Colombia’s Debt Surge Hits Record High, Testing Fiscal Promises and Market Patience

Key Points

• Colombia’s central government debt reached COP 1,192.6 trillion ($317bn) by December 2025, the highest on record.
• Most of the rise came from domestic borrowing, where average coupons near 9.39% keep financing expensive.
• A $4.95bn global bond sale in January 2026 signaled bigger reliance on markets as fiscal debates intensify.

Colombia closed 2025 with a debt number that now shapes everything from interest rates to public investment. The Finance Ministry’s investor-relations profile shows gross central-government debt at COP 1,192.6 trillion ($317bn) on December 31, 2025.

That is near 64.7% of projected GDP, back to pandemic-era territory. The comparison that is fueling the political fight is straightforward.

When President Gustavo Petro took office in August 2022, the same series showed about COP 804 trillion ($214bn). By December 2025, the stock was roughly COP 388 trillion ($103bn) higher.

Officials argue much of the financing covered inherited bills. They point to a $5bn obligation linked to the prior administration and the fuel price-stabilization fund gap of COP 70 trillion ($19bn).

Critics counter that the pace of borrowing is outrunning growth and narrowing fiscal room. The mix of debt helps explain why households feel the issue.

Colombia Faces Mounting Debt Pressures

Domestic debt stood near COP 838.5 trillion ($223bn), far larger than external debt near COP 354.1 trillion ($94bn). Within the local pile, marketable Treasury bonds dominate, including TES long-term near COP 662.3 trillion ($176bn).

Inflation-linked UVR instruments accounted for about one quarter of domestic debt. External liabilities are also more complex than “dollars only.”

The ministry’s breakdown shows about 64% in dollars, 15% in euros, and nearly 20% in Swiss francs. The Swiss-franc slice alone was around $18.6bn, adding currency risk alongside refinancing risk.

Debt service is the other pressure point. One prominent former finance minister estimates almost COP 400 trillion ($106bn) in new debt and COP 423 trillion ($113bn) in added interest commitments.

That implies more than COP 817 trillion ($217bn) in new debt-service obligations over time. In January 2026, the government highlighted a $4.95bn global bond deal with maturities from 2029 to 2033. It was a reminder that credibility, not rhetoric, sets the price of money.

This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Colombian markets and Latin American financial news.

For context on regional markets, see Brazil’s Ibovespa for the same session.

Also tracking regional peers: Chile’s IPSA closed the same session.

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