Cold statistics do not fully capture the consequences that Colombia’s sharp decline in birth rates in 2025 could bring. For now, the figures released by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) reveal a worrying trend: last year, births fell by 4.5%, reaching their lowest level in a decade. The same agency had already identified a similar situation in 2022.
According to DANE, the country is undergoing a demographic transition marked by fewer births and more deaths. In 2025, Colombia recorded 433,678 births — 20,223 fewer than in 2024, representing a 4.5% decline. Meanwhile, there were 283,378 nonfetal deaths, an increase of 2.8% compared to 2024, although still far below the peak reached in 2021 (7.1%) during the pandemic, when more than 350,000 people died.
Warning signs had already emerged in 2022
This sharp decline in births in Colombia remains below the levels recorded since 2022, when the drop ranged between 7% and 12%. The fertility rate — which measures the number of births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 49 — stood at 30.9 in 2025, the lowest level in the past decade. However, the difference compared to 2024 was 1.7 births, a more moderate decrease than in 2023 and 2024, when the drop was 4.8 births.
The slowdown in the decline compared to 2024 is observed across nearly all departments of the country, except for San Andrés, Providencia, and Santa Catalina, which reported a 9.2% drop in 2025 — far exceeding the 1.2% decrease recorded between 2023 and 2024.
By contrast, Choco, Nariño, Casanare, Arauca, and Bogota posted reductions of no more than 1.5%. Meanwhile, Guainia, Quindio, Tolima, and La Guajira saw increases in the number of births compared to 2024. To fully understand this panorama, it is necessary to examine the general fertility rate, which indicates the number of births per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 49.
In 2022, DANE had already reported a similar situation: that year, there were 570,355 births — a figure described as “historic,” as it marked the largest drop since 2012, with a reduction of 7.5%. Additionally, the crude birth rate in Colombia in 2022 — measuring total births relative to the total population — stood at 11 births per 1,000 inhabitants, the lowest level in the 2017–2022 period.
Consequences of declining birth rates
Amid this sea of figures, key questions remain unanswered — such as how declining birth rates in Colombia and the demographic changes they bring will affect family structures, the economy, and the country’s healthcare system. Lower birth rates contribute to an aging population, increasing the proportion of older individuals relative to the working-age population.
This trend may also place pressure on pension and healthcare systems — a debate already underway in Colombia as the national government pushes for reforms. With fewer workers contributing, it will become more difficult to sustain an aging population that depends on pensions, even though that same generation once supported retirees in its youth.
From a broader perspective, declining birth rates have also led to an increase in single-person households and families headed by women. Finally, there is the impact on the labor force: fewer births point to a future reduction in the supply of skilled workers, which could affect productivity and economic growth.