Some Aspects of Comparative Economy between Bogotá and the Total Country.

National GDP

According to official information, GDP growth in 2.023 was 0.6% lower than that of 7.3% in 2.022.The behavior of the GDP can be observed at the level of economic activity and in the case of the year 2.023 there are activities that decreased such as construction -4.2%, industry -3.5% and commerce -2.8% and others that increased such as financial activities 7.9%, artistic activities 7.9% and public administration 3.9%. Agriculture grew 1.8%.

The annual GDP growth of 0.6% corresponds within the year to quarterly growth of 2.9% for the first quarter and for the following quarters of 0.1%, -0.6% and 0.3%. There was a consensus among analysts and researchers that the fourth quarter was not going to continue as negative as the third, and indeed the quarter was positive, keeping the country away from falling into a technical recession that occurs when a country registers two consecutive negative quarters. However, what the specialists did not get right was the magnitude since they expected an average of 1.5% in that fourth quarter, more than double the real figure recorded by the economy.

This discrepancy in the figure estimated by specialists means that the estimate for the next quarter and that of the current full year, once the recent reported GDP data are incorporated, will be revised downwards and instead of an estimate of 1.8% for the year complete of 2.024 a lower between 1% and 1.5% is calculated.

Another issue of interest is that the GDP result of 0.6% is lower than the potential GDP which is 2.8%. The potential GDP is the historical GDP of the country, it is like an average of the last 20 years where atypical falls and rebounds are not counted, but rather the GDP obtained under normal circumstances of economic activity. Thus, for Colombia, the potential GDP for the year 2.024 is 3%, which indicates that if the country grows in GDP at 1.2% in that year, it is doing so below its potential GDP, as also happened in the year 2.023.

In contrast, in the year 2.022, when the country grew in GDP by 7.3%, it did so in a figure that is above its potential GDP, which was 3.6%.

Bogotá GDP

Once the national GDP for the year 2.023 was reported, the GDP by cities and regions will be known within two months. Meanwhile, some observations are as follows. In 2.022, Bogotá's GDP was, according to official sources, 9.5% higher than that registered by the nation of 7.3%. For the year 2.023, with figures as of june, it registered a GDP of 1.6% and they expect one of 2% by the end of the year 2.023, higher than the nation's 0.6%.

With data as of june of that year, the economic activities that stood out were: artistic activities 16.7%, financial activities 8.2% and agriculture 7.8%. Those that decreased were industry -3.6%, construction -8.9% and commerce -1.4%.

Bogotá contributes more than a quarter of the nation's GDP, 16% of the total population as well as a third of national taxes.

It should be noted that in Bogotá only the Suba and Kennedy neighborhoods together have the same population as Cali and slightly less than that of Medellín. Suba has the same population as Barranquilla and Kennedy has the same population as Cartagena. Neighborhoods like Usaquén and Chapinero have fewer inhabitants than those mentioned before.

Also, as in the country as a whole, for Bogotá a GDP of 2% in 2.023 would be below its potential GDP which is 3.5% and for the year 2.024 an expected GDP of 2.5% (which is higher than that of the nation) as well. It would still be below the potential GDP, which is 4%.

In contrast, in the year 2.022, when Bogotá grew in GDP by 9.5%, it did so above its potential GDP, which was 3.6%.

The Fiscal Deficit Figures in Colombia and Bogotá

As is known in the Financial Plan recently issued by the nation, the estimated fiscal deficit for the year 2.023 is -4.2% of GDP while for Bogotá, according to the local administration in the latest Financial Plan, the fiscal deficit is -1.3%. Likewise, for the following year, 2.024, the nation's fiscal deficit amounts to -5.3%, while in Bogotá it drops to -0.9%.

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Additional Note

About Private Cars in Bogotá.

If the total population of Bogotá, according to official sources, is subtracted from the children, young people and adolescents, who are 2.2 million, there remains an adult population of 5.8 million among which the 1.9 million private cars in the city would be distributed, a per capita of 0.3 car per person.

To begin with, the number of private cars corresponds to only 23% of the population, but there are neighborhoods where private cars are not the main means of transportation such as Suba, Kennedy, Engativa and Bosa and in contrast there are other neighborhoods such as Chapinero and Usaquén where the use of that vehicle is preferred, these last two are sectors with a relatively low population compared to that of the other neighborhoods mentioned but with income of the upper class and middle class population (although there are also poor subsectors).

Then it is worth observing that private cars are located mainly in those latter neighborhoods and thus the car per capita is higher in these neighborhoods such as Chapinero and Usaquén than in the rest of the city. Privilege for those populations that of course must comply with the " pico y placa", pay taxes and parking spaces for their use and for the other inhabitants of the city, the vast majority, their greatest option due to their income level is public transportation and for others the motorcycle.