Why it is here
Why Bogotá is on the list.
A city is listed when there is evidence that people move there. This is the evidence.
- Bogotá has 7,942,867 people in DANE’s 2025 municipal projection, the largest of Colombia’s 1,123 municipalities. [N1]
- InterNations lists 21,774 members in Bogotá, and a Bogotá community group of 24,149 members from 162 nationalities. [E1]
- Migración Colombia lists a migration services centre (CFSM) in Bogotá under its Andina regional office; foreigner procedures such as the cédula de extranjería are completed in person at these centres. It also has the El Dorado airport control posts (arrivals and departures). [M1] [M2]
The Fernshore Index
How it grades, factor by factor.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
84 of 100StrongCountry figure
Price level 0.378 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Colombia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Climate
93 of 100StrongOwn figure
Bogotá’s own normals (El Dorado airport): all 12 months are comfortable; monthly average daily highs run 18.5 to 20.2 °C and no month has over 150 mm of rain. The coolest months sit just over the 18 °C line.
Source: Climate normals 1991–2020, El Dorado airport (Catam), Bogotá (station 21205791, 2,547 m). Checked 15 October 2026.
Safety
15 of 100WeakCountry figure
Global Peace Index 2026: 141st of 163.
Source: Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank. Checked 15 October 2026.
Healthcare
73 of 100StrongCountry figure
WHO UHC service coverage index 82 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
Schools
UnknownCountry figure
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Lifestyle
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Work and career
50 of 100MixedCountry figure
Mixed: a residence route for remote workers exists (the V Nómada Digital visa), but fixed broadband is 17.22 per 100 people (2024), under the 30 line.
Source: Visa types: V Nómada Digital; Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Colombia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Retirement
85 of 100StrongCountry figure
Strong: the M Pensionado visa needs a lifetime pension of at least three monthly legal minimum wages, has no age minimum or deposit on the Cancillería page, and five years as holder count towards a Resident visa.
Source: Visa M Pensionado; Resolución 5477 de 2022, articles 46, 77 and 90 (compilation updated 31 July 2026). Checked 15 October 2026.
Internet
38 of 100MixedCountry figure
17.22 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2024).
Source: Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Colombia. Checked 15 October 2026.
English
20 of 100WeakCountry figure
EF EPI score 480 (2025 edition), under the 499 anchor.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index: Colombia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for US passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for CA passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for AU passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for NZ passports is being checked
The country
More on Colombia.
Cities
Other cities in Colombia.
Questions about Bogotá.
How big is Bogotá, and do expats live there?
Bogotá had 7,942,867 residents in DANE's 2025 projection, the largest of Colombia's 1,123 municipalities (the city, not the wider metro area). InterNations, a private expat network, lists 21,774 members in Bogotá. Those are memberships, not a count of foreign residents, which we have not found.
How high is Bogotá, and what is the weather like?
Colombia Travel puts Bogotá at 2,600 metres among mountains. Mean daily highs run 18.5 to 20.2 °C all year, and no month has more than 117 mm of rain (WMO normals 1991–2020). Canada warns that high-altitude illness can be life-threatening and may need immediate medical evacuation.
Is Bogotá safe?
Canada says muggings happen even in the safer areas of Colombian cities, names Bogotá among cities where dating-app drugging is frequent, and lists earthquake damage there on 10 August 2026. Australia says people pose as police in Bogotá and hikers are robbed on trails around it. Both advise a high degree of caution.
How much does a one-bedroom flat cost in Bogotá?
One advert for a 48 m² one-bedroom in Chico Norte, near the Parque de la 93, asked COP 3,300,000 a month plus COP 300,000 in building administration on 15 October 2026. It is a single asking rent, not an average, and rents in other areas and other living costs are unknown.
Where do foreigners deal with immigration in Bogotá?
