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Colombia macroeconomic monitordata as of 9 Oct 2026

External and fiscal accounts

The balance of payments by component, how it is financed, foreign investment and remittances, external debt, and government revenue, spending, interest, financing and debt.

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01

External and fiscal accounts in twelve measures

Key points
  • Colombia spends abroad more than it receives: the current-account deficit is 2.5% of GDP, and foreign direct investment covers 104% of it.
  • Remittances total US$13,337 million a year.
  • The Government spends 21.8% of GDP and takes in 16.6%: its cash deficit is 5.3% of GDP and its debt reaches 62.9% of GDP.
Current account · 4 quarters to Q2 2026-2.5%of GDP · US$-12,911 million · latest quarter alone: -3.5%Goods balance-3.1%of GDP · exports +7.3% over a yearRemittances · 12 months to Aug 2026US$13,337US$ million · 2.6% of GDP · +3.6% over a yearForeign direct investment2.6%of GDP · covers 104% of the current-account deficitExternal debt · Sep 202548.6%of GDP · public US$118 bn and private US$93 bnInternational reserves11.4months of goods imports · US$67,228 millionInternational investment position-40.0%of GDP (net) · what the country owes minus what it holds abroadGovernment balance · 12 months to Q2 2026-5.3%of GDP, cash basis · previous year -6.7%Government gross debt · 202562.9%of GDP · in 2020: 60.7%Interest on debt$12.4of every $100 of government revenue · 2.1% of GDPGovernment spending21.8%of GDP · revenue 16.6% of GDPGovernment financing · 12 months5.3%of GDP · domestic 7.1% and net external -1.8%
02

How are external and government accounts?

Key points
  • The country spends more abroad than it earns: the current-account deficit was 3.5% of GDP in Q2 2026.
  • Central government debt reached 62.9% of GDP in 2025.
Current account (% of GDP)
Current account-3.5%Q2 2026▼ -1.1 pp vs. 1 year ago

?Negative bars: a deficit, meaning the country relies on foreign financing.

Source: Banco de la República, balance of payments?Methodology. Current account balance as % of GDP, quarterly. Negative = deficit financed from abroad.
Central government gross debt (% of GDP)
Government debt62.9%2025▲ +5.0 pp vs. 1 year ago

?Central government debt at the end of each year.

Source: Ministry of Finance, via Banco de la República?Methodology. Central government gross debt as % of GDP, end of each year.
03

Where does the external deficit come from?

Key points
  • Over the last four quarters the goods deficit was US$15,946 million and the services deficit US$708 million.
  • Profits, interest and dividends leaving the country (primary income) subtracted US$13,002 million, while remittances and other transfers (secondary income) added US$16,746 million.
  • Result: a current-account deficit of US$12,911 million.
Current account by component (4 quarters)

?Billions of dollars, 4-quarter sum. Bars: each component's contribution; line: total current account.

Source: Banco de la República, balance of payments (BPM6)?Methodology. 4-quarter rolling sum of goods, services, primary income and secondary income; they add up to the current account.
Goods exports and imports (4 quarters)

?Billions of dollars, balance of payments. The gap between the lines is the goods deficit.

Source: Banco de la República, balance of payments (BPM6)?Methodology. Goods exports (credit) and imports (debit), 4-quarter sum.

To understand · Banco de la República · MinHacienda

How to read the balance of payments and government accounts?

The balance of payments records the real and financial flows Colombia exchanges with the rest of the world. Banco de la República compiles it following the IMF Balance of Payments Manual (sixth edition), and it has two main accounts: the current account and the financial account.

1. The pieces of the balance of payments

  1. 1Goods and servicesWhat the country sells to and buys from abroad.
  2. 2Primary incomeProfits of foreign companies, dividends and interest paid or received.
  3. 3Secondary incomeTransfers without counterpart, mainly remittances from Colombians abroad.
  4. 4Current accountThe sum of the above. If negative, the country spends more than it receives from abroad.
  5. 5Financial accountHow it is financed: direct, portfolio and other investment (loans) and reserves. It has the same sign as the current account.

Errors and omissions close the statistical gap between the two accounts.

2. External debt and international investment position

  • External debt: disbursed, outstanding liabilities of residents to non-residents (loans, supplier credits, bonds and financial leases). It excludes portfolio investment in Colombia.
  • International investment position: the balance of all the country's financial assets and liabilities with the rest of the world; it complements the balance of payments.

3. Government accounts

  • Central government and non-financial public sector figures are on a cash basis: a splice of DNP historical series with Ministry of Finance series, without accruals. For official accrual-basis figures, the source is the Ministry of Finance.
  • Balance = revenue − spending. Primary balance = balance excluding interest: it shows whether the Government covers its spending before the cost of debt.
  • All ratios to GDP on this page use DANE nominal GDP for the same four quarters (in dollars, at the average TRM).

Official sources

04

How is it financed?

Key points
  • The deficit is covered by incoming capital: over four quarters net inflows were US$9,908 million of direct investment, US$139 million of portfolio investment and US$-9 million of other investment (loans and deposits).
  • Banco de la República reserves changed US$+2,170 million.
Net capital inflows by type (4 quarters)

?Billions of dollars. Positive = net financing comes in. The dotted line is the current-account deficit to be financed.

