Colombia

Colombia: strong, sustained growth, 1980–2025

Decades of internal armed conflict weighed on investment and growth until a 2016 peace accord with FARC rebels, alongside oil, coal, and coffee exports, underpinned a steadier expansion. Between 1980 and 2025, Colombia's GDP per capita grew from $1,280 to $8,562 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of 4.3% — strong, sustained growth. Annual GDP growth averaged 3.4% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 2.8 points, reflecting relatively stable macroeconomic conditions. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 19.4% to 9.9% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 48.8% to 58.5% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 66.7 to 77.9 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 25.5% to 59.3%, while the urban population share grew from 64.7% to 78.8%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 1.57 to 1.80 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) narrowed from 55.1 to 54.4; the poverty headcount ratio fell from 28.5% to 8.5%.