Colombia

COL · 2024 energy mix · renewables 24.2% · fossil fuels 73.9%

Threat reading 83 of 100, classified HIGH THREAT, FRAGILE. 8 events recorded here in the last seven days, 8 in the last thirty.

That number is computed from live feeds and moves. The live monitor is where to read it as of right now.

Where its energy comes from

Oil41.6%
Gas22.2%
Hydro21.9%
Coal10.1%
Solar1.3%
Other renewables1.0%
Wind0.1%

In 2024, renewables accounted for 24.2% and fossil fuels for 73.9%. On electricity traded with its neighbours, Colombia is close to balanced on electricity trade.

Sources under one per cent of the mix are left out of the table rather than listed as a row of zeroes. Percentages are shares of a country's primary energy, not of the power it generates.

Recorded history

NOAA's hazard records hold 85 significant earthquakes, 4 tsunamis and 11 significant eruptions in or just off Colombia since 1566.

The deadliest was the 13 November 1985 VEI 3 eruption (Ruiz, Nevado del, Colombia), which killed 23,080 people.

The strongest earthquake on record here was magnitude 8.2, on 18 June 1826 (Colombia: Engativa, Bogota, Ramiriqui, Umbita, Tunja).

The most recent entry is the 10 August 2026 magnitude 7.4 earthquake (Colombia: Choco), which killed 335 people.

Across the entries that record a death toll, 32,458 people died.

DateWhatWhereToll
13 November 1985VEI 3 eruptionRuiz, Nevado del, Colombia23,080 dead
25 January 1999magnitude 6.2 earthquakeColombia: Armenia, Calarca, Pereira, Caldas, Huila1,185 dead, $1,857 million damage
18 May 1875magnitude 7.5 earthquakeColombia: Cucuta, San Cayetano, Villa del Rosario1,001 dead, damage $5 to 25 million
19 February 1845VEI 3 eruptionRuiz, Nevado del, Colombia1,000 dead
19 February 1845magnitude 4.0 earthquakeColombia: Magdalena River1,000 dead
6 June 1994magnitude 6.8 earthquakeColombia: Cauca, Huila650 dead, 200 homes destroyed, $2 million damage
6 June 1994eruptionHuila, Nevado del, Colombia650 dead, 200 homes destroyed, $2 million damage
12 March 1595VEI 4 eruptionRuiz, Nevado del, Colombia636 dead
12 December 1979magnitude 8.1 earthquakeColombia: off Shore, Pacific Ocean600 dead, 10,000 homes destroyed, $8 million damage
12 December 1979tsunami (waves to 6 m)Colombia: off Shore, Pacific Ocean600 dead, 10,000 homes destroyed, $8 million damage
31 March 1983magnitude 4.9 earthquakeColombia: Sw, Popayan350 dead, $411 million damage
10 August 2026magnitude 7.4 earthquakeColombia: Choco335 dead, 36,478 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million
14 December 1923magnitude 6.2 earthquakeColombia: Ipiales300 dead, damage $1 to 5 million
9 July 1950magnitude 6.1 earthquakeColombia: Anboledas300 dead, $20 million damage
16 November 1827magnitude 7.0 earthquakeColombia: Bogota, Neiva, Popayan, Pasto, Huila250 dead, damage $5 to 25 million
9 January 1936magnitude 5.6 earthquakeColombia250 dead, damage $1 to 5 million
16 June 1805magnitude 6.1 earthquakeColombia: Honda, Mariquita200 dead, damage $5 to 25 million
19 January 1958magnitude 7.6 earthquakeColombia-ecuador115 dead, damage $1 to 5 million
9 February 1967magnitude 7.0 earthquakeColombia: Huila, Neiva, Rivera, San Antonio98 dead, $20 million damage
23 November 1979magnitude 6.4 earthquakeColombia: Manizales-armenia72 dead, $20 million damage
13 November 1899VEI 4 eruptionDona Juana, Colombia55 dead
30 July 1962magnitude 6.8 earthquakeColombia: Mistrato, Manizales47 dead, damage $5 to 25 million
8 February 1995magnitude 6.4 earthquakeColombia: Cali, Pereira, Armenia, Calarca45 dead, 2,000 homes destroyed, $50 million damage
26 February 1849magnitude 6.0 earthquakeVenezuela: Tachira (Lobatera)40 dead, damage $1 to 5 million
20 December 1961magnitude 6.8 earthquakeColombia: Eje Cafetero23 dead, damage $1 to 5 million

These are the 25 deadliest and largest of 100 entries. A dash means NOAA recorded no number, not that nobody died. Older entries are fewer because fewer were written down, not because less happened.

Recorded history: NOAA NCEI hazard databases, public domain, retrieved 2026-10-22.

In the last 30 days

The most recent events our feeds placed in Colombia:

What the threat reading is made of

Conflict83
Unrest0
Security0
Spillover from neighbours15
Natural hazard40
Resilience49

Each is 0 to 100. Resilience runs the other way to the rest: a high number is a country better able to absorb a shock, not a country in more trouble.

Other countries tracked

All countries with a page.

Where the data comes from

Energy mix, 2024: Our World in Data, energy dataset (https://github.com/owid/energy-data), compiled by Pablo Rosado, Hannah Ritchie, Edouard Mathieu and Max Roser from the Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Ember and The Shift Dataportal. Licence: Our World in Data's own compilation is CC BY 4.0. The underlying figures stay under their original terms: Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy, U.S. EIA, Ember and The Shift Dataportal. The percentages shown here and the wording are ours. Threat reading: computed by Rift Web from the feeds listed on the sources page.