Science and technology in Colombia refers to the development of scientific research and technological innovation inColombia, and how these in turn affect Colombian society,politics, andculture.Colciencias is a government agency that supports fundamental and applied research in Colombia.
Colombia has more than 3,950 research groups in science and technology.[1] Colombia was ranked 71st in theGlobal Innovation Index in 2025.[2][3]
iNNpulsa, a government body that promotes entrepreneurship and innovation in the country, provides grants to startups, in addition to other services it and institutions provide. Co-working spaces have arisen to serve as communities for startups large and small.[4][5] Organizations such as the Corporation for Biological Research (CIB) for the support of young people interested in scientific work has been successfully developed in Colombia.[6] The International Center for Tropical Agriculture based in Colombia investigates the increasing challenge ofglobal warming andfood security.[7]
Some leading Colombian scientists are Joseph M. Tohme, researcher recognized for his work on thegenetic diversity of food, Manuel Elkin Patarroyo who is known for his groundbreaking work onsynthetic vaccines formalaria,Francisco Lopera who discovered the "Paisa Mutation" or a type ofearly-onset Alzheimer's,[8]Rodolfo Llinás known for his study of the intrinsicneurons properties and the theory of a syndrome that had changed the way of understanding the functioning of the brain, Jairo Quiroga Puello recognized for his studies on the characterization ofsynthetic substances which can be used to fightfungus,tumors,tuberculosis and even someviruses and Ángela Restrepo who established accuratediagnoses and treatments to combat the effects of a disease caused by theParacoccidioides brasiliensis, among otherscientists.[9][10][11]
Colombia is seventh of the eightLatin American countries to havesatellites in orbit. On April 7, 2007Libertad I (CubeSat), was sent fromBaikonur cosmodrome, to orbit around the planet offeringtelemetry information and as a research purpose. It represents a milestone in the history of Colombia and the first step of the Colombianaerospace development.
With the establishment in Colombia of the Aeroleaver factory more than 50 years ago, and with a joint effort of the government, it was managed to develop the first Colombianairship, completely with Colombian technology and elaborated in the country, the "Sparrowhawk". At the momentArmed Forces of Colombia uses some of these airplanes, and others are of commercial use.
Colombia also builds a completely new version ofLancair Legacy aircraft for its Air Force. This is the first aircraft to be made in Colombia by the government and serves as trainer aircraft.[12][13][14]
Colombia has one of the largest if not the largestShipyards inLatin America located inCartagena. It produces Fluvial Support Patrol Ships, like theARC TF Juan Ricardo Oyola Vera which were developed byCotecmar Co.[15] These ships are intended to patrol rivers and littoral waters and features a helicopter deck.
The IAN-R1, which was donated by the United States and is currently located in Bogota, is a small nuclear reactor that was reactivated recently after being inactive for a few years. The IAN-R1 is used for research purposes. This reactor is used in the production ofneutrons and every year it provides 4,400 samples for analysis.[16] The electricity production in Colombia comes mainly fromrenewable energy sources. 69.97% is obtained from thehydroelectric generation.[17] Colombia's commitment to renewable energy was recognized in the 2014Global Green Economy Index (GGEI), ranking among the top 10 nations in the world in terms of greening efficiency sectors.[18]
As of 2007 Colombian medicine has been recognized as one of the most advanced in the world.[citation needed] Therefractive surgerykeratomileusis was developed byIgnacio Barraquer in 1964 in Bogotá. On January 10, 1985, Dr. Elkin Lucena performed the first successfulIn vitro fertilization, which allowed the birth of the first Latin Americantest tube baby Carolina Mendez. On December 14, 1985, the Dr. Alberto Villegas performed the firstheart transplant in Latin America to Antonio Yepes.[19]
On May 20, 1994Manuel Elkin Patarroyo received thePrince of Asturias Awards by his technical and scientific research in the development of syntheticmalaria vaccine. Dr.Jorge Reynolds Pombo is credited with having helped in the design of the first successful internal pacemaker in 1958.
Colombia ranks 22nd on theWorld Health Organization’s list of the best healthcare systems.[20] Health standards in Colombia have improved very much since the 1980s, healthcare reforms have led to massive improvements in the healthcare systems of the country. Although this new system has widened population coverage by the social and health security system from 21% (pre-1993) to 96% in 2012,[21]health disparities persist.
A study conducted byAmérica Economía magazine ranked 21 Colombianhealth care institutions among the top 44 in Latin America, amounting to 48 percent of the total.[22] Acancer research and treatment centre was declared as a Project of National Strategic Interest.[23]
Colombia has begun to innovate in military technology for its army and other armies of the world; especially in the design and creation of personalballistic protection products, military hardware,military robots,bombs, simulators and radar.[24][25]
Peace deal fostering sustainable development Colombia’s economy slowed at the end of the commodities boom in 2014. Although the drop in demand was partly offset by domestic consumption and investment levels, the growing imbalance between exports and imports still eroded GDP.[26]
Accession to the OECD in May 2018 should help Colombia to boost its exports. By 2018, growth had rebounded to 2.5% then 3.3% in 2019. The most momentous event in Colombia’s recent history has been the signing of a peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People’s Army (FARC–EP) that was ratified by parliament in 2016. This agreement will contribute to the fulfilment of the SDGs, through the following initiatives:[26]
By the end of 2019, 22 bio-expeditions had been undertaken in different regions as part of Colombia Bio, to enrich the scant taxonomic record. Colombia Bio is supporting bioprospecting to foster the development of products and services with high added value. It is also analysing the entire value chain as a preamble to making recommendations for how to mainstream the sustainable use of biodiversity at the institutional level. In parallel, the project is striving to develop a ‘biodiversity culture’ to ensure popular support for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.[26]
In 2019, the government created the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to replace Colciencias. Colciencias had been in charge of policy-making and evaluation. Since it had also fulfilled the vital role of implementation agency, the ministry established an autonomous unit in December 2019 in charge of implementation. In 2020, the government was contemplating establishing an independent implementation agency.[26]
The new ministry has taken over all of Colciencias’ portfolios, including those mentioned above and the Health Research Fund (FIS). The latter is a sectoral fund benefiting from a permanent source of income in the form of government revenue from casinos and lotteries.[26]
Regional pacts targeting equity Colombia’s modest research intensity has slipped further since 2015 but numbers of researchers are on the rise. Although these dual trends have reduced the amount of funding per researcher, the country’s scientific output actually grew by 52% over the 2015–2019 period.[26]
The National Development Plan 2018–2022: Pact for Colombia, Pact for Equity is structured by regional ‘pacts’ that seek to nurture the strengths of each region. These pacts are essentially cross-cutting agreements on strategic issues that include sustainability, peacebuilding, digital transformation, decentralization and STI. All the pacts are aligned with, or at least related to, the Sustainable Development Goals.[26]
In December 2019, the International Mission of the Wise established by the government delivered its final report on how to place knowledge at the heart of Colombia’s sustainable development. The report made recommendations on three key topics: biodiversity; productive sustainable development; and social equity. It also recommended raising domestic investment in R&D.[26]
This article incorporates text from afree content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO Text taken fromUNESCO Science Report: the Race Against Time for Smarter Development, Gabriela Dutrénit, Carlos Aguirre-Bastos, Martín Puchet and Mónica Salazar, UNESCO. To learn how to addopen license text to Wikipedia articles, please seethis how-to page. For information onreusing text from Wikipedia, please see the terms of use.
