Colombia

D

Manufacturing

The manufacturing industries in Colombia, stimulated in the 1950s by the establishment of high protective tariffs on imports, are generally small-scale enterprises. They primarily produce for the domestic market, and they account for 17 percent of Colombia’s annual gross domestic product (GDP). GDP is a measure of the value of all goods and services that a country produces. Cotton-spinning mills, principally in the cities of Barranquilla, Manizales, Medellín, and Samacá, rank as important manufacturing establishments. Other industries include the manufacture of foodstuffs and beverages, clothing and footwear, ceramics, tobacco products, iron and steel, and transportation equipment. Chemical products have become increasingly important.

E

Energy

Colombia has many hydroelectric installations, which produced 76 percent of the nation’s electricity in 2003. A drought in 1992 brought about electricity rationing in much of the country. Consequently the government initiated the construction of new thermoelectric power plants and improved natural gas distribution to urban residences. In 2003 the country’s annual output of electricity was 47 billion kilowatt-hours.

F

Currency and Banking

The basic unit of currency is the Colombian peso (2,361 pesos equal U.S.$1; 2006 average). The Bank of the Republic issues all of the nation’s money and shares responsibility for monetary policy with the government monetary board. More than 25 commercial banking institutions, as well as government development banks and several other official and semiofficial financial institutions, operate in Colombia. Stock exchanges serve Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali.

G

Commerce and Trade

Petroleum ranks as the principal export of Colombia. Other leading exports include coffee, vegetables, chemicals, coal, textiles, fresh-cut flowers, bananas, sugar, gold, emeralds, and cattle. Illegal drugs also rank high among the country’s exports.

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The most important imports are mechanical and electrical equipment, chemicals, food, and metals. Colombia’s annual exports earned $13.1 billion and its imports cost some $13.9 billion in 2003. The United States is Colombia’s main trading partner, and Venezuela, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, Brazil, and Peru also have significant trade with the country.

Colombia is an original member of the Andean Community (1969), an organization that established free trade among its members and works toward regional economic and social cooperation; its members also include Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Colombia entered into two other trade associations in 1995: the Group of Three and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). The Group of Three, composed of Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia, aims to phase out trade barriers between these countries. The ACS includes all 25 nations in or along the Caribbean and focuses on regional cooperation and economic integration.

H

Tourism

Colombia offers natural beauty, including beaches along the Caribbean coast, tropical rain forests, the Andes mountains, and a huge variety of wildlife. The walled port city of Cartagena has many buildings from the Spanish colonial period, including its fortifications. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984. Bogotá, the center of Colombia’s cultural life, also has many buildings from Colombia’s colonial past. The Gold Museum in Bogotá features objects made by the indigenous inhabitants of Colombia before the arrival of Europeans. Art in the National Museum ranges from the pre-Columbian period to the present.

Colombia draws more than half a million tourists annually, primarily from the United States and countries in South America. However, reports of violence in rural areas related to guerrilla activity and illegal drug-trafficking have put a damper on the country’s tourism industry.

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