Why it is here
Why Cartagena is on the list.
A city is listed when there is evidence that people move there. This is the evidence.
- Cartagena has 1,011,520 people in DANE’s 2025 municipal projection, 5th of Colombia’s 1,123 municipalities. [N1]
- Migración Colombia lists a migration services centre (CFSM) in Cartagena under its Caribe regional office; foreigner procedures such as the cédula de extranjería are completed in person at these centres. It also lists control posts at Rafael Núñez airport and at the Port of Cartagena. [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
0 of 100WeakOwn figure
Cartagena’s own normals (Rafael Núñez airport): no comfortable months; monthly average daily highs run 31.1 to 32.3 °C in every month, over the 30 °C line.
Source: Climate normals 1991–2020, Rafael Núñez airport, Cartagena (station 14015080, 2 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 Cartagena.
How big is Cartagena?
Cartagena had 1,011,520 residents in DANE's 2025 projection, fifth of Colombia's 1,123 municipalities (the city, not the wider metro area). Colombia Travel describes it as a city on the Caribbean shore with more than 20 beaches around it. We found no figure for foreign residents.
How hot is Cartagena, and when does it rain?
Mean daily highs run 31.1 to 32.3 °C in every month (WMO normals 1991–2020, Rafael Núñez airport). January to April are dry, under 19 mm a month; October is the wettest at 236.5 mm. Canada gives the Atlantic and Caribbean hurricane season as early June to the end of November.
Is Cartagena safe?
Canada names Cartagena, with Bogotá and Medellín, among larger cities where dating-app drugging and robbery are frequent, and reports boating accidents on unlicensed tour boats there. Australia also urges caution with tourist boats from Cartagena. Colombia ranks 141st of 163 in the Global Peace Index, a national rank.
How much does a one-bedroom flat cost in Cartagena?
One advert for a 78 m² one-bedroom in La Boquilla, a few blocks from Playa Azul, asked COP 4,500,000 a month plus COP 500,000 in building administration on 15 October 2026, with air conditioning, a pool and a gym. It is a single asking rent, not an average, and other areas are unknown.
Where do foreigners deal with immigration in Cartagena?
Migración Colombia has a migration services centre (CFSM) in Cartagena (Caribe regional office), with control posts at the airport and port. Visa holders of more than three months request the foreigner ID card by appointment, within 15 calendar days of arrival or of the visa; 2026 fee COP 294,000.
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 Cartagena de Indias: 1,011,520 people, urban and rural together (not the wider metropolitan area).
- [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: Cartagena, ProColombia (the national tourism promotion agency), colombia.travel. Checked 15 October 2026. Cartagena is a city located on the shores of the Caribbean Sea, with more than 20 beaches in its surroundings.
- [W1] Climate normals 1991–2020, Rafael Núñez airport, Cartagena (station 14015080, 2 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 5 km from the map point. Mean daily highs 31.06 (January) to 32.33 (June) °C. Rain (mm) Jan 0.52, Feb 0.35, Mar 3.20, Apr 18.65, May 117.44, Jun 92.52, Jul 121.10, Aug 127.48, Sep 133.05, Oct 236.52, Nov 178.25, Dec 44.72.
- [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.