One of the lowest in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
News Colombia.
Colombia has a life expectancy of 77.5 yearsranking among the lowest among the more than 40 countries analyzed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), according to the report ‘Health Outlook 2025’released this Thursday, November 13. The figure contrasts with the organization’s general average, which continues to be above 80 years in several member nations.
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The report notes a particularly critical fact: the country registers 304 preventable deaths per 100,000 inhabitantsmore than double the average of 145 reported in OECD countries. This indicator reflects persistent challenges in prevention, primary care, early diagnosis and disease control that could be avoided with timely interventions.
#Attentive | The most recent OECD Health Panorama 2025 report highlighted that Colombia reached 99% coverage of its population with a basic set of medical services. However, the country continues to be below the agency’s average in aspects of quality,… pic.twitter.com/o0MfI5pooz
— Diario La República (@larepublica_co) November 13, 2025
Although Colombia has achieved a almost universal health coveragewhich reaches 99% of the populationits health performance remains behind international standards. The OECD highlights failures in preventable and treatable mortality, availability of medical personnel, insufficient health spending and low citizen satisfaction with the services received.
The document emphasizes the gap in human talent: Colombia has 2.5 doctors and 1.6 nurses per 1,000 inhabitants, figures well below the OECD average, which is 3.9 doctors and 9.2 nurses. This difference affects the system’s ability to respond to growing demand, especially in rural areas and remote regions.
Despite the limitations, the report recognizes important progress. Among them, it stands out that Colombia registers one of the lowest suicide rates in the study, with six cases per 100,000 inhabitantswell below the international average. Furthermore, only the 1.3% of Colombians claim to have poor or very poor health, a figure significantly lower than the 8% of the OECD average.
For the organization, Colombia’s great challenge is to transform these isolated advances into structural improvements. This implies investing in prevention, strengthening the network of health professionals, reducing territorial inequalities and raising the quality of care. Only in this way, concludes the OECD, will the country be able to close the gap that today places it below global standards in well-being and longevity.
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