## Colombia: Staff Statement

_IMF News, April 18, 2025_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Colombia: Staff Statement](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/04/18/pr25116-colombia-staff-statement)

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: April 18, 2025

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### Overview
- Staff team engaged with Colombian authorities during the ongoing 2025 Article IV consultation, with visits to Bogotá in mid-February and early-April.
- Ms. Oner and Mr. Ding issued the statement on April 18, 2025.

### Recent macroeconomic developments
- The economy expanded by 1.7 percent in 2024 after slowing sharply in 2023, supported by private consumption reflecting a robust labor market and gradual recovery in investment.
- Headline inflation resumed its downward trend in March, reaching 5.1 percent (y/y), underpinned by appropriately tight monetary policy.
- Current account deficit narrowed to 1.8 percent of GDP in 2024, supported by strong tourism and remittances inflows.
- Net foreign direct investment financed the deficit despite net portfolio outflows.

### External sector and reserves
- International reserves rose to 130 percent of ARA by end-March, supported by the authorities’ reserve accumulation program last year.

### Financial sector
- The banking system remains sound—liquid, adequately capitalized and provisioned—and subject to strong oversight.

### Public finances and debt
- Central government overall fiscal deficit rose to 6.7 percent of GDP in 2024, up from 4.2 percent of GDP in 2023.
- The 2024 deficit was 1.1 percentage points of GDP above the authorities’ deficit target in the medium-term fiscal framework.
- Higher deficit drivers:
  - Lower-than-projected tax revenues.
  - Higher than targeted primary expenditures, despite spending adjustments in late-2024.
- Budgetary backlogs accumulated due to liquidity constraints amount to 2.8 percent of GDP; these are being cleared in 2025 and compete with 2025 budgetary resources.
- Gross public debt reached 61.3 percent at end-2024.
- Colombian spreads have risen, especially relative to peers, also impacted by tighter global financial conditions and a somewhat weaker peso.

### Risks, international environment, and policy engagement
- Staff is engaging with authorities on implications of rising global trade tensions on the Colombian outlook, including knock-on effects through the commodity price channel and the financial and trade channels.
- Engagement focuses on better understanding the authorities’ policy response to the new environment.
- Staff emphasizes decisively strengthening public finances to mitigate shocks in an environment of elevated and shifting global risks.

### Fiscal outlook and authorities’ plans
- The 2025 Financing Plan published in February envisages an improvement in the central government deficit to 5.1 percent of GDP.
- Authorities are working on:
  - Policies underpinning the projected revenue gains.
  - Necessary expenditure adjustments to meet the overall fiscal deficit target and bolster resilience.

### Next steps
- The Article IV consultation will continue in the period ahead.
- Staff thanks the authorities for open and constructive dialogue and looks forward to maintaining close engagement, including in the margins of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in late-April in Washington, DC.

*Source: IMF staff statement, April 18, 2025.*

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## References

- [Colombia and the IMF](http://www.imf.org/external/country/COL/index.htm)
- [Press Releases](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)
- [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)
- [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2025/04/18/pr25116-colombia-staff-statement_