Colombia GDP Grows Just 1.1% in 1Q 2020 as Covid-19 Crisis Starts to Hurt
Colombia’s economic statistics agency (Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística, DANE) announced May 15 that the Covid-19 crisis — bursting on the scene in the latter part of first quarter (1Q) 2020 — took a big bite out of gross domestic product (“PIB” in Spanish initials).
As a result, Colombia PIB grew by just 1.1% in 1Q 2020, down from 2.9% growth in 1Q 2019, according to DANE.
The best-performing economic activities in 1Q 2020 were agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing (up 6.8%); followed by public administration, defense, compulsory contributions to social security plans, education and health care (up 3.4%); and finally real-estate activites (up 2.6%), according to DANE.
However, the worst-performing sectors were construction (down 11.4%); manufacturing industries (down 4.5%); and home-based businesses (down 3.9%), according to DANE.
During 1Q 2020, consumption expenditures rose 3.7% year-on-year, but gross capital formation declined by 6.7%; exports fell 6.1%; and imports declined 2.5%, according to DANE.