Source: Banco de la República, balance of payments (BPM6)?Methodology. Financial account by flow type with inverted sign (positive = net inflow), 4-quarter sum. Reserves: positive = decrease.
05

Dollars coming in: foreign investment and remittances

Key points
  • Foreign direct investment totalled US$13,473 million over four quarters; Financial and business services received the largest share (32%), followed by Oil (20%).
  • Workers' remittances totalled US$13,337 million over 12 months, +3.6% vs the previous year.
Foreign direct investment by sector (4 quarters)

?Millions of dollars over the last four quarters vs the previous four.

Source: Banco de la República, foreign direct investment flows by activity?Methodology. Sum of the last 4 quarters and of the previous 4.
Workers' remittances

?12-month sum in billions of dollars (left axis) and as a percentage of GDP (right axis).

Source: Banco de la República (remittances); DANE (nominal GDP)?Methodology. Workers' remittance inflows, 12-month sum; % of dollar GDP over the latest 4 available quarters.
06

How much does Colombia owe abroad?

Key points
  • External debt totals US$211,584 million (48.6% of GDP): US$118,135 million public and US$93,450 million private.
  • Counting all assets and liabilities with the rest of the world (not only debt), Colombia owes in net terms US$204,240 million (40.0% of GDP).
Public and private external debt

?Balance in billions of dollars (areas) and total as % of GDP (line, right axis).

Source: Banco de la República, external debt?Methodology. Monthly public and private external debt balances; total as % of GDP per Banco de la República.
International investment position

?Financial assets and liabilities with the rest of the world (billions of dollars) and net position as % of GDP (right axis). Reserves in months of imports are in the measures card.

Source: Banco de la República, international investment position; DANE (GDP)?Methodology. External financial assets and liabilities at each quarter-end; net position over 4-quarter dollar GDP.
07

Government accounts

Key points
  • Over the last 12 months the national Government took in 16.6% of GDP and spent 21.8%, of which 2.1% was interest.
  • The cash balance was -5.3% of GDP; excluding interest (primary balance) -3.2%.
  • Its gross debt ended 2025 at 62.9% of GDP.
Government revenue, spending and interest (% of GDP)

?Central government, cash basis, 12-month sum (complete quarters) over nominal GDP for the same four quarters.

Source: Banco de la República (cash fiscal balance, DNP–MinHacienda splice); DANE (nominal GDP)?Methodology. Central government revenue, spending and interest: sum of 4 complete quarters over nominal GDP for those quarters.
Government total and primary balance (% of GDP)

?Balance = revenue − spending; primary = excluding interest. Negative = deficit.

Source: Banco de la República (cash fiscal balance, DNP–MinHacienda splice); DANE (nominal GDP)?Methodology. Total balance = cash deficit/surplus; primary = total balance + interest.
Central government gross debt (% of GDP)

?End-of-year balance.

Source: Banco de la República (central government gross debt, % of GDP)?Methodology. Annual balance; orange for years above 60% of GDP.
08

How does the Government finance itself and at what cost?

Key points
  • Of every $100 the Government receives, $12.4 goes to interest (cash basis).
  • Over 12 months it financed itself with 7.1% of GDP from domestic sources and -1.8% from net external ones (negative = it repaid more than it borrowed abroad).
  • The cash interest series has 2 months with negative values over the last two years, so this indicator may be lower than the accrual-basis debt cost reported by the Ministry of Finance.
Government financing and interest

?Bars: domestic and external financing (12-month sum, % of GDP). Line: interest per $100 of revenue (right axis).

Source: Banco de la República (cash fiscal balance, DNP–MinHacienda splice); DANE (nominal GDP)?Methodology. Domestic and external financing, 4-quarter sum over GDP; interest over revenue for the same 4 quarters.
09

Methodological basis and literature

  1. Obstfeld, M. y Rogoff, K. (1995). The Intertemporal Approach to the Current Account. En Handbook of International Economics, vol. 3, 1731–1799.Why a country saves or borrows abroad.
  2. Calvo, G. A., Leiderman, L. y Reinhart, C. M. (1993). Capital Inflows and Real Exchange Rate Appreciation in Latin America. IMF Staff Papers, 40(1), 108–151.The role of capital flows and external factors in Latin America.
  3. Lane, P. R. y Milesi-Ferretti, G. M. (2007). The External Wealth of Nations Mark II. Journal of International Economics, 73(2), 223–250.How the international investment position is measured and what it reveals.
  4. Reinhart, C. M. y Rogoff, K. S. (2009). This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly. Princeton University Press.Public and external debt in historical perspective.
  5. Blanchard, O. (2019). Public Debt and Low Interest Rates. American Economic Review, 109(4), 1197–1229.When public debt is sustainable: interest rate versus growth.
  6. FMI (2009). Manual de Balanza de Pagos y Posición de Inversión Internacional, sexta edición (MBP6).Methodology Banco de la República uses for the balance of payments.
  7. Ley 1473 de 2011 y Ley 2155 de 2021: regla fiscal de Colombia y Comité Autónomo de la Regla Fiscal.Legal framework limiting central government deficit and debt.
10

Frequently asked questions

What is Colombia's current account deficit?

Colombia spends abroad more than it receives: the current-account deficit is 2.5% of GDP, and foreign direct investment covers 104% of it. Remittances total US$13,337 million a year.

What is the current account?

Colombia's balance of goods, services, income and transfers with the rest of the world. A deficit means the country spends more abroad than it receives.

What is foreign direct investment?

Investment by non-residents with lasting control or influence over Colombian companies. It is the most stable source to finance the external deficit.

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