Colombia macroeconomic monitordata as of 9 Oct 2026
Growth, sectors and demand
How fast the economy grows and why: from the supply side (the 12 GDP sectors) and the demand side (households, government, investment and trade), with GDP per person and productivity.
Growth in eight measures
- GDP grew +3.5% in Q2 2026 versus a year earlier; the quarter's annualised pace was +5.2%.
- Year to date (Q1–Q2 2026) the economy is growing +2.9%.
- Excluding government, education and health, the rest of the economy grows +2.6%: the public sector explains a large part of the figure.
- Prices of everything the country produces (deflator) are rising 6.6%, versus 5.9% for the CPI.
Is the economy growing?
- Output (GDP) grew 3.5% in the year to Q2 2026.
- In recent years, Colombia's usual growth pace has been around 2.4%.
- DANE's seasonally adjusted monthly activity indicator (ISE) was growing 1.1% y/y in Jul 2026.
- Over the last 12 months (to Q2 2026) the economy grew 2.9% in real terms; in 2025 it grew 2.6% (2010–2019 average: 3.7%).
?Each bar is a quarter: growth versus the same quarter a year earlier. The dotted line is the usual pace; bars above it mean faster-than-normal growth.
?Each bar is a year: how much the country's output grew, net of inflation, versus the previous year (blue: grew; orange: fell). The light bar is the current year: growth over the last 12 months. The dotted green line is the usual (potential) pace and the dashed grey line the 2010–2019 average, for reference.
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There are two ways to measure growth. The quarterly one (first chart) compares each quarter with the same quarter a year earlier and reacts quickly. The annual one (second chart) adds up the four quarters of each year and shows the underlying trend, without the noise of a single quarter. Both are net of inflation: they measure how much more was produced, not how much prices rose. The next section breaks this growth down by sector.
How fast is the economy growing?
- Three ways to measure the same growth: versus a year earlier (+3.5%), the last 12 months versus the previous 12 (+2.9%) and the annualised quarter (+5.2%).
- When the quarterly pace exceeds the annual one, the economy is accelerating.
- By period, the country grew 5.0% a year in 2010–2014, 2.4% in 2015–2019 and 3.0% in 2022–2025.
?Blue line: versus the same quarter a year earlier. Green line: last 12 months versus the previous 12 (smoother). Bars: the quarter versus the previous one, annualised (faster, noisier). 2020–2021 are capped so the scale stays readable.
?Compound annual real GDP growth in each period. The last bar is year to date versus the same period a year earlier.
How much is real growth and how much is prices?
- GDP in current pesos grows +10.3%; net of prices, +3.5%.
- The difference, 6.6%, is economy-wide inflation (deflator).
- The deflator runs above the CPI: prices of what Colombia produces and exports (oil, coal, coffee) rise faster than household consumer prices.
- The terms of trade changed +17.4% over a year.
?Annual change. Blue: real GDP (net of prices). Orange: GDP in pesos of each period. The distance between them is the economy-wide price increase.
?Purple line: implicit GDP deflator (prices of everything the country produces). Orange line: CPI (household basket prices), quarterly average. Purple above means prices of what Colombia sells abroad are rising faster.
Who explains growth?
- In Q2 2026 market services contribute 1.6 points, government 1.8, manufacturing and construction +0.5 and the primary sector +0.0.
- Excluding government the economy grows +2.6%; excluding mining, +3.9%.
- Contributions add up to value-added growth (+3.9%); GDP (+3.5%) also includes net taxes.
?Percentage points each group adds to annual value-added growth. The line is the total. Market services: trade, transport, communications, finance, real estate, professional services and entertainment.
?Annual change in value added. Blue: total. Green: excluding government, education and health. Grey dotted: excluding mining. Green below blue means the public sector is propping up growth.
Which sectors drive the economy?
- In Q2 2026 the fastest-growing sectors were Government, education and health (10.0%) and Arts, households and other (9.5%).
- The largest contributor was Government, education and health, with 1.8 of the 3.9 points of value-added growth, because it is also one of the largest sectors.
- Contracting: Information and communications, Farming and fishing.
?Bars: each sector's growth versus the same quarter a year earlier (blue grows, orange falls). The vertical tick is the figure a year ago: if the bar goes past it, the sector accelerated. Hover to see its weight in the economy and how many points it contributed.
?Each cell is a sector in a quarter: deep blue, strong growth; orange, contraction. Sectors are ordered by size (largest at the top). At a glance you can see which sectors fell in 2020 and which lead today. Click any cell to see that quarter in the bar chart.
Learn more
GDP is split into 12 major sectors. A sector can grow a lot and contribute little if it is small (e.g. mining), while a large one growing slowly can move the total (trade, government, manufacturing). That is why each bar shows its weight and contribution on hover.
How many sectors grow, and how do they compare with their history?
- 10 of the 12 sectors are growing versus a year earlier.
- Versus their own 2015–2019 average, 6 sectors grow faster today; Government, education and health is furthest above and Farming and fishing furthest below.
?Each bar is a quarter: how many of the 12 sectors produce more than a year earlier. Green: 7 or more (broad growth); orange: 6 or fewer.
