Economy - overview Columbia is recovering from a short recession that began in late 1996 - resulting from tight monetary policy to drive down inflation, declining business confidence related to President SAMPER's political difficulties, and a slowdown in exports stemming from an appreciation of the peso and a recession in neighboring Venezuela. Although 1997's 3.1% GDP growth rate represented an improvement over 1996, it ranked among the lowest in Latin America and was substantially lower than the average annual growth rate exceeding 4% that Colombia posted for several decades prior to SAMPER's election. Colombia's next president will inherit a variety of economic problems. Most notably, the unemployment rate is at its highest level this decade, risks for the export sector and foreign investors are rising as a result of increasing guerrilla violence and a volatile exchange rate, and the fiscal deficit has more than tripled since 1994.

GDP purchasing power parity - $231.1 billion (1997 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 3.1% (1997 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $6,200 (1997 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 19%
industry: 26%
services: 55% (1996)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 17.7% (1997 est.)

Labor force
total: 16.8 million (1997 est.)
by occupation: services 46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990)

Unemployment rate 12.2% (1997 est.)

Budget
revenues: $26 billion (1996 est.)
expenditures: $30 billion including capital expenditures of $NA (1996 est.)

Industries textiles, food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement; gold, coal, emeralds

Industrial production growth rate -1.2% (1996)

Electricity - capacity 10.781 million kW (1995)

Electricity - production 47 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 1,307 kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products coffee, cut flowers, bananas, rice, tobacco, corn, sugarcane, cocoa beans, oilseed, vegetables; forest products; shrimp farming

Exports
total value: $11.4 billion (f.o.b., 1997 est.)
commodities: petroleum, coffee, coal, bananas, fresh cut flowers
partners: US 39%, EC 25.7%, Japan 2.9%, Venezuela 8.5% (1992)

Imports
total value: $13.5 billion (c.i.f., 1997 est.)
commodities: industrial equipment, transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products
partners: US 36%, EC 18%, Brazil 4%, Venezuela 6.5%, Japan 8.7% (1992)

Debt - external $17.1 billion (1997 est.)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $30 million (1993)

Currency 1 Colombian peso (Col$) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates Colombian pesos (Col$) per US$1 - 1345.0 (February 1998), 1,140.96 (1997), 1,036.69 (1996), 912.83 (1995), 844.84 (1994), 863.06 (1993)

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Colombia on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Colombia Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Colombia Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.