As of 2024, an estimate of 7.93 million people lived in Bogotá — the capital of Colombia and most populated city in the country. With 2.62 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 2.3 million inhabitants.

Bogotá topped the list of best cities for startups in Colombia in 2024, registering a total score of 1.55 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 3.89 points.

In March 2024, Colombian households spent around 2.5 trillion Colombian pesos on fashion. By cities, it was Bogotá, the capital, that generated the highest fashion expenditure, at over 800 billion Colombian pesos. Medellín, the second-biggest city in Colombia, followed with 255 billion pesos. Meanwhile, the household spending on fashion in Neiva, capital of the Department of Huila, accounted only for approximately 18 billion Colombian pesos that month.

The statistic shows the number of free public Wi-Fi hotspots in Colombia's largest cities as of May 2018. As of the this date, the capital and largest city in Colombia, Bogota, presented 250 free public Wi-Fi locations across the city. Medellin was ranked second with a total of 237 hotspots to date.

The project examines the links between mobility, poverty reduction, social inclusion and urban integration. It seeks to learn systematically from a critical assessment of a set of interventions fostered by the local government of Medellín, Colombia's second largest city (population 3.5 million). Over the past decade the city's government has sought to upgrade and integrate into the city's fabric large areas marked for years by severe poverty and violence. A central component of such efforts is the introduction of two aerial cable-car lines (Metrocables) linked to the city's mass-transit (surface metro) system, thus substantially increasing accessibility for the local population while physically and symbolically integrating these previously no-go areas to the rest of the city. The speed and comparatively low cost of construction, and low levels of particulate emissions of aerial cable-cars, are part of their appeal in dense and hilly urban areas, to the extent that the system is being considered or implemented by local governments in Colombia and elsewhere. The research also seeks to examine the transferability of aerial cable-car technology to cities with similar topographic, institutional and socio-economic conditions in Latin America and elsewhere, including China.

The city of Bogotá, Colombia, ranked first as the Latin American metropolis most prone to traffic jams in 2021. According to the index, the Colombian capital experienced an average traffic increase of 55 percent during rush hours. Peru's capital, Lima, recorded the second worst congestion level that year, meaning that driving in the city took around 42 percent longer at peak time than under low traffic conditions. Out of the top 12 Latin American cities evaluated in 2021, seven are located in Brazil.

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.

Bogotá harbors the largest number of startups than any other Colombian city. Nearly 760 startup companies were located in the Colombian capital and its larger metropolitan area. Medellín came in second, with 272 startups headquartered there. Most startups in Chile are located in Santiago.

Cali reported the highest change in the vacancy rate for industrial and logistics real estate among the major cities in Colombia. It increased from 1.8 percent in the second quarter of 2023 to six 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 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.

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 11.1 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 16 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 15 in total. Medellín ranked second, with 13 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 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 109,700 Colombian pesos per square meter, that was 3,000 Colombian pesos in average less than in 2023. Medellín followed closely, with an average monthly rent of over 105,800 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.

In the second quarter of 2024, Medellín experienced the highest average sales price for retail real estate among the major cities of Colombia. The average sales price of a retail property in Medellín was 20.06 million Colombian pesos per square meter. Interestingly, it also saw the highest rise in retail facility prices as compared to the second quarter of 2023, showing an increase of 20 percent. Bogotá occupied the second position, with retail real estate costing an average of 15.4 million Colombian pesos per square meter, showing a decrease of 12 percent compared to 2023.

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 27,700 Colombian pesos per square meter. In Cali, the average rent for industrial and logistics properties was 21,500 Colombian pesos per square meter, closely followed by Bogotá and Barranquilla with average rent for industrial and logistics properties of 20,700 and 20,300 Colombian pesos per square meter, respectively.

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 71,000 Colombian pesos per square meter. In Cali, the average rent of offices reached 56,900 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 54,500 Colombian pesos per square meter.

El Dorado International Airport, located in Bogotá D.C., was the most trafficked Colombian airport in 2019, handling nearly 35 million passengers that year. José María Córdova in Rionegro, the major air hub for travelers arriving to or departing from Medellín, ranked second on the list that year, with over nine million passengers handled.

As recorded by the source, Moroccans ranked as the foreign nationality with more residents in Spain in 2023, closely followed by Romanians. After years of losing its foreign population, Spain’s immigration figures started to pick up in 2015, with the number of people that moved to the Mediterranean country surpassing the number of foreigners that decided to leave.

A matter of balance The net migration rate of Spain changed its course mainly due to the great inflow of foreigners that move to reside in the Mediterranean country. Spain’s immigration flow slowed down after the 2008 financial crisis, albeit the number of foreigners that opted to change their residence saw a significant growth in the last years. In 2022, Colombians ranked first as the foreign nationality that most relocated to Spain, distantly followed by Moroccans and Ukranians.

Spain does not have the highest number of immigrants in Europe In recent years, the European Union confronted a rising number of refugees arriving from the Middle East. Migration figures show that Germany accommodated approximately 15 million foreign-born citizens, ranking it as the country that most hosted immigrants in Europe in 2022. By comparison, Spain’s foreign population stood slightly over seven million, positioning the Western Mediterranean country third on the European list of foreign-born population. Unfortunately, thousands of persons have died ore gone missing trying to reach Spanish territory, as more and more irregular migrants opt to use dangerous maritime routes to arrive at Southern Europe from Africa's coasts.

The city of Bogotá, Colombia, ranked first as the Latin American metropolis most prone to traffic jams in 2020. According to the index, the Colombian capital experienced that year an average traffic increase of 53 percent during rush hours, in comparison to the city's level of traffic in uncongested times. Peru's capital, Lima, recorded the second worst congestion level that year, meaning that a road trip during peak hours took around 42 percent longer than under low traffic conditions. Out of the top 12 Latin American cities evaluated in 2020, seven are located in Brazil.