Socio-Economic Status Classifications

The formula used to categorize respondents in socioeconomic groups is based on a combination of the respondent's relative level of wealth and way of life. Key factors include but are not limited to: where the respondent resides, access to/ownership of consumer durable goods, and the existence of public services.

The formula is country-specific, reflecting Colombia’s unique socioeconomic environment, and is based on a judgment by the survey interviewer. Within this study, those with high-socioeconomic status encompass 9.4 percent (n=94). The middle-socioeconomic grouping is composed of 45 percent of the survey respondents and 45.6 percent of respondents are categorized as possessing low-socioeconomic status.

Links For More Information on the Colombian Economy

World Bank Country Profile- Colombia

Knowledge for Development Scorecard- Colombia

UNESCO Education Statistics- Colombia

UNDP Human Development Report-Colombia

Mobile Active.org- Colombia

Doing Business Rankings- Measuring Business Regulations- Colombia

Urban Colombia Socio-Economic Status

Communication and Socio-Economic Status (SES)

Chart 1


  • Access differences by socio-economic status are most marked for the internet, cable TV and satellite TV.
  • In addition, home access to a telephone land line, a key indicator of telecommunications infratructure, is also nearly universal. This indicates that the divide in home internet access between SES groups is not derived from a lack of infrastructure development but from a lack of disposable income.

Internet and Mobile Communications

Chart 2


  • An age gap among weekly internet users is especially evident among the low-SES cohort. Seventy-one percent of low-SES young adults use the internet weekly while only 40 percent of those 30 to 44 do so, a much wider gap than in the other age groups.

Chart 3


  • As Table 2 illustrates the use of social networking websites are very popular among all SES groups. Forty percent of low-SES users said they engage in group activities with people having similar interests, while 52-53 percent of both middle and high-SES users do so.
  • However, 86 percent of low-SES internet users said they chat via social networking site, compared to 72 percent of high-SES users. Chatting may be a means to supplement or even replace the need for using a land line or mobile phone.

Television, Radio, and Newsprint

Chart 4


  • The most popular broadcast and newsprint outlets tend to be the same across all demographic groups: Canal Carcol and CanalRCN are the top television stations; Caracol Radio and RCN Radio are the top national radio stations; and El Tiempo and El Espectador are the top newspapers. SES groups showed some differences in they outlets they chose as their most important sources for news. For example, while Canal Caracol and CanalRCN clearly led in popularity, low-SES viewers were more inclined to pick the former as their most important TV source for news, while middle and high-SES viewers leaned toward CanalRCN.

Chart 5


Media Perceptions

Low-SES respondents exhibited a greater level of trust (75 percent) in the Colombian media, stating they either somewhat or completely trust the media, than other SES groups. Sixty-nine percent of middle-SES and 65 percent of high-SES respondents stated they trust the media.

A greater percentage of middle and high-SES respondents felt that the government and economic groups have influence on the media than do low-SES respondents. Seventy-five percent and seventy-four percent, respectively, somewhat or strongly agree that the government has influence on the media, while only sixty-seven percent of low-SES respondents felt that way.

All SES groups held similar views on the level of media freedom that exists in Colombia. Sixty percent of low-SES and 64 percent of high-SES respondents agreed with the statement that the media in Colombia is free.