June 23 (UPI) -- Colombia's illegal cocaine trade generated more revenue than the country's oil exports in 2024, becoming its largest source of foreign currency, according to a new report.
The report by Valor Público, a research center at EAFIT University in Medellín, found that cocaine production and trafficking brought Colombian criminal organizations about $16.5 billion in 2024, equivalent to 4.4% of the country's gross domestic product.
That amount exceeded Colombia's crude oil exports, which generated about $15 billion in 2024. Oil has long been one of the main pillars of Colombia's formal economy.
The research, led by Santiago Tobón, a security expert and director of Valor Público at EAFIT University, and economist Daniel Mejía said the cocaine economy's weight in Colombia has tripled over the past decade.
The study found that cocaine revenue also surpassed other traditional legal exports, including coal, which generated $7.1 billion, as well as coffee, gold and flowers.
