In the first quarter of 2026, less than 20% of the General National Budget has been paid
The payment of the executed General National Budget is at 20%. Photo: Courtesy: Istock
TL;DR
- As of the first quarter of 2026, 19.2% of Colombia's $547 trillion General National Budget (PGN) has been executed and paid.
- Breakdown of execution: 18.4% for operations, 29.7% for debt service, and 10.8% for investment.
- Experts note positive commitment execution (34.2%) but a lag in active execution or payments.
- Education has the highest payments ($19 trillion), followed by health ($16.7 trillion), and defense ($12.1 trillion).
- Science and technology, intelligence, public employment, and sports show the lowest payment figures.
- The 2025 budget backlog had $48.9 trillion outstanding at the end of March 2026.