OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: Colombia 2026

Basic statistics of Colombia

 

2024 or latest available year (OECD values in parentheses)^a

PEOPLE AND SOCIETY
Population (million)	52.9		Population density per km2	47		(39)
Share of population by type of region:			Population compound annual growth rate, latest 5 years	1.2		(0.4)
Predominantly urban (%)	58	(49)	Income inequality (Gini coefficient)	0.55		(0.32)
Intermediate (%)	11	(27)	Poverty rate (% of pop. with less than 50% median income)	22		(11)
Rural (%)	31	(23)	Life expectancy	78		(81)
ECONOMY AND EXTERNAL ACCOUNTS
Total GDP (National currency, billion)	1 706 447		Imports of goods and services (% of GDP)	23		(31)
Total GDP (USD, billion, current prices and PPPs)	1 137.5		Main exports (% of total merchandise exports)
GDP compound annual real growth rate, latest 5 years	2.5	(2)	Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes	45
GDP per capita (1 000 USD current PPPs)	22.1	(61)	Precious stones; precious metals, metals clad with precious metal, and articles thereof	9
Value added shares (%)			Coffee, tea, mate and spices	7
Agriculture	10	(2)	Main imports (% of total merchandise imports)
Industry, including construction	27	(26)	Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes	11
Services	63	(72)	Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof	10
Exports of goods and services (% of GDP)	16	(30)	Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof	10
GENERAL GOVERNMENT Percentage of GDP
Expenditure	50	(43)	Education expenditure	4		(5)
Revenue	44	(38)	Health expenditure	11		(7)
Gross financial debt	63	(110)	Environment protection expenditure	0.6		(0.8)
Fiscal balance	-5.3	-(4.6)	Environmental taxes: (% of GDP)	0.6		(1.3)
			(% of total tax revenue)	2.8		(4.3)
LABOUR MARKET, SKILLS AND INNOVATION
Unemployment rate (% of civilian labour force)	10.2	(4.9)	Patent applications in environment-related technologies (% of all technologies, average of latest 3 years b	10		(8)
Tertiary educational attainment of 25-64 year-olds (%)	31	(41)	Environmental management	9.0		(4.9)
Gross expenditure on R&D, % of GDP	0.3	(2.7)	Climate change mitigation technologies	4.3		(4.0)
			Climate change adaptation technologies	1.8		(0.5)
ENVIRONMENT
Energy intensity: TES per capita (toe/cap.)	0.9	(3.7)	Passenger cars stock (vehicles/100 inhabitants)	12	(51)
TES per GDP (toe/1 000 USD, 2020 PPPs)	0.05	(0.07)	Water stress (abstraction as % of available sources)	5
Renewables (% of TES)	24	(13)	Water abstraction per capita (m3/cap./year)	2 445	(673)
Carbon intensity (energy-related CO2):			Municipal waste per capita, (kg/capita)	469	(552)
Emissions per capita (t/cap.)	1.6	(7.4)	Material productivity (USD, 2020 PPPs/DMC, kg)	2.3	(2.9)
Emissions per GDP (t/1 000 USD, 2020 PPP)	0.09	(0.14)	Land area (1 000 km2)	1 141
GHG intensity: c			% of arable land and permanent crops	4.5	(11)
Emissions per capita (t/cap.)	3.6	(10.4)	% of permanent meadows and pastures	32	(23)
Emissions per GDP (t/1 000 USD, 2015 PPP)	0.21	(0.20)	% of forest area	53	(33)
Mean population exposure to air pollution (PM2.5), µg/m3	14	(12)	% of other land (built-up and other land)	11	(33)

a. Values earlier than 2018 are not taken into consideration. OECD value: where the OECD aggregate is not provided in the source database, a simple OECD average of the latest available data is calculated where data exist for a significant number of countries.

b. Higher-value inventions that have sought protection in at least two jurisdictions.

c. Excluding emissions/removals from land use, land-use change and forestry.

Source: Calculations based on data extracted from databases of the OECD, IEA/OECD, EUROSTAT and the World Bank.