The volatility of the dollar not only puts people and companies to do accounts, but also affects Colombian public finances through the external debt.
If the US currency increases, the country’s financial commitments in foreign currency increase; and if it falls, the position that Colombia has to pay in dollars is reduced.
(You can also read: Jorge Iván González: ‘Development Plan without dictatorial powers’)
Although the external debt has remained relatively stable, if the means in Colombian pesos Colombia owes more and more. This is due to the exchange rate.
How much does foreign debt cost in dollars
According to the latest data from the Bank of the RepublicAs of November 2022, the country’s total external debt reached 180,333 million dollars, which represented an increase of 1.26 percent compared to the data for October and an increase of 7.1 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. .
In other words, with today’s dollar, which closed the external debt of Colombia at 4,818.61 pesos it is around 868 billion pesos.
But in the event that it reaches 5,000 pesos, a price it touched several times last year, this same external debt would mean that Colombia has commitments of 901 billion pesos.
And if it goes down to a level of 4,500 pesos, as it was a few weeks ago, it means that the country owes about 811 billion pesos.
How the debt is divided
According to the Banco de la República, of the total of 180,833 million dollars, most belongs to the public sector with 101,511 million dollars, which represents 1.1 percent compared to October.
The remaining 78.822 million dollars are private debt and grew 1.4 percent compared to October.
What the external debt has foreseen in 2022 in millions of dollars:
January 171,802
February 172,625
March 174,906
April 174,108
May 175,693
June 175,868
July 176,563
August 177,755
September 177,105
October 178,096
November 180,333
percentage of GDP
The foreign debt of 180,833 million dollars represents 52.8 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Of this total, 29.7 percent is from the public sector and 23.1 percent from private debt.
What the external debt has evolved in 2022 as a percentage of GDP
January 50.3
February 50.5
March 51.2
April 51.0
May 51.4
June 51.5
July 51.7
August 52.1
September 51.9
October 52.2
November 52.8
