Social spending as share of GDP in Colombia

Colombia: Social spending as share of GDP was 0.4% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
0.4%
Change on year
up 10.8%
World rank
25th
of 42 countries
All-time high
0.6%
in 2014
All-time low
0.2%
in 2019
Years of data
14
2010–2023

Social spending as share of GDP in Colombia, 2010–2023

00.20.40.62010201620232010: 0.446 % of GDP2011: 0.51 % of GDP2012: 0.513 % of GDP2013: 0.562 % of GDP2014: 0.601 % of GDP2015: 0.451 % of GDP2016: 0.404 % of GDP2017: 0.334 % of GDP2018: 0.236 % of GDP2019: 0.222 % of GDP2020: 0.27 % of GDP2021: 0.409 % of GDP2022: 0.333 % of GDP2023: 0.369 % of GDP

Source: OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

In 2023, social spending as share of gdp in Colombia stood at 0.4%.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 10.8% on the previous year and down 34.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, social spending as share of gdp in Colombia peaked at 0.6% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2019.

Colombia ranks 25th of 42 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.

Social spending as share of GDP in Colombia, year by year

Annual values for Social spending as share of GDP in Colombia, 2010 to 2023.
Year % of GDP Change
2010 0.4%
2011 0.5% +14.3%
2012 0.5% +0.6%
2013 0.6% +9.6%
2014 0.6% +6.9%
2015 0.5% -25.0%
2016 0.4% -10.4%
2017 0.3% -17.3%
2018 0.2% -29.3%
2019 0.2% -5.9%
2020 0.3% +21.6%
2021 0.4% +51.5%
2022 0.3% -18.6%
2023 0.4% +10.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 0.4% 0.2% 0.6% 10
2020s 0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 4

Countries ranked near Colombia

  1. 22 Switzerland 0.5% compare
  2. 23 Spain 0.4% compare
  3. 24 Greece 0.4% compare
  4. 26 Bulgaria 0.3% compare
  5. 27 Lithuania 0.3% compare
  6. 28 Croatia 0.2% compare

See the full ranking of 42 places →

More economy & growth data for Colombia

All data for Colombia →

Frequently asked questions

What is social spending as share of gdp in Colombia?
Social spending as share of gdp in Colombia was 0.4% in 2023, according to OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest social spending as share of gdp recorded in Colombia?
The highest recorded value was 0.6% in 2014.
What is the lowest social spending as share of gdp recorded in Colombia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2019.
How does Colombia rank for social spending as share of gdp?
Colombia ranks 25th out of 42 countries with data for 2023.
Is social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Colombia?
Over the last ten years it is down 34.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Colombia data come from?
The figures come from OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Social spending as share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Social spending as share of GDP in Colombia. Statizoid, drawing on OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 09 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/social-expenditure-as-percentage-of-gdp/colombia/

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About this data

Indicator
Social spending as share of GDP
Unit
% of GDP
Source
OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
42 places, 1,427 data points, 1980–2023
Last refreshed

Public social expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage. Includes both in-cash and in-kind benefits in other social policy programs.