793,000 Colombians ceased to be multidimensionally poor in 2025; what remains pending?
In 2025, for the first time since Colombia began measuring the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), the percentage of people living in that condition fell below 10%. The National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) revealed this Tuesday, April 14, based on the National Quality of Life Survey (ECV), that the country registered an incidence of 9.9%, representing a drop of 1.6 percentage points compared to 11.5% in 2024 and the lowest point in the entire available historical series. In terms of people, this decrease translates into 793,000 Colombians who stopped being multidimensionally poor in one year.
TL;DR
- Colombia's multidimensional poverty rate dropped to 9.9% in 2025, marking a historic low and lifting 793,000 people out of poverty.
- Education is the largest contributor to multidimensional poverty (35.9%), followed by work conditions (29.6%) and housing (14.1%).
- A significant disparity remains between urban areas (6.3% poverty) and rural areas (22.4% poverty), with rural inhabitants being 3.6 times more likely to be multidimensionally poor.
- Improvements were observed in school lagging, low educational attainment, illiteracy, and health insurance coverage.
- Persistent challenges include informal work (affecting 70% of households) and an increase in barriers to accessing health services in rural areas.