Government and power in Colombia

Who leads Colombia, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary republic (decentralised).

Who leads Colombia?

• Head of state: Abelardo Gabriel De La Espriella Otero (Presidente de la República de Colombia)
• Head of government: No Prime Minister
• Foreign minister: Omar Bula Escobar (Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de la República de Colombia)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Colombia

Government

• Government of Colombia portal
  Single portal for state procedures, services and links to public bodies.
• Presidency of the Republic
  Presidential decrees, speeches and official announcements.

Parliament

• House of Representatives
  Bills, session records and representative information for the lower house of Congress.
• Senate of the Republic
  Bills, session agendas, votes and senator information for the upper house.

Elections

• National Civil Registry
  Voter registration, election organisation and official results.
• National Electoral Council
  Party registration, campaign finance oversight and resolutions on electoral disputes.

Courts

• Supreme Court of Justice
  Rulings of the civil, labour and criminal chambers and court news.
• Council of State
  Rulings of the highest administrative court and advisory opinions.
• Constitutional Court
  Constitutional judgments, tutela reviews and press releases.

Public audit

• Comptroller General of the Republic
  Fiscal audit reports, public finance reports and fiscal liability findings.

Ombudsman

• Ombudsman's Office
  Human rights reports, early-warning alerts and complaint handling information.

Access to information

• Office of the Inspector General
  As the Ministerio Público, oversees compliance with the transparency and access-to-information law, and publishes disciplinary decisions.

Public contracts

• Colombia Compra Eficiente (SECOP)
  Runs the SECOP public procurement system and publishes contracts and procurement data.

Laws and the official gazette

• SUIN-Juriscol
  Consolidated Colombian laws, decrees and related case law maintained by the Ministry of Justice.
• National Printing Office (Official Gazette)
  The Diario Oficial with laws, decrees and official acts.

Government below the national level

• Departments (32): Governor and departmental assembly directly elected for four years
• Municipalities and districts (about 1,102 + Bogotá Capital District): Mayor (alcalde) and municipal council (concejo) directly elected for four years
• Comunas, corregimientos and Bogotá's 20 localidades: Local administrative boards (Juntas Administradoras Locales, JAL) directly elected; Bogotá's local mayors appointed by the city mayor from a list proposed by the JAL

How local power works in Colombia

Places in Colombia

• All 33 capital districts
• The 74 largest cities
• Official statistics for Colombia

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.