Colombia’s gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to grow considerably slower in 2023 than it did last year, according to the United Nations.
In a report that was published in December the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) projected that Colombia’s GDP would grow 1.5% this year.
This projection is slightly higher than the 1% GDP growth projected for South America as a whole.
The ECLAC estimated that Colombia’s GDP last year grew 8%, which is considerably higher than the regional 3.7% growth estimate.
South America’s estimated GDP growth in 2022
The ECLAC projection was confirmed by the Foundation for Higher Education and Development (Fedesarollo), an economic think tank from Bogota.
In a report that was published last week, Fedesarollo also said that it expected Colombia’s GDP to grow 1.5% this year.
In September last year, the think tank said that it expected the GDP to grow 2.4% in 2023.
Fedesarollo confirmed the ECLAC’s claim that Colombia’s economy has been outperforming those of other countries in the region.
In fact, Colombia’s estimated growth was the highest in South America after Venezuela, whose economy surged 12% last year, according to ECLAC.
The expected slowdown of Colombia’s economy comes amid global economic uncertainty.
Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Monday that one third of the world’s countries would enter a recession in 2023.
The regional and global economic woes are “because the three big economies — the US, EU and China — are all slowing down simultaneously,” Georgieva told US cable network CBS.
Colombia’s economy is additionally expected to slow down because of disappointing domestic consumption caused by an extraordinarily high inflation, according to Fedesarollo.