In spite of the difficulties presented by serious internal armed conflict, Colombia's market economy grew steadily in the latter part of the 20th century, with gross domestic product (GDP) increasing at an average rate of over 4% per year between 1970 and 1998. The country suffered a recession in 1999 (the first full year of negative growth since the Great Depression), and the recovery from that recession was long and painful. However, in recent years growth has been impressive, reaching 8.2% in 2007, one of the highest rates of growth in Latin America. Meanwhile the Colombian stock exchange climbed from 1,000 points at its creation in July 2001 to over 7,300 points by November 2008.
According to International Monetary Fund estimates, in 2012 Colombia's GDP (PPP) was US$500 billion (28th in the world and third in South America). Adjusted for purchasing power parity, GDP per capita stands at US$10,742, placing Colombia 81st in the world. However, in practice this is relatively unevenly distributed among the population.
Government spending represents 37.9% of GDP. Almost a quarter of this goes towards servicing the country's government debt, estimated at 52.8% of GDP in 2007. Other problems facing the economy include weak domestic and foreign demand, the funding of the country's pension system, and unemployment (10.8% in November 2008). Inflation has remained relatively low in recent years, standing at 2.44% in 2012
Historically an agrarian economy, Colombia urbanised rapidly in the 20th century, by the end of which just 22.7% of the workforce were employed in agriculture, generating just 11.5% of GDP; 18.7% of the workforce are employed in industry and 58.5% in services, responsible for 36% and 52.5% of GDP respectively. Colombia is rich in natural resources, and its main exports include petroleum, coal, coffee and other agricultural products, gold, textiles, industrial chemicals, plastics and ferro-alloys. Colombia is also known as the world's leading source of emeralds, while over 70% of cut flowers imported by the United States are Colombian. Principal trading partners are the United States, the European Union, Venezuela and China. All imports, exports, and the overall balance of trade are at record levels, and the inflow of export dollars has resulted in a substantial re-valuation of the Colombian peso.
Economic performance has been aided by liberal reforms introduced in the early 1990s and continued during the presidency of Álvaro Uribe, whose policies included measures designed to bring the public sector deficit below 2.5% of GDP. In 2008, The Heritage Foundation assessed the Colombian economy to be 61.9% free, an increase of 2.3% since 2007, placing it 67th in the world and 15th out of 29 countries within the region. It has Free trade Zone (FTZ), such as Zona Franca del Pacifico, located in the Valle del Cauca, one of the most striking areas for foreign investment. On 28 May 2007 the American magazine BusinessWeek published an article naming Colombia "the most extreme emerging market on Earth".
For 2013, the city of Bogotá has a budget of 13.6 Billion Colombian pesos (roughly over $7 billion USD). Medellin's 2013 budget is 53583 million Colombian pesos (about 28 million USD).
El Cerrejón is the largest coal mining operation in Latin America.Industrial activity has been a leading actor in the dynamics of the Colombian economy in recent years. In the last ten years, the value of manufacturing production went from US$29,240 million in 2000 to close to US$80,000 million in 2010, High-tech and medium-tech products have been growing in their production (34.6% in 2010 compared with 31.7% in 2000), exports of high-tech and medium-tech products increased from US$2,251 million in 2002 to US$4,868 in 2010, 35% of the total exported by the industry in Colombia.
In recent years, the financial sector has grown above the average of the economy. The sector grew 6.7% between 2005 and 2010, compared with the average of the economy of 4.7%. The financial sector has grown favorably due to good liquidity in the economy, the growth of credit and in general to the positive performance of the Colombian economy.
The discovery of 2 billion barrels (320,000,000 m3) of high-quality oil at the Cusiana and Cupiagua fields, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Bogotá, has enabled Colombia to become a net oil exporter since 1986. The Transandino pipeline transports oil from Orito in the Department of Putumayo to the Pacific port of Tumaco in the Department of Nariño. The Barrancabermeja refinery in addition to producing fuels such as gasoline and LPG, also produces petrochemicals and industrial products.
The electricity production in Colombia comes mainly from renewable energy sources. 70% is obtained from the hydroelectric generation.
Colombia also has more than 4,705 research groups in science and technology. Colombia also has developed successfully the international parks of creativity for the support of young inventors, this project was developed by the Colombian scientific Laureate Raul Cuero.
