Colombia

OECD’s periodic surveys of the Colombian economy. Each edition surveys the major challenges faced by the country, evaluates the short-term outlook, and makes specific policy recommendations. Special chapters take a more detailed look at specific challenges. Extensive statistical information is included in charts and graphs.

The OECD review of Gender Equality in Colombia: Towards a Better Sharing of Paid and Unpaid Work is the third in a collection of reports focusing on Latin American and the Caribbean countries, and part of the series Gender Equality at Work. The report compares gender gaps in labour and educational outcomes in Colombia with other countries. Particular attention is put on the uneven distribution of unpaid work, and the extra burden this places on women. It investigates how policies and programmes in Colombia can make this distribution more equitable. The first part of the report reviews the evidence on gender gaps and on what causes these, including the role played by attitudes. The second part develops a comprehensive framework to address these challenges, presenting a broad range of options to reduce the unpaid work burden falling on women, and to increase women’s labour income. Earlier reviews in the same collection have looked at gender equality policies in Chile (2021) and Peru (2022).

El informe de la OCDE Igualdad de género en Colombia: Hacia una mejor distribución del trabajo remunerado y no remunerado es el tercer informe de una colección de informes que tiene como foco los países de América Latina y el Caribe, y forma parte de la serie Igualdad de género en el trabajo. El informe compara las brechas de género en los resultados laborales y educativos en Colombia con otros países OCDE y de la región. El informe presta particular atención a la distribución desigual del trabajo no remunerado y la carga adicional que esto implica para las mujeres Así mismo, investiga cómo las políticas y programas en Colombia pueden hacer que esta distribución sea más equitativa. La primera parte del informe examina la evidencia sobre las brechas de género y sus causas, incluyendo el papel que juegan los estereotipos de género. La segunda parte desarrolla un marco global para abordar estos retos, presentando una amplia gama de opciones para reducir la carga de trabajo no remunerado que recae sobre las mujeres y aumentar los ingresos laborales de las mujeres. Estudios anteriores de la misma colección han analizado las políticas de igualdad de género en Chile (2021) y Perú (2022).

As societies become increasingly digital, the importance of cyber security has grown significantly for individuals, companies, and nations. The rising number of cyber attacks surpasses the existing defense capabilities, partly due to a shortage of skilled cyber security professionals. This report delves into the analysis of the demand for cyber security experts in Latin America, using information from online job postings in Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. The analysis investigates recent trends in job demand for various cyber security roles, the geographical distribution of cyber security job postings, and the evolving skill requirements in this field. Additionally, the report focuses on the supply side by examining the landscape of cyber security education and training programmes in Colombia. It explores the different types of programmes offered in vocational and higher education, the characteristics of learners enrolled in these programmes, and their outcomes. Lastly, the report examines policies and initiatives implemented in Colombia to enhance the accessibility and relevance of cyber security education and training programmes. This report is part of a broader initiative that examines the evolution of policies and experiences in the cyber security profession around the world.

This reliable and up-to-date source of OECD quarterly balance of payments and international merchandise trade statistics provides a detailed insight into the most recent trends in trading patterns for OECD countries with the rest of the world. Balance of payments data are presented adjusted for seasonal variations. International trade data are broken down by country. The series shown cover data for the last ten quarters and two years available. This quarterly publication is divided into three parts: I. Balance of payments and international trade, II. International merchandise trade by country and III. International trade by commodity (annual data). The third part is a special topic which changes with each publication.

In recent decades, Colombia has pursued a strategy to encourage gender equality as an important enabler of inclusive growth and national well-being and to promote gender mainstreaming through institutions, policies and tools. This report assesses four main pillars of Colombia’s governance for gender equality, analysing strengths and identifying areas for further improvement. It examines strategic planning for gender equality policy, a whole-of-government approach to promoting gender equality policy, using government tools to achieve gender equality objectives, and an inclusive and gender-sensitive emergency preparedness framework. The report also provides examples of different approaches in OECD Member and Partner countries to closing gender equality gaps. Based on this analysis, the report proposes solutions to help Colombia strengthen gender mainstreaming and gender-sensitive policy making to promote sustainable, inclusive economic growth.

