Colombia's economy grew 2.2% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, according to Dane data. The main driver was state spending on consumption and public administration.
Government final consumption rose 7.8% annually and the activity of public administration, defense, education and health expanded 5.7%. The latter item alone contributed 0.9 percentage points to total GDP growth.
The national budget for 2025 reached 498.5 trillion pesos, of which 316 trillion went to operating expenses and only 69.8 trillion to investment. Gross capital formation fell 3% annually.
Sectors such as construction contracted 5.4%, residential buildings 8.6% and coffee production 30.5%. Natural gas extraction decreased 17%. Exports grew just 3.5% and fell 1.7% in seasonally adjusted quarterly terms.
