Judging by the data, Colombia would be experiencing a paradox: it has serious problems in the provision of the justice service, but it ranks as the country with the most lawyers in the world. In 2020, according to figures from the Corporacion Excelencia en la Justicia, there were about 330,568 active lawyers throughout the country, and by 2021 the figure increased to 352,037.
In the year 2022 the number continued to rise until reaching 375,580. In that same year a retrospective look was made going back to 1996. It was established that in that period the number of lawyers had grown by 472%, which provoked a deep reflection on the supply of that career in universities.
Recent high school graduates had a marked interest in studying law, and their demand also led to the emergence of programs that teach law. As anywhere else, in the country lawyers are needed to ensure and defend the rights of citizens, as well as to provide legal guarantees for a more just and orderly society.
The following year, always following the data of the Corporacion Excelencia en la Justicia, cited by the newspaper La Republica, there were already 397,766 active lawyers; and in 2024 the figure of 400,000 lawyers was surpassed for the first time, reaching 410,491.
Colombia, the country that has the most lawyers
In the year 2025 active lawyers reached the number of 425,016. When comparing that latest figure with that of 2015 it is revealed that the number of active lawyers in the country has increased by 73.9% in the last 10 years.
The number of lawyers that Colombia has today is also measured at a rate of 801 per 100,000 inhabitants. With that proportion, according to World Population Review, also cited by the economic daily, the country leads that ranking in the world.
In the list follow Israel, with 694; Dominican Republic, with 564; Brazil, with 473; Italy, with 403; and the United States, with 401. Further down also appear Greece, Portugal, New Zealand, Cyprus, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Bulgaria and Russia.
Erick Rincon Cardenas, vice dean of the Faculty of Jurisprudence of the Universidad del Rosario, told the same outlet that the problem in Colombia is not that there are too many lawyers, but that, on the contrary, “there is an unequal distribution of legal talent and, in some segments, training that does not respond to the demands of the contemporary world.”
How much does a lawyer earn in Colombia?
“There is indeed a saturation in certain traditional practices: low value civil litigation, routine family procedures, generic legal consulting,” admitted Rincon, and explained that this can occur because many law programs continue training for the profile of the 20th century when the market is demanding something different.
In any case, law is a field in which prestigious law firms have also flourished in Colombia. In 2025 its ranking was led by the firms Brigard & Urrutia Abogados and its subsidiary Brigard & Castro, followed by Philippi Ferrero DU & Uria in second place, Baker & McKenzie in third, Belisario Velasquez y Asociados in fourth, and Posse Herrera & Ruiz in fifth.
In this type of recognized firms, as well as in high-level positions or in highly demanded specialties, lawyers’ salaries are considerably above the average of what these professionals earn, which ranges, according to a report from the Faculty of Legal Sciences of the Universidad Javeriana, based on recent data from job portals and different labor surveys, between 2,500,000 pesos (US$700) and 4,000,000 pesos (US$1,122).
In addition, for that academic unit, the salary landscape in Colombia may be influenced by the national economic context, changes in labor regulations and even by the demand for legal services in specific areas. For example, in recent years, the boom of sectors such as finance or technology has increased the need for lawyers expert in digital law and financial law, which has opened new opportunities and salary scales.
The report offers an approximation of salaries by ranges. For a junior lawyer (who has been practicing for a short time), the starting salary is usually between two million pesos (US$561) and 2,800,000 pesos (US$785) per month. But this range may change depending on whether the job is in the public or private sector, and also on the size or prestige of the organization.
A lawyer with experience (between four and seven years of professional practice) can expect monthly salaries ranging between three million pesos (US$842) and five million pesos (US$1,400). And a senior lawyer (more than eight years of experience) with a track record in law firms, multinational companies or high-level public entities can exceed eight million pesos per month (US$2,245), especially if they have recognized specialization studies or a master’s degree in Law.