Colombia Economy 2008

Economy - overview:
Colombia's economy has experienced positive growth over the past four years despite a serious armed conflict. The economy continues to improve in part because of austere government budgets, focused efforts to reduce public debt levels, an export-oriented growth strategy, improved domestic security, and high commodity prices. Ongoing economic problems facing President URIBE include reforming the pension system, reducing high unemployment, and funding new exploration to offset declining oil production. The government's economic policy and democratic security strategy, coupled with increased investment, have engendered a growing sense of confidence in the economy. However, the business sector is becoming concerned about failure of the US Congress to approve the signed FTA.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$320.4 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$116.4 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
6.5% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$7,200 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 11.5%
industry: 36%
services: 52.4% (2007 est.)

Labor force:
20.65 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 22.7%
industry: 18.7%
services: 58.5% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:
10.6% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:
49.2% (2005)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 7.9%
highest 10%: 34.3% (2004)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
53.8 (2005)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.5% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
27.3% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $64.02 billion
expenditures: $64.35 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.)

Public debt:
53.9% of GDP (2007 est.)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
6% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:
50.47 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption:
38.91 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
1.758 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:
16 million kWh (2005)

Oil - production:
539,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:
264,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - exports:
289,700 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:
6,453 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:
1.542 billion bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

natural gas - production:
6.397 billion cu m (2005 est.)

natural gas - consumption:
6.397 billion cu m (2005 est.)

natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2005)

natural gas - proved reserves:
109.7 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:
-$5.132 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:
$28.39 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:
petroleum, coffee, coal, nickel, emeralds, apparel, bananas, cut flowers

Exports - partners:
US 35.7%, Venezuela 11.4%, Ecuador 5.4% (2006)

Imports:
$30.83 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - partners:
US 26.9%, Brazil 8.6%, Mexico 8.5%, China 6%, Venezuela 5.6%, Japan 4.1% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:
$511.1 million (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$23.14 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:
$43.3 billion (30 June 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$45.01 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$10.01 billion (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$56.2 billion (2006)

Currency (code):
Colombian peso (COP)

Exchange rates:
Colombian pesos per US dollar - 2,078.9 (2007), 2,358.6 (2006), 2,320.75 (2005), 2,628.61 (2004), 2,877.65 (2003)