# Colombia and Venezuela compared Colombia and Venezuela side by side: 41 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 4 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/col-vs-ven Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Colombia: 20 July 1810 — The war of independence begins at Bogotá - Venezuela: 1811 — Venezuela declares independence from Spain ## Economy | Metric | Colombia | Observed | Venezuela | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $419 B | 2024 | $120 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $7,919 | 2024 | $4,218 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 1.6% | 2024 | 5.3% | 2024 | | Inflation | 6.6% | 2024 | 254.9% | 2016 | | Trade openness | 37.0% | 2024 | 26.1% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Colombia | Observed | Venezuela | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 53 m | 2024 | 28 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 77.9 yrs | 2024 | 72.7 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 78.5% | 2024 | 89.3% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.6 | 2024 | 2.1 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Colombia | Observed | Venezuela | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 57.5 | 2024 | 25.0 | 2024 | | Political stability | 49.3 | 2024 | 36.2 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 49.2 | 2024 | 22.8 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 55.1 | 2024 | 24.8 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 47.3 | 2024 | 19.0 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 41.9 | 2024 | 15.7 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Colombia | Observed | Venezuela | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 8.1% | 2024 | 3.8% | 2023 | | Physicians | 2.54 | 2023 | 1.66 | 2017 | | Under-5 mortality | 11.5 | 2024 | 24.2 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 93.0% | 2024 | 71.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 74.3% | 2024 | — | — | ## Education | Metric | Colombia | Observed | Venezuela | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 95.3% | 2024 | 97.2% | 2017 | | Education spending | 5.3% | 2020 | 6.9% | 2009 | | Primary enrolment | 104.8% | 2022 | 113.7% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 101.6% | 2022 | 97.8% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 59.3% | 2022 | 78.3% | 2009 | ## Technology | Metric | Colombia | Observed | Venezuela | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.3% | 2020 | 0.3% | 2014 | | Researchers (per million) | 90 | 2017 | 180 | 2023 | | Internet users | 79.3% | 2024 | 76.7% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 174 | 2024 | 71 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 9.0% | 2024 | — | — | ## Geography | Metric | Colombia | Observed | Venezuela | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 1,109,500 km² | 2023 | 882,050 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 52.8% | 2023 | 52.2% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 36.5% | 2023 | 24.4% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 1.8 | 2024 | 3.4 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 29.7% | 2021 | 33.7% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Colombia | Observed | Venezuela | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 5.3% | 2021 | 11.8% | 2014 | | Oil rents | 3.4% | 2021 | 11.3% | 2014 | | Mineral rents | 0.9% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2014 | | Forest rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 0.1% | 2014 | | Electricity access | 98.7% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | ## Military | Metric | Colombia | Observed | Venezuela | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 3.4% | 2024 | 0.5% | 2023 | | Defense spending | $15 B | 2024 | $0 | 2024 | | Armed forces | 428,000 | 2020 | 343,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/COL.md and https://terralore.co/country/VEN.md. ## Entangled histories (4 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1717, restored 1739: **Viceroyalty of New Granada** — Spain governs the territory through the Viceroyalty of New Granada, capital Bogota, encompassing modern Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, and Venezuela. (from the Colombia chronicle; sources: Viceroyalty of New Granada) - 1821 CE: **Congress of Cucuta** — The republic of Gran Colombia is formally organised, uniting New Granada, Venezuela, and Ecuador under Bolivar's presidency. (from the Colombia chronicle; sources: Gran Colombia) - 1830 CE: **Breakup of Gran Colombia** — Venezuela and Ecuador secede and Bolivar dies near Santa Marta; the union dissolves, leaving New Granada as a separate state. (from the Colombia chronicle; sources: Gran Colombia; Simon Bolivar) - 1830 CE: **Separation from Gran Colombia** — As Gran Colombia dissolves and Bolivar dies, Jose Antonio Paez leads Venezuela to declare itself a separate republic and becomes its first president. (from the Venezuela chronicle; sources: Jose Antonio Paez; Venezuela) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/COL/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/VEN/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Colombia and Venezuela compared", terralore.co/compare/col-vs-ven, retrieved .