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Colombia: Economic and Political Outline
Economic Indicators | Foreign Trade in Figures | Sources of General Economic Information | Political Outline
Since 2011, Colombia has been reinforcing its image as an emerging country. Thanks to its market size, 45 million inhabitants, the extent of its natural resources (particularly emeralds, coffee, oil and coal) and a historical reputation of an exemplary debtor (Colombia is the only country which has never asked for a renegotiation of debts), the country has been experiencing strong growth for many years (average of 3% over the last thirty years) and has adopted sound macroeconomic fundamentals.
Growth which resumed strongly in 2010 (4.3% compared to 1.9% in 2009) remained at 4.9% in 2011, supported by the increase in public spending in favor of both investment and consumption.
The authorities have taken measures to preserve the public finances (in a chronic deficit), mainly by imposing restrictions in issuing bank credits and by keeping the stability of the macro-economic indicators. The new government of president Santos has launched an ambitious program of reforms aiming to reinforce taxes, to improve the management of territorial income drawn by royalties, to increase competitiveness and to control the Peso appreciation. The fight against poverty and the development of real estate are also part of the priorities.
In 2011, unemployment dropped under 10% of the active population. More than half of the Colombian people continue to work in the informal sector. The purchasing power of Colombians has decreased, the rise in the cost of living is around 7.5%. The poverty level remains high (45%), inequalities are strong and despite the retreat of the guerrillas, the internal conflict persists, which was the origin of the expatriation of more than 3 million persons.
| Main Indicators | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 (e) | 2013 (e) |
| GDP (billions USD) | 234.18 | 289.43e | 321.46e | 339.90 | 363.44 |
| GDP (Constant Prices, Annual % Change) | 1.5e | 4.3 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| GDP per Capita (USD) | 5,207 | 6,360e | 6,980 | 7,294 | 7,708 |
| General Government Balance (in % of GDP) | -0.6 | -2.4 | -3.1e | -1.7 | -1.3 |
| General Government Gross Debt (in % of GDP) | 35.8e | 36.0 | 35.9e | 34.7 | 33.7 |
| Inflation Rate (%) | 4.2 | 2.3 | 3.3e | 2.9 | 3.1 |
| Unemployment Rate (% of the Labor Force) | 12.0 | 11.8 | 11.5 | 11.0 | 10.5 |
| Current Account (billions USD) | -5.14e | -8.94 | -8.41 | -8.38 | -7.47 |
| Current Account (in % of GDP) | -2.2 | -3.1e | -2.6 | -2.1 | - |
Source: IMF - World Economic Outlook Database ; World Bank , Last Available Data
Note: (e) Estimated Data
Agriculture represents 8.5% of the GDP and employs more than 18% of the active population. Due to the climate and the topography of the country, agriculture is extensive and very varied, and contributes to 75% of the export revenues. Colombia's main crops are coffee, bananas, cut flowers, cotton, sugarcane, livestock, rice and corn. The cultivated lands hardly take up 8% of the country's total surface area. Colombia has also many natural resources such as coal, oil, natural gas, iron ore, nickel and gold.
Industry represents around 36% of the GDP and employs nearly 20% of the population. Colombia's main industries are textile, chemical products, metallurgy, cement, cardboard containers, plastic resins and beverages.
Colombia's main economic sector is the services sector, which represents more than 55% of the GDP and employs nearly 60% of the active population.
| Breakdown of Economic Activity By Sector | Agriculture | Industry | Services |
| Employment By Sector (in % of Total Employment) | 18.6 | 19.8 | 61.5 |
| Value Added (in % of GDP) | 6.9 | 32.0 | 61.1 |
| Value Added (Annual % Change) | 1.5 | 4.8 | 4.5 |
Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.
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| Monetary Indicators | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Colombian Peso (COP) - Average Annual Exchange Rate For 1 USD | 2,361.14 | 2,078.29 | 1,967.71 | 2,158.26 | 1,898.57 |
Source: World Bank - Last Available Data.
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Distribution of Economic freedom in the world
Source: 2011 Index of Economic freedom, Heritage Foundation
Note: The Economic freedom index measure ten components of economic freedom, grouped into four broad categories or pillars of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, freedom from corruption); Limited Government (fiscal freedom, government spending); Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom); and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom). Each of the freedoms within these four broad categories is individually scored on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall economic freedom score is a simple average of its scores on the 10 individual freedoms.
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In 2011, Colombia's foreign trade represented more than 20% of the GDP. Colombia has signed trade agreements with Chile, the CAN countries (Andean Community), MERCOSUR countries, Central American and Caribbean countries, and the European Union. It has also signed free trade treaties with Chile, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and the United States.
The country mainly exports oil, coal, coffee, flowers, textile products, ferronickel, bananas and chemical products. Its main clients are the United States, China and Venezuela.
Imports are constituted mainly of machinery and equipment, grains, chemical products, transport equipment, electric and electronic equipment. Colombia's main suppliers are the United States, China, Mexico and Brazil.
Fueled by the Chinese demand for raw materials, exports rose by 50% in 2011.
| Foreign Trade Indicators | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| Imports of Goods (million USD) | 32,897 | 39,669 | 32,898 | 40,683 | 54,675 |
| Exports of Goods (million USD) | 29,991 | 37,626 | 32,853 | 39,820 | 56,954 |
| Imports of Services (million USD) | 6,170 | 7,131 | 6,860 | 7,893 | 9,336 |
| Exports of Services (million USD) | 3,559 | 4,058 | 4,109 | 4,357 | 4,992 |
| Imports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 14.0 | 8.8 | -7.9 | 9.1 | - |
| Exports of Goods and Services (Annual % Change) | 6.9 | 6.1 | -2.8 | 10.6 | - |
| Imports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 19.9 | 20.3 | 18.2 | 17.0 | - |
| Exports of Goods and Services (in % of GDP) | 16.7 | 18.0 | 16.1 | 16.3 | - |
| Trade Balance (million USD) | -596 | 971 | 2,546 | 2,150 | - |
| Trade Balance (Including Service) (million USD) | -3,203 | -2,101 | -281 | -1,390 | - |
| Foreign Trade (in % of GDP) | 36.6 | 38.3 | 34.3 | 33.3 | - |
Source: WTO - World Trade Organization ; World Bank , Last Available Data
| Main Customers (% of Exports) |
2010 |
| United States | 43.1% |
| China | 4.9% |
| Ecuador | 4.6% |
| Netherlands | 4.1% |
| Venezuela | 3.6% |
| See More Countries | 39.8% |
| Main Suppliers (% of Imports) |
2010 |
| United States | 25.9% |
| China | 13.5% |
| Mexico | 9.5% |
| Brazil | 5.8% |
| Germany | 4.1% |
| See More Countries | 41.3% |
Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data
Source: Comtrade, Last Available Data
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The president is both the head of state and the head of government. He holds executive power. The president and vice president are both elected by universal suffrage for a term of four years.
The main political parties in Colombia are: PC (Conservative Party), the PDA (Alternative Democratic Pole), the PL (Liberal Party), the PSUN (Social National Unity Party), CR (Radical Change), Colombia First. Colombia has about 60 political parties with formal recognition. Most of them are not represented in the Chamber of Deputies.
Source: Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2011, Reporters Without Borders
Note: The world rankings, published annually, measures the violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position is assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire sent to partner organizations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and activists of human rights, including the main criteria - 44 in total - to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).
Map of freedom 2010
Source: Freedom House
Note: The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.
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Last Updates: May 2012