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— Key Points This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Colombia affairs and Latin American financial news.
For the first time in Colombia’s modern economic history, the sector that grew fastest was not powered by oil rigs or slot machines but by concert stages. The country’s GDP expanded 2.6% in 2025, statistics agency DANE reported Monday, with arts, entertainment and recreation posting an annual growth rate of 9.9% — the strongest of any sector.
DANE director Piedad Urdinola singled out the shift: for the first time, live concerts and events — not gambling and lotteries — were the engine behind the cultural sector’s expansion. The boom was concentrated in Bogotá and Medellín but visible nationwide, with the entertainment industry’s share of GDP having nearly doubled from 2.1% in 2019 to roughly 3.7% today. The sector has grown more than 130% over the past decade, according to DANE, propelled by international touring acts, improved venue infrastructure and rising domestic demand.
The broader picture, however, is more complicated. The 2.6% figure fell short of projections from the central bank (3.0%), Bancolombia (3.0%), and Bloomberg consensus (2.8%). The fourth quarter alone grew just 2.3%, and the monthly ISE tracking indicator slowed to 1.7% in December — down from 2.9% a year earlier.
Consumption Rises Investment Weakness Persists
Two sectors continued to act as structural drags. Mining and quarrying contracted 6.2% for the year, with oil production averaging 746,000 barrels per day — a 3.4% drop that cost the economy an estimated COP 2.3 trillion (~$530 million). Gas output fell 17.1%. Construction shrank 2.8%, weighed down by an 8.3% collapse in residential and commercial building that even robust civil works could not offset.
On the demand side, household consumption drove the recovery with a 4.2% annual increase, while government spending added further support. But investment sent a warning signal: gross capital formation fell 9.3% in Q4, reflecting structural weakness that analysts say limits long-term growth potential.
The result is an economy growing at a pace that looks respectable on paper but remains below its estimated 3% potential. Colombia closed 2025 with concerts filling arenas and consumers spending freely — yet with mines shutting down and cranes standing still, the question is whether entertainment can carry what extractive industries once did.
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