Migración Colombia has a migration services centre (CFSM) in Bogotá (Andina regional office) and control posts at El Dorado airport. Visa holders of more than three months request the foreigner ID card by appointment (2026 fee COP 294,000). Visas are applied for online; don't visit the Bogotá visa office unless asked.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [N1] Proyecciones de población municipal por área, 2018–2042 (DANE), Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE). Checked 15 October 2026. 2025 projection for the municipality of Bogotá, D.C.: 7,942,867 people, urban and rural together (not the wider metropolitan area). The file’s 2018 figure (7,391,056) differs a little from the census count DANE’s 2022 report prints (7,412,566).
- [E1] Expats in Bogota, InterNations (private expat network, not official). Checked 15 October 2026. 21,774 members in Bogota; the Bogotá community group has 24,149 members from 162 nationalities. Membership counts, not residents; read on 15 October 2026.
- [M1] Puntos de conexión al Servicio de interpretación remoto en Lengua de Señas Colombiana (Annex 1, 2026), Migración Colombia. Checked 15 October 2026. Lists Migración Colombia’s service points by regional office (CFSM and PCM). The document is about sign-language interpretation, so it is used here only to show that the office exists in the city.
- [T1] Colombia Travel: Bogota, ProColombia (the national tourism promotion agency), colombia.travel. Checked 15 October 2026. Bogotá sits at 2,600 metres and is surrounded by mountains, with the Cordillera de los Andes rising to the east.
- [W1] Climate normals 1991–2020, El Dorado airport (Catam), Bogotá (station 21205791, 2,547 m), WMO Climate Normals 1991–2020, Colombia national set (station codes are IDEAM’s), via NOAA NCEI. Checked 15 October 2026. The station is about 9 km from the map point. Mean daily highs 18.54 (July) to 20.18 (February) °C. Rain (mm) Jan 32.89, Feb 51.38, Mar 83.39, Apr 116.71, May 109.03, Jun 57.43, Jul 48.56, Aug 44.33, Sep 56.73, Oct 108.22, Nov 107.22, Dec 61.37.
- [M2] Portafolio de trámites y servicios (December 2024), Migración Colombia. Checked 15 October 2026. Says the cédula de extranjería (for visa holders of more than three months) and other foreigner procedures are completed in person at a Centro Facilitador de Servicios Migratorios (CFSM).
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Colombia, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 37.82 (United States = 100; exact 37.8156), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Colombia ranks 141st of 163 countries (score 2.735); the report calls it the least peaceful country in South America.
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Colombia: 82 out of 100 (2023), read from the WHO GHO API (UHC_INDEX_REPORTED) on 15 October 2026.
- [K1] Visa types: V Nómada Digital, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería de Colombia). Checked 15 October 2026. Visa V for remote work from Colombia for foreign companies: passport from a country exempt from short-stay visas, bank statements showing income of at least three monthly legal minimum wages (SMLMV) over the last 3 months, health insurance valid in Colombia; valid for up to two years; does not allow work for people or companies based in Colombia. Same text as Resolución 5477 de 2022, article 46.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Colombia, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 17.22 per 100 people (17.2244), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [R1] Visa M Pensionado, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería de Colombia). Checked 15 October 2026. For a foreigner with constant monthly income from a pension granted by a state or a private pension fund; a certificate of a lifetime monthly pension of at least three monthly legal minimum wages; valid up to three years, no work; the visa counts towards the Resident visa after a minimum of 5 years as holder. No age minimum or deposit is stated on the page.
- [R2] Resolución 5477 de 2022, articles 46, 77 and 90 (compilation updated 31 July 2026), Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería de Colombia). Checked 15 October 2026. Article 77: Visa M Pensionado (pension of at least 3 SMLMV a month, up to three years). Article 90: Visa R by accumulated time, 5 years as holder of an M Pensionado visa. Article 46: Visa V Nómadas digitales (3 SMLMV a month for the last 3 months, up to two years). Passport eligibility for short-stay visa exemption is set by Resolución 5488 de 2022, article 3, whose list includes the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
- [F1] EF English Proficiency Index: Colombia, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Score 480, global rank 76, 5 points down on the previous score; the page’s own text names the EF EPI 2025 edition. Read on 15 October 2026.