Colombia: Borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Colombia's borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) fell 12.85 on 2023 (from 275.88 to 263.02).

Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2023), the average change was +9.04 and a typical year strayed about 9.37 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 26.24 in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 12.9 in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 4.05 a year. A straight line explains 69% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 290.14 for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 10.2, against 18.6 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2024, Colombia had the 34th highest value of the 78 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Colombia in the 2024 ranking

• Namibia — 31st of 78: 297.11
• Kyrgyz Republic — 32nd of 78: 267.63
• Mauritius — 33rd of 78: 263.13
• Kosovo — 35th of 78: 261.42
• Costa Rica — 36th of 78: 259.81
• Tunisia — 37th of 78: 253.69

What this measures

Borrowers from commercial banks are the reported number of resident customers that are nonfinancial corporations (public and private) and households who obtained loans from commercial banks and other banks functioning as commercial banks.

Limitations: For many countries data cover the total number of loan accounts due to lack of information on loan account holders. For several countries, data cover all borrowers including commercial banks, credit unions and financial cooperatives, deposit taking microfinance institutions, and other deposit takers. These include all resident financial corporations and quasi-corporations (except the central bank) that are mainly engaged in financial intermediation and that issue liabilities included in the national definition of broad money.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 21 values

Borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 389.59 (2024)
• Belize — 147.22 (2024)
• Bolivia — 81.14 (2024)
• Brazil — 767.6 (2024)
• Chile — 355.49 (2024)
• Costa Rica — 259.81 (2024)
• Dominican Republic — 250.49 (2024)
• Ecuador — 147.64 (2024)
• Guatemala — 167.44 (2024)
• Haiti

More financial sector data for Colombia

• Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 206.38 (2025)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 5.14% (2025)
• GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 181.44 (2025)
• DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$4,053 (2025)
• Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$4,053 (2025)
• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 5.42% (2025)
• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 39.83% (2025)
• Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 970.94 trillion (2025)
• Net foreign assets (current LCU) — 241.28 trillion (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Colombia's borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults)?

263.02 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2004?

It is up 152.76% from 104.06 in 2004 (4.75% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 280.9 in 2022 and the lowest 104.06 in 2004.

How does Colombia rank?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FB.CBK.BRWR.P3, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Financial Access Survey, International Monetary Fund (IMF), uri: https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.STA:FAS Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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