Economic sectors of Colombia: characteristics and data

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

As we will see, we find the sectors according to the classical 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 country in South America, whose capital is Bogotá. Its population in 2019 is more than 48 million inhabitants.

Regarding the subject 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, the economic sectors of Colombia are divided into three: the primary sector (agricultural), the secondary sector (industrial) and the tertiary sector (provision of services).

However, depending on the type of economic activity, these three sectors go to nine (three of which are those already mentioned). The six “new” sectors are: the transport sector, the financial sector, the commerce sector, the construction sector, the mining and energy sector, and the communications sector.

Different activities are derived from each of these economic sectors, which are specialized and independent of each other. Thus, we are going to first review the three economic sectors of Colombia according to the classic division, and later we will comment on the remaining six, according to their economic activity.

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

some figures

Before explaining the different economic sectors of Colombia, however, we are going to 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 economic establishments in the country correspond to businesses, 40% to the provision of services (tertiary sector) and 12% to industry (sector secondary).

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

According to DANE, in the case of Colombia, the contributions of Colombia's economic sectors to GDP are as follows, in order from highest to lowest: financial sector (20%), service 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%).

While it is true that these data may have changed a bit today. Now yes, We are going to talk about the economic sectors of Colombia, according to the classic division and according to the type of activities that make them up.

According to the classical division of the economy

According to the classic division of sectors already mentioned, we find three large economic sectors of Colombia, which in turn group specialized and independent activities. These three are next.

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. That is, it is the "direct" product, which has not obtained 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 plant products through their crop.

2. Secondary sector

The second of the economic sectors of Colombia according to the classical division, is the secondary (industrial) sector. The main characteristic of this sector is that it includes all those procedures industrialists that have the objective of transforming the raw materials obtained from the first sector (agricultural).

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

3. Third 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 kind of service to the community and to companies (that is, 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 developed

Now we are going to see the six main economic sectors of 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 transport sector

The transport sector includes the mobilization of different merchandise, either by land or air. In order for it to function correctly, it is important that the road infrastructures are adequate.

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

2. The financial sector

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

3. The trade sector

Another of the economic sectors of Colombia, according to its activity, is commerce. Specifically, in Colombia this sector occupies the fourth position in 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 industrial (secondary) sector. If we talk about figures, DANE (National Administrative Department of Statistics) reveals that its growth in Colombia went from 4.18% (built m2) to 4.56% (m2), from 2015 to 2016, respectively.

5. The mining and energy sector

The next of the economic sectors of Colombia is mining and energy. This is a sector that suffered various crises or “falls” in Colombia, the first in 2007, and the second in 2016, as a result of the decline in oil prices.

6. The communications sector

The communications sector is in ninth position on the list of economic activities that contributes 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 mobile phones.

Bibliographic references:

• DANE (National Administrative Department of Statistics).
• GEM Colombia. Study of business activity in 2017. (2019). University of the North, Pontifical Javeriana University of Cali, ICESI University.
• Zoltan K. (2012). The primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary sectors of the economy, 359-385.