Bogotá is experiencing a rapid demographic shift as its population peaked at 7.9 million in 2026 and is projected to shrink from 2027. With nearly 16% of residents over 60 and a fertility rate of 0.82 in 2025, the city faces severe strain on its care infrastructure. To address this, Bogotá is integrating its health and social care systems, restoring the historic San Juan de Dios hospital campus, and tackling pension gaps where only 17% of retired women and 29% of retired men receive coverage.
Bogotá ageing population growth
- ▪The old-age dependency ratio in Colombia is projected to double from 20.6% in 2025 to 42% by 2070, according to Colombia's central bank.
- ▪Nearly 16% of Bogotá's residents are aged over 60, with that proportion projected to reach nearly 20% by 2035, according to Bogotá's Health Observatory.
- ▪Bogotá's population peaked in 2026 at approximately 7.9 million residents and is projected to begin shrinking starting in 2027.
Declining fertility rates
- ▪Colombia's national fertility rate declined to 1.6 children per woman in 2024 from 6.7 in 1960, falling below the population replacement rate of 2.1.
- ▪Bogotá's total fertility rate fell to 0.82 in 2025, dropping below the rate of Tokyo, according to Bogotá's Health Observatory.
- ▪Nursery enrolment in Bogotá decreased by 13% between 2019 and 2023, and 287 mostly private schools closed in the city between 2019 and 2024.
Elderly homelessness crisis
- ▪An estimated 1,100 elderly people in Bogotá are homeless and live without family support, according to local reports cited by Bogotá officials.
- ▪Alberto Delgado Londoño, a 74-year-old partially paralysed throat cancer patient, was placed in a Bogotá care home for destitute elderly people in late 2025.
San Juan de Dios restoration
- ▪Bogotá is restoring 11 of the 24 buildings at the 100-year-old San Juan de Dios hospital complex, which closed in 2001 due to funding issues.
- ▪The restoration of the 16-hectare San Juan de Dios hospital campus in Bogotá is projected to cost approximately 4 trillion Colombian pesos.
- ▪The Centre for Thought and Innovation on Ageing opened in March 2026 at the San Juan de Dios hospital complex to advise on preventive care.
Care system integration policies
- ▪Bogotá offers retraining courses for older workers and financial bonuses to companies that hire and retain employees over the age of 50.
- ▪In 2020, Bogotá's former mayor Claudia López established 'care blocks,' a network of 20 community centres providing temporary care for dependents.
- ▪Bogotá unveiled a plan in 2025 to integrate its social care and health systems to better support vulnerable elderly residents.
Pension coverage gaps
- ▪Colombian men generally retire at age 62 and women at age 57, while the national average life expectancy is approximately 78 years.
- ▪Only 17% of retired women and 29% of retired men in Bogotá receive a pension, while approximately one-third of the workforce operates informally.
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