Cali, the average rent for industrial and logistics properties was ****** Colombian pesos per square meter, closely followed by Bogotá and Barranquilla with average rent for industrial and logistics properties of ****** and ****** Colombian pesos per square meter, respectively.

Antioquia was the department in Colombia with the largest number of accommodation establishments in 2022, with nearly **** thousand in total. Bolívar, located in the Caribbean region and home to one of the most tourist cities in the South American country, was the Colombian department with the second largest number of lodgings in that year.

During the second quarter of 2024, Bogotá had the highest average monthly rent for offices among the major cities in Colombia. The average monthly rent in Bogotá was approximately ****** Colombian pesos per square meter. In Cali, the average rent of offices reached ****** Colombian pesos per square meter, a rise of over three percent from the second quarter of 2023. On the other hand, Barranquilla offered the most affordable offices, at slightly above ****** Colombian pesos per square meter.

In 2020, multiple call center expansion and construction projects were announced across Latin America. Of these, the expansion of the customer service center Sitel in various Colombian cities is set to be the largest in terms of employment generated, with an estimated ****** new positions available. Also in Colombia, second place is held by the expansion of the French multinational Teleperformance, which is expected to provide 10,000 new jobs.