LatinNews Daily - 19 August 2026

*Colombia’s national statistics department (Dane) has announced that the country’s GDP increased by 3.5% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026. This was up from year-on-year growth of 2.2% in Q1 and marked the 11^th consecutive quarter of annual growth. In quarterly terms, GDP was up by 1.3% in Q2, compared to growth of 0.6% in Q1. The sectors which saw the strongest year-on-year growth in Q2 were public administration, defence, education, and healthcare (+10.0%) and artistic, recreation, training, and other service activities (+9.5%). The strongest quarterly growth was registered in construction (+6.4%) and artistic, recreation, training, and other service activities (+4.0%).