Colombia: Chemicals (% of value added in manufacturing)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Colombia's chemicals (% of value added in manufacturing) rose 0.07 percentage points on 2022 (from 17.93% to 18.01%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +0.08 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.21 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.69 percentage points in 2010 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.8 percentage points in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.36 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 65% 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.

How it compares

In 2023, Colombia had the 8th highest value of the 60 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 2023 ranking

• Puerto Rico (US) — 5th of 60: 29.16%
• United Arab Emirates — 6th of 60: 28.91%
• Senegal — 7th of 60: 19.46%
• Singapore — 9th of 60: 17.77%
• India — 10th of 60: 17%
• Slovenia — 11th of 60: 16.33%

What this measures

Manufacturing of chemicals and chemical products includes industries classified in ISIC (Rev. 3) division 24. Value added is the contribution to the economy by a producer or an industry or an institutional sector, which is estimated by the total value of output produced and deducting the total value of intermediate consumption of goods and services used to produce that output. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of value added in manufacturing which is the contribution to the economy by the manufacturing sector (ISIC Rev. 3 major division D).

Limitations: In establishing classifications systems compilers must define both the types of activities to be described and the units whose activities are to be reported. There are many possibilities, and the choices affect how the statistics can be interpreted and how useful they are in analyzing economic behavior. The ISIC emphasizes commonalities in the production process and is explicitly not intended to measure outputs (for which there is a newly developed Central Product Classification). Nevertheless, the ISIC views an activity as defined by "a process resulting in a homogeneous set of products."

All 61 values

Chemicals (% of value added in manufacturing) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 13.83% (2024)
• Bolivia — 9.42% (2019)
• Brazil — 11.11% (2023)
• Chile — 14.23% (2017)
• Costa Rica — 4.49% (2023)
• Ecuador — 8.91% (2023)
• Mexico — 7.16% (2024)
• Nicaragua — 2.93% (2024)
• Panama — 4.59% (2020)
• Peru — 6.02% (2024)

More economic policy & debt data for Colombia

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$65.81 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$65.15 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$70.85 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (current LCU) — 287.16 trillion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$62.45 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant LCU) — 171.23 trillion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 15.49% (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$334.79 billion (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Colombia's chemicals (% of value added in manufacturing)?

18.01% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1963?

It is up 8.01 percentage points from 9.99% in 1963. The highest value was 19.26% in 2020 and the lowest 9.99% in 1963.

How does Colombia rank?

8th highest of 60 economies with data for 2023.

Is the latest change in chemicals (% of value added in manufacturing) unusual for Colombia?

In 2023, Colombia's chemicals (% of value added in manufacturing) rose 0.07 percentage points on 2022 (from 17.93% to 18.01%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1993 to 2022), the average change was +0.08 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.21 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NV.MNF.CHEM.ZS.UN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics, UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) 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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