Economy - overviewColombia has experienced accelerating growth between 2002 and 2007, with expansion above 7% in 2007, chiefly due to advancements in domestic security, to rising commodity prices, and to President URIBE's promarket economic policies. Colombia's sustained growth helped reduce poverty by 20% and cut unemployment by 25% since 2002. Additionally, investor friendly reforms to Colombia's hydrocarbon sector and the US-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA) negotiations have attracted record levels of foreign investment. Inequality, underemployment,and narcotrafficking remain significant challenges, and Colombia's infrastructure requires significant updating in order to sustain expansion. Economic growth slipped in 2008 as a result of the global financial crisis and weakening demand for Colombia's exports. In response, URIBE's administration has cut capital controls, arranged for emergency credit lines from multilateral institutions, and promoted investment incentives such as Colombia's modernized free trade zone mechanism, legal stability contracts, and new bilateral investment treaties and trade agreements. The government has also encouraged exporters to diversify their customer base away from the United States and Venezuela, Colombia's largest trading partners. Nevertheless, the business sector continues to be concerned about the impact of a global recession on Colombia's exports, as well as the approval of the CTPA, which is stalled in the US Congress. GDP (purchasing power parity)$395.4 billion (2008 est.) GDP (official exchange rate)$240.7 billion (2008 est.) GDP - real growth rate2.5% (2008 est.) GDP - per capita (PPP)$8,800 (2008 est.) GDP - composition by sectoragriculture: 9% Population below poverty line49.2% (2005) Labor force21.3 million (2008 est.) Labor force - by occupationagriculture: 22.4% Unemployment rate11.3% (2008 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage sharelowest 10%: 0.8% Distribution of family income - Gini index53.8 (2005) Investment (gross fixed)24.3% of GDP (2008 est.) Budgetrevenues: $83.22 billion Public debt42.8% of GDP (2008 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices)7% (2008 est.) Central bank discount rate11.5% (31 December 2008) Commercial bank prime lending rate15.6% (31 December 2008) Stock of money$21.58 billion (31 December 2008) Stock of quasi money$26.57 billion (31 December 2008) Stock of domestic credit$89.69 billion (31 December 2008) Industriestextiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds Industrial production growth rate0.8% (2008 est.) Electricity - production53.6 billion kWh (2007) Electricity - production by sourcefossil fuel: 26% Electricity - consumption52.8 billion kWh (2007) Electricity - exports876.7 million kWh (2007) Electricity - imports38.4 million kWh (2007) Oil - production588,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) Oil - consumption267,000 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil - imports12,480 bbl/day (2005) Oil - exports294,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) Oil - proved reserves1.323 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.) Natural gas - production7.22 billion cu m (2006 est.) Natural gas - consumption7.22 billion cu m (2006 est.) Natural gas - exports0 cu m (2007 est.) Natural gas - imports0 cu m (2007 est.) Natural gas - proved reserves122.9 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.) Current Account Balance$-6.761 billion (2008 est.) Agriculture - productscoffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp Exports$38.55 billion (2008 est.) Exports - commoditiespetroleum, coffee, coal, nickel, emeralds, apparel, bananas, cut flowers Exports - partnersUS 32.1%, Venezuela 16.8%, Chile 4.8% (2008) Imports$37.56 billion (2008 est.) Imports - commoditiesindustrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, electricity Imports - partnersUS 30.5%, China 8.5%, Mexico 8.5%, Brazil 6.5%, Venezuela 4.3%, Germany 4% (2008) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold$23.67 billion (31 December 2008 est.) Debt - external$46.4 billion (31 December 2008) Stock of direct foreign investment - at home$67.23 billion (31 December 2008 est.) Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad$13.08 billion (31 December 2008 est.) Market value of publicly traded shares$87.03 billion (31 December 2008) Economic aid - recipient$511.1 million (2005) Currency (code)COP Currency (code)Colombian peso (COP) Exchange ratesColombian pesos (COP) per US dollar - 2,243.6 (2008), 2,013.8 (2007), 2,358.6 (2006), 2,320.75 (2005), 2,628.61 (2004) Fiscal yearcalendar year |
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Source: CIA World Factbook | |