Economic sectors of Colombia: characteristics and data

We explain everything you need to know about the Colombian economy.

What are the economic sectors of a country and what do they have to do with the economy? In this article we reveal these questions, and in addition, we explain in detail the economic sectors of Colombia..

As we will see, we find the sectors according to the classic division (primary, secondary and tertiary) and the sectors classified by their type of economic activity. In total we are talking about 9 sectors, which we will explain below.

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Economic sectors of Colombia

First of all, remember that Colombia is a South American country whose capital is Bogota.. Its population in 2019 is more than 48 million inhabitants.

With respect to the topic at hand, the economic sectors of a country, territory or State are those divisions of its economic activity. According to the classic division of the economy, Colombia's economic sectors are divided into three: the primary sector (agriculture), the secondary sector (industry) and the tertiary sector (provision of services).

However, depending on the type of economic activity, these three sectors are divided into nine sectors (three of which are those already mentioned). The six "new" sectors are: the transportation sector, the financial sector, the commerce sector, the construction sector, the mining and energy sector and the communications sector.

From each of these economic sectors derive different activities, which are specialized and independent of each other. Thus, we will first review Colombia's three economic sectors according to the classic division, and then we will comment on the remaining six, according to their economic activity.

It is important to say beforehand, however, that the six sectors classified according to their economic activity are part of one of the three initial sectors (primary, secondary or tertiary), as we will see throughout the article.

Some figures

Before explaining Colombia's different economic sectors, however, let's mention some figures of the country's economy (specifically, of its different sectors).

According to DANE, which is the National Administrative Department of Statistics, 48% of the country's economic establishments correspond to commerce, 40% to the provision of services (tertiary sector) and 12% to industry (secondary sector).

GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is an indicator that countries use to measure their economic wealth. It is based on a mathematical formula, and each country has its own GDP.

According to DANE, in the case of Colombia, the contribution of Colombia's economic sectors to GDP is as follows, in order from largest to smallest: financial sector (20%), services sector (15.3%), commerce sector (12%), industrial sector (8.3%), mining and oil sector (8%), construction sector (6.9%), agricultural sector (6%) and electricity and gas sector (2.6%).

Although it is true that these data may have changed somewhat today. Now, let's talk about the economic sectors of the country's economy, let's talk about Colombia's economic sectors, according to the classic division and according to the type of activities that comprise them..

According to the classic division of the economy

According to the classic division of sectors already mentioned, Colombia's three major economic sectors, which in turn group together specialized and independent activities.which in turn group together specialized and independent activities. These three are the following.

1. Primary sector

The primary sector includes basic production. Also called the agricultural sector, it encompasses those economic activities that are related to obtaining goods and products that come directly from nature. In other words, it is the "direct" product, which has not undergone any conversion.

Agriculture is the main activity carried out within this sector (agricultural sector), and is defined as the set of knowledge and tools necessary to obtain vegetable products through their cultivation.

2. Secondary sector

The second of Colombia's economic sectors, according to the classic division, is the secondary (industrial) sector. The main characteristic of this sector is that it includes all those industrial processes aimed at transforming the raw materials obtained from the first sector (agriculture).

The final product of these transformations is that which can already be consumed. Within this sector we find economic activities such as: mining, construction, textile activities, etc.

3. Tertiary sector

The third economic sector is the provision of services, and includes activities related to this purpose. Thus, it includes activities that offer/provide some type of service to the community and to businesses (i.e., to people in general).

Some of the activities that we find in the tertiary sector are: medicine, education, commerce, tourism, telecommunications, finance, etc.

It is an important sector for the economy to flow. Thus, its proper functioning is essential for the aforementioned economic sectors of Colombia to be more productive.

According to the economic activity carried out

Now let's take a look at the six main economic sectors in Colombia according to their type of economic activity.. Some of them we have already mentioned throughout the article, because they are part of one of the three initial sectors.

1. The transportation sector

The transportation sector includes the movement of different goods, either by land or air. For it to function properly, it is important that road infrastructures are adequate.

On the other hand, thanks to low-cost airlines in Colombia, more and more Colombians are deciding to travel.

2. The financial sector

The financial sector includes the provision of money, transactions, commercial exchange, etc. In short, finance. This sector in Colombia recorded an annual growth of 2.7% in 2016. In this year, there was talk of a Colombian asset of $1,346.6 billion.

3. The commerce sector

Another of Colombia's economic sectors, according to its activity, is the commerce sector. Specifically, in Colombia, this sector has occupied the fourth position in the GDP for the last 4 years (after agriculture, manufacturing and finance). In Colombia, in recent years, the services with the highest turnover were hotels, bars and restaurants.

4. The construction sector

The construction sector is part of the industry sector (secondary). If we talk about figures, the DANE (National Administrative Department of Statistics) reveals that its growth in Colombia went from 4.18% (m2 built) to 4.56% (m2), from 2015 to 2016, respectively.

5. The mining and energy sector

The next of Colombia's economic sectors is the mining and energy sector. This is a sector that suffered several crises or "crashes" in Colombia, the first one in 2007, and the second one in 2016, as a consequence of the oil downturns.

6. The communications sector

The communications sector is in the ninth position in the list of economic activities that contribute the most economic benefits to the gross domestic product (GDP). The rise of telephone companies in Colombia is undeniable.

On the other hand, two important advances in this sector are the incorporation of broadband for homes and 4g technology for cell phones.

Bibliographic references:

• DANE (National Administrative Department of Statistics).
• GEM Colombia. Study of entrepreneurial activity in 2017. (2019). Universidad del Norte, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Cali, Universidad ICESI.
• Zoltan K. (2012). The primary, secondari, tertiary and quaternary sectors of the economy, 359-385.