Colombia’s External Debt Climbs to Record Levels Under Petro, Far Above Uribe-Era Level

According to Banco de la República, Colombia’s external debt reached US $207.657 billion in May 2025, equal to 49.2% of GDP. This is one of the highest nominal debt levels in the country’s history.

The increase follows a sustained rise during President Gustavo Petro’s administration, which began in August 2022. When Petro took office, official data shows Colombia’s external debt stood at around US $175 billion (about 48% of GDP).

Since then, the figure has grown by more than US $32 billion in less than three years, while the debt-to-GDP ratio has remained close to the 50% mark. Public sector debt under Petro rose to US $116.774 billion by May 2025, with private sector debt at US $90.882 billion.

For comparison, at the end of Álvaro Uribe’s presidency in 2010, external debt was approximately US $53.8 billion, representing only 21.9% of GDP, according to central bank data.

This means in the 15 years since Uribe left office, Colombia’s external debt has almost quadrupled in dollar terms and more than doubled as a share of GDP.

The largest jumps in the debt ratio occurred after 2014, accelerating during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the ratio peaked at 57.7% of GDP in May 2021.

Although Petro inherited already-elevated debt levels, his government maintained high spending and large fiscal deficits. Measures included expanded social programs and subsidies, along with infrastructure and energy transition plans, requiring both domestic and foreign borrowing.

Most of Colombia’s external debt is denominated in U.S. dollars. This exposes the economy to exchange rate risks: when the peso loses value, debt repayments and interest costs rise in local currency terms.

In 2024 and 2025, global interest rate increases made the cost of servicing this debt more expensive, pressuring the fiscal balance. Under Uribe, debt levels were much lower relative to GDP, despite security and infrastructure spending.

His strategy leaned on tax increases, privatizations, and agreements with multilateral lenders to keep external debt growth contained. Even during the 2008–2009 financial crisis, the debt-to-GDP ratio stayed under 25%.

The contrast is stark: in Uribe’s final year, Colombia owed the equivalent of about one-fifth of its GDP abroad; in Petro’s third year, it owes nearly half.

Economists warn that a sustained ratio near or above 50% makes the economy more vulnerable to currency shocks, capital outflows, and higher borrowing costs.

For businesses and international observers, the message is clear. Colombia’s reliance on external borrowing has deepened, and returning to Uribe-era debt levels is no longer realistic.

Fiscal discipline and stronger economic growth will be needed to prevent further increases, but in the current political climate, spending cuts appear unlikely.

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