?Grey dot: average annual growth in 2015–2019. Coloured dot: average of the last 4 quarters. Green if it grows faster than its history; orange if slower.
Who spends? GDP from the demand side
- In Q2 2026 household consumption contributes +2.2 points to growth, government spending +2.1 and fixed investment +1.1; net foreign trade -2.0.
- Domestic demand grows +4.9%, faster than GDP (+3.5%): part of that spending is met by imports, which rise +7.5%.
?Percentage points each component adds to annual GDP growth. Net foreign trade: exports minus imports. 'Inventories and discrepancy': change in inventories and chain-linking differences. The line is GDP.
?Real change versus the same quarter a year earlier. Blue: growing; orange: falling. Imports subtract from GDP: when they grow, part of spending leaks abroad.
How much does the country invest?
- Colombia devotes 16.0% of GDP to fixed investment, versus 23.2% in 2015 and a peak of 24.3% in Q3 2007.
- By asset type, machinery and equipment is the highest versus end-2019 (139) and other buildings and works the lowest (71).
?Fixed investment (construction, machinery, equipment and intellectual property) divided by GDP, both in current pesos over 12 months. More investment today means more productive capacity tomorrow.
?Seasonally adjusted real investment in each asset type versus end-2019. Above 100: already above the pre-pandemic level.
What do households spend on?
- Over the last 12 months durable goods consumption (cars, appliances) changes +15.6%, services +1.7% and non-durables +2.7%.
- By purpose, the fastest riser is recreation and culture (+7.2%) and the slowest restaurants and hotels (-1.0%).
- Household consumption equals 73% of GDP.
?Real change of the last 12 months versus the previous 12. Durable goods are the first to fall in a slowdown and to rise in a recovery.
?Real change in household spending by purpose (COICOP classification), last 12 months versus the previous 12. In brackets, each group's share of consumption.
How much does each Colombian produce?
- In 2025 GDP per person was 19.2 million 2015 pesos (US$8,616 current) and grew +1.7% in real terms, versus +2.6% for total GDP: population grows about 0.8% a year.
- Output per employed person changes -0.1% versus a year earlier: employment grows faster than output.
?Annual real GDP divided by mid-year population (official DANE projections), growth versus the previous year. Hover to see the level in millions of 2015 pesos.
?Annual nominal GDP divided by population and by the year's average exchange rate (TRM). It mixes growth, inflation and the peso's value: a stronger peso raises the dollar figure.
?12-month real GDP, number of employed people (12-month average, seasonally adjusted GEIH) and their ratio: apparent labour productivity. If the green line rises, each worker produces more.
Where is the economy versus its earlier path?
- The economy is 18.0% larger than at end-2019 and has already moved 2.9% above its 2015–2019 path (2.2% a year).
?Seasonally adjusted real GDP, 2019 Q4 = 100. The dotted line extends the 2015–2019 trend: not a forecast, but a reference for where the economy would be had its pace not changed.
Methodological basis and literature
- Burns, A. F. y Mitchell, W. C. (1946). Measuring Business Cycles. NBER.Diffusion indices: how many sectors move together.
- Hodrick, R. J. y Prescott, E. C. (1997). Postwar U.S. Business Cycles. Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 29(1), 1–16.Trend and normal growth pace.
- Hamilton, J. D. (2018). Why You Should Never Use the Hodrick-Prescott Filter. Review of Economics and Statistics, 100(5), 831–843.Critique of and alternative to the HP filter (used on the cycle page).
- Kohli, U. (2004). Real GDP, Real Domestic Income, and Terms-of-Trade Changes. Journal of International Economics, 62(1), 83–106.Why the GDP deflator and the CPI diverge when the terms of trade change.
- Cerra, V. y Saxena, S. C. (2008). Growth Dynamics: The Myth of Economic Recovery. American Economic Review, 98(1), 439–457.Crises leave permanent output-level losses.
- Blanchard, O., Cerutti, E. y Summers, L. (2015). Inflation and Activity: Two Explorations and their Monetary Policy Implications. IMF WP/15/230.Hysteresis: recessions that lower the output path.
- DANE. Cuentas nacionales trimestrales: metodología (enfoque de la producción, índices encadenados).Why sector contributions do not add exactly to GDP (taxes and chain-linking).
- OECD (2001). Measuring Productivity: OECD Manual. París: OECD.Apparent labour productivity: output per employed person.
- Naciones Unidas et al. (2009). System of National Accounts 2008. Nueva York.Expenditure approach, gross capital formation and consumption by purpose (COICOP).
- DANE. Proyecciones y retroproyecciones de población, Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda 2018 (actualización 2025).Denominator of GDP per person.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Colombia's GDP grow?
GDP grew +3.5% in Q2 2026 versus a year earlier; the quarter's annualised pace was +5.2%. Year to date (Q1–Q2 2026) the economy is growing +2.9%.
Who publishes Colombia's GDP and how often?
DANE publishes quarterly GDP about 45 days after each quarter ends, by supply (sectors) and by demand (consumption, investment and foreign trade).
What is the ISE?
DANE's Economic Tracking Indicator: a monthly measure of economic activity that anticipates quarterly GDP.