| ECONOMY |
| Overview |
Colombia's
economy suffers from weak domestic and foreign demand, austere
government budgets, and serious internal armed conflict. Other
economic problems facing the new president URIBE range from
reforming the pension system to reducing high unemployment.
Two of Colombia's leading exports, oil and coffee, face an
uncertain future; new exploration is needed to offset declining
oil production, while coffee harvests and prices are depressed.
Colombian business leaders are calling for greater progress
in solving the conflict with insurgent groups. On the positive
side, several international financial institutions have praised
the economic reforms introduced by President URIBE and have
pledged enough funding to cover Colombia's debt servicing
costs in 2003. |
| GDP |
purchasing
power parity - $251.6 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate |
1.5% (2002
est.) |
| GDP
- per capita |
purchasing
power parity - $6,100 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector |
agriculture:
13%
industry: 30%
services: 57% (2001 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line |
55% (2001)
|
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices) |
6.2% (2002
est.) |
| Labor
force |
18.3 million
(1999 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation |
services
46%, agriculture 30%, industry 24% (1990) |
| Unemployment
rate |
17.4% (2002
est.) |
| Industries |
textiles,
food processing, oil, clothing and footwear, beverages, chemicals,
cement; gold, coal, emeralds |
| Industrial
production growth rate |
4% (2001
est.) |