The Group of research of the University of the Andes, led by Carlos Avila, Juan Carlos Sanabria and Bernardo Gómez collaborates with the Compact Muon Solenoid experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
One of the most recognized Colombian scientists in microbiology and winner of the NASA Technology Award is Raúl Cuero. His inventions include the induction of genes/proteins for protection against ultra violet radiation to prevent skin cancer, removal of toxic metals and radionuclides by martian simulant soil, method for increasing levels of beta-carotene in plants.
Colombia is one of the few Latin American countries to have a nuclear reactor in operation, the IAN-R1, its function is the production of neutrons for research purposes, each year radiates and analyzes 4,400 samples.
Infrastructure Main article: Transport in Colombia Medellin's MetrocableColombia has a network of national highways maintained by the Instituto Nacional de Vías or INVIAS (National Institute of Roadways) government agency under the Ministry of Transport. The Pan-American Highway travels through Colombia, connecting the country with Venezuela to the east and Ecuador to the south.
Four railways operate in Colombia: Fenoco, Cerrejón, Occidente, and Paz del Río.
Transportation in Colombia is regulated within the functions of the Ministry of Transport and entities such as the National Roads Institute (INVÍAS) responsible for the Highways in Colombia (13 000 km), the Aerocivil, responsible for civil aviation and airports, DG Maritime (DIMAR), among others and under the supervision of the Superintendency of Ports and Transport. There will be 2.279 kilometers (1,416 miles) of divided expressways in Colombia by 2014.
Port of Cartagena.It is expected that the Antonio Nariño Airport of the Pasto and the El Caraño Airport of Quibdó in Chocó become international aerodrome.
The Colombian port system, privatized in the 1990s, consists of approximately 122 facilities. There Societies Regional Port of Buenaventura (main seaport of Colombia), Barranquilla, Tumaco, Cartagena and Santa Marta. There are 9 other port companies to public service, 7 private port companies, 44 piers and 10 piers approved for small boats, among other minor.
China and Colombia have discussed a Panama Canal rival, a 'Dry Canal' 220 km rail link between the Pacific and a new city near Cartagena. China is Colombia's second largest trade partner after the USA. Colombia is also the world's fifth-largest coal producer, but most is currently exported via Atlantic ports while demand is growing fastest across the Pacific. A dry canal could make Colombia a hub where imported Chinese goods would be assembled for re-export throughout the Americas and Latin American raw materials would begin the return journey to China.
Tourism Main article: Tourism in ColombiaFor many years serious internal armed conflict deterred tourists from visiting Colombia, with official travel advisories warning against travel to the country. However, in recent years numbers have risen sharply, thanks to improvements in security resulting from former President Álvaro Uribe's "democratic security" strategy, which has included significant increases in military strength and police presence throughout the country and pushed rebel groups further away from the major cities, highways and tourist sites likely to attract international visitors. Foreign tourist visits were predicted to have risen from 0.5 million in 2003 to 1.3 million in 2007, while Lonely Planet picked Colombia as one of their top ten world destinations for 2006. In 2010, tourism in Colombia increased 11% according to UNWTO Tourism Highlights for that year.
In 2011 Colombia received 3 million foreign visitors, according to official statistics.
Popular tourist attractions include the historic Candelaria district of central Bogotá, the walled city and beaches of Cartagena, the colonial towns of Santa Fe de Antioquia, Popayán, Villa de Leyva and Santa Cruz de Mompox, and the Las Lajas Sanctuary and the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá. Tourists are also drawn to Colombia's numerous festivals, including Feria de Cali (Carnaval of Cali), the Barranquilla Carnival, the Carnival of Blacks and Whites in Pasto, Flower Fair in Medellín and the Ibero-American Theater Festival in Bogotá. Meanwhile, because of the improved security, Caribbean cruise ships now stop at Cartagena and Santa Marta.
The great variety in geography, flora and fauna across Colombia has also resulted in the development of an ecotourist industry, concentrated in the country's national parks. Popular ecotourist destinations include: along the Caribbean coast, the Tayrona National Natural Park in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range and Cabo de la Vela on the tip of the Guajira Peninsula; the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, the Cocora valley and the Tatacoa Desert in the central Andean region, the Farallones de Cali National Natural Park, in the departament of Valle del Cauca; Amacayacu National Park in the Amazon River basin; and the Pacific islands of Malpelo and Gorgona, there other unique landscapes like the river of the seven colors in Meta. Colombia is home to seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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