Colombia vs Nicaragua: Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government
Colombia
82.0%
in 2025
Nicaragua
82.6%
in 2025
Colombia rank
148th
Nicaragua rank
145th
Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government over time
- Colombia
- Nicaragua
How they compare
Nicaragua currently reports 82.6% against 82.0% in Colombia, a difference of 0.6%.
The two have swapped places 18 times across 186 shared years of data; in 1840 it was Nicaragua ahead.
Colombia ranks 148th and Nicaragua ranks 145th of 174 countries.
Across the 19 decades both report, Colombia averaged higher in 5 and Nicaragua in 12.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Colombia | Nicaragua | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1840s | 34.0% | 30.0% | 4.0% | Colombia |
| 1850s | 36.0% | 30.0% | 6.0% | Colombia |
| 1860s | 34.0% | 40.0% | 6.0% | Nicaragua |
| 1870s | 40.0% | 40.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1880s | 40.0% | 40.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1890s | 41.9% | 61.1% | 19.2% | Nicaragua |
| 1900s | 70.7% | 75.8% | 5.2% | Nicaragua |
| 1910s | 77.5% | 76.0% | 1.5% | Colombia |
| 1920s | 77.5% | 75.8% | 1.7% | Colombia |
| 1930s | 77.5% | 77.2% | 0.3% | Colombia |
| 1940s | 76.8% | 79.0% | 2.2% | Nicaragua |
| 1950s | 71.2% | 79.0% | 7.8% | Nicaragua |
| 1960s | 73.1% | 74.2% | 1.1% | Nicaragua |
| 1970s | 72.2% | 73.1% | 0.9% | Nicaragua |
| 1980s | 68.7% | 69.6% | 0.9% | Nicaragua |
| 1990s | 64.6% | 90.5% | 25.9% | Nicaragua |
| 2000s | 75.2% | 91.2% | 16.0% | Nicaragua |
| 2010s | 82.3% | 91.6% | 9.3% | Nicaragua |
| 2020s | 84.8% | 87.0% | 2.3% | Nicaragua |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher percentage of territory effectively controlled by government, Colombia or Nicaragua?
- Nicaragua, at 82.6% against 82.0% in Colombia as of 2025.
- What is the difference in percentage of territory effectively controlled by government between Colombia and Nicaragua?
- 0.6%, with Nicaragua ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Colombia and Nicaragua?
- 186 years are reported by both, from 1840 to 2025.
- How do Colombia and Nicaragua rank globally for percentage of territory effectively controlled by government?
- Colombia ranks 148th and Nicaragua ranks 145th of 174 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Percentage of territory effectively controlled by government. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Central estimate of the percentage of territory controlled by the government.