Colombia Cocaine Revenue Reached $16.5 Billion in 2024, Surpassing Oil Exports

Cocaine sales in Colombia generated $16.5 billion in revenue in 2024, exceeding the roughly $15 billion earned from oil exports that year, according to research from EAFIT University. Oil export revenue remained Colombia's single largest export category, and combined oil and coal exports still exceeded cocaine revenue. Cocaine earnings equaled 4.4 percent of Colombia's gross domestic product.

Cocaine output volume increased sharply.

Economist Santiago Tobon, one of the study's authors, said the rise reflected greater quantities of pure product rather than higher domestic prices. Oil production continued a multi-year decline. State-owned Ecopetrol projected average daily output of 730,000 to 740,000 barrels of oil equivalent for 2026, down from more than 750,000 barrels per day in the first half of 2025 and 1.03 million barrels per day in 2015.

President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, who won election this week, has pledged to increase oil and gas output.