Bogotá's economy grew 10.3% in 2021

On Tuesday of this week, the National Statistics Department (DANE) and the Secretariat of the Economic Development Zone stated that Bogotá recorded an economic growth of 10.3% throughout 2021.

These organizations highlighted that 10 of the 12 economic activities carried out in Bogotá increased last year. “Wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, arts, entertainment and recreation, public administration and defense, education and health accounted for 78.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) growth,” they said in a press release.

In this sense, the commerce sector increased by 16.3%, which led to a significant increase in the economy, contributing 3.6% points to the added value. On the other hand, it affected the value added by 1.8% points in the industry guild.

It should be remembered that these data are presented two years after the Covid-19 pandemic experienced by the capital, as the result indicates in the document that “most activities have already recovered the level of activity before the pandemic”.

In fact, Alfredo Bateman, Bogotá's Minister of Economic Development, said: “Double-digit economic growth is good news for the city, especially considering that the different sectors most affected by the pandemic are the ones that registered the most growth.”

On the other hand, the official stressed that the Secretariat has a new challenge: “to transform these good results into more opportunities and more jobs”. The capital will focus on “backward” population segments, such as women, young people and over 50 in 2022, to “take advantage of the productivity gains caused by the pandemic,” added Bateman.

With these objectives in mind, the Secretariat praised the work it carries out through issues such as youth employment, entrepreneurs' and productive women's programs, and payments for employability outcomes.

A report published by DANE and the Secretariat also highlighted the economic performance of capital in the last quarter of 2021. “The consolidation of the reactivation process is reflected more strongly, showing an 11.2% growth compared to the same period of the previous year, which corresponds to a 106.8% recovery compared to the same quarter of 2019.”

During this period, all economic activities were carried out positively. Wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, public administration and defense, education and health, arts, entertainment, and recreational activities contributed 70.6% to the added value.

Even 10 of these 12 activities reached a total value of more than 100% compared to the data recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019. DANE and the Secretariat highlighted the recovery of arts, entertainment and recreation activities by 116.5%, and the Information and Communication Coalition at 115%. “These are the sectors that had the greatest recovery from pre-pandemic levels, at 118.8% and 110.4%, respectively.” I added that.

The results presented in front of the capital this Tuesday go hand in hand with a report published by DANE in February. The number presented by the Bank showed a growth of 10.6%, which positions Colombia as one of the countries in the world with the highest economic growth in 2021.

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