Colombia has prioritised the use of renewable energy to expand and improve electricity services for its population in zones non-interconnected to the national grid. Recent policies and regulations have supported this ambition with successive measures to strengthen investment conditions for distributed renewable energy, like standalone solar photovoltaic (PV) solutions and hybrid solar PV mini-grids. Still, the distributed renewable energy market in non-interconnected zones is relatively immature, reflected by the high costs for connecting new users. New business and financing models will be critical to bringing down the cost of renewable energy technologies, accessing private equity and debt in larger volumes, and ultimately progressing towards replacing existing inefficient and polluting diesel generation systems. Building on international experiences, this paper discusses approaches to strengthening investment conditions, looking at support mechanisms and de-risking instruments used elsewhere, which can help bridge the financing gap in Colombia.

In the face of what has increasingly been referred to as an ongoing “permacrisis”, governments must cope with and respond to emerging threats while already grappling with longstanding issues such as climate change, digital disruption and low levels of trust. In this context, understanding new approaches and spreading successful ideas has never been more important. To promote this, the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI) has analysed 1 084 innovative initiatives from 94 countries to derive and understand novel government practices. The report discusses four key trends: 1) new forms of accountability for a new era of government, 2) new approaches to care, 3) new methods for preserving identities and strengthening equity and 4) new ways of engaging citizens and residents. Ten case studies and dozens of supporting examples illustrate these trends.

This database refers to the OECD Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels, taking stock of almost 800 spending programmes and tax breaks used by governments in 36 OECD countries and 6 key emerging G20 economies (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa) to encourage the consumption or production of fossil fuels. These include measures that reduce prices for consumers, as well as those that lower exploration and exploitation costs for oil and gas companies.

This dataset comprises statistics on different transactions and balances to get from the GDP to the net lending/borrowing. It includes national disposable income (gross and net), consumption of fixed capital as well as net savings. It also includes transaction components such as net current transfers and net capital transfers. Data are expressed in millions of national currency as well as US dollars and available in both current and constant prices. Data are provided from 1950 onwards.

Recalling the centrality of transport infrastructure in any development strategy and economic recovery and resilience plan, the paper stresses the importance of increasing territorial connectivity in Colombia to sustain future progress. It describes the variety of financing models for transport infrastructure in the country and globally and identifies five key factors that Colombia should take into account when choosing between models in the future.

Rural regions in Colombia have untapped potential to boost wealth and well-being in the country. Despite remarkable economic growth over the last two decades, Colombia’s development policy needs to increase its focus on rurality, as regional inequalities remain high by OECD standards and structural challenges still prevent greater development in rural places. This report assesses trends, challenges and opportunities of rural Colombia and examines the country’s rural development policy. It offers recommendations to mobilise rural assets and improve rural well-being with a focus on: strengthening multi-government coordination and policy implementation; enhancing transport and broadband connectivity as well as accessibility to quality education and health and; improving land use management in rural Colombia.

Being able to swim empowers individuals to make choices, have agency, and be free to choose core aspects of their life, such as working safely on or near water. It is also associated with lifelong health benefits and reduces the risk of drowning. Using data from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll 2019, this paper provides the first global estimates of adults’ ability to swim without assistance. Individuals in high-income countries are considerably more likely to report being able to swim without assistance than individuals in low-income countries. Disparities also exist within countries. In particular, women are less likely to be able to swim without assistance than men in virtually all countries, birth cohorts, and levels of education. Investing in reducing inequalities in life skills, such as swimming, can foster economic development and empowerment, especially in light of threats, such as climate change.

Understanding adults’ attitudes towards the environment is necessary to gauge the opportunities and challenges of creating effective and politically-feasible climate policies. Using data from the Wellcome Global Monitor 2020, the European Social Survey (Round 8), World Values Survey and EM-DAT, this paper examines how adults’ environmental attitudes vary within and across countries and details how environmental attitudes are associated with adults’ engagement in pro-environmental behaviours and support for environmentally-friendly policies. The paper explores whether the extent to which individuals prioritise the environment over the state of the economy or vice versa depends on individuals’ exposure to natural disasters or negative labour market conditions. Results indicate that people’s economic vulnerability and the sectors they work in impact their attitudes towards their environment and support for public policy. Furthermore, the findings suggest that increases in unemployment and exposure to natural disasters influence the extent to which individuals prioritise the environment.