Economy - overview: Venezuela remains highly dependent on oil revenues, which account for roughly 95% of export earnings, about 45% of federal budget revenues, and around 12% of GDP. Fueled by high oil prices, record government spending helped to boost GDP growth by 4.2% in 2011, after a sharp drop in oil prices caused an economic contraction in 2009-10. Government spending, minimum wage hikes, and improved access to domestic credit created an increase in consumption which combined with supply problems to cause higher inflation - roughly 26% in 2011 and 21% in 2012. President Hugo CHAVEZ's efforts to increase the government's control of the economy by nationalizing firms in the agribusiness, financial, construction, oil, and steel sectors have hurt the private investment environment, reduced productive capacity, and slowed non-petroleum exports. In the first half of 2010 Venezuela faced the prospect of lengthy nationwide blackouts when its main hydroelectric power plant - which provides more than 35% of the country's electricity - nearly shut down. In May 2010, CHAVEZ closed the unofficial foreign exchange market - the "parallel market" - in an effort to stem inflation and slow the currency's depreciation. In June 2010, the government created the "Transaction System for Foreign Currency Denominated Securities" to replace the "parallel" market. In December 2010, CHAVEZ eliminated the dual exchange rate system and unified the exchange rate at 4.3 bolivars per dollar. In January 2011, CHAVEZ announced the second devaluation of the bolivar within twelve months. In December 2010, the National Assembly passed a package of five organic laws designed to complete the transformation of the Venezuelan economy in line with CHAVEZ's vision of 21st century socialism. In 2012, Venezuela continued to wrestle with a housing crisis, high inflation, an electricity crisis, and rolling food and goods shortages - all of which were fallout from the government's unorthodox economic policies. The budget deficit for the entire government reached 17% of GDP in 2012, and public debt as a percent of GDP climbed steeply to 49%, despite record oil prices.
GDP (purchasing power parity): GDP (official exchange rate): GDP - real growth rate: GDP - per capita (PPP): Gross national saving: GDP - composition, by end use: GDP - composition, by sector of origin: Agriculture - products: Industries: Industrial production growth rate: Labor force: Labor force - by occupation: Unemployment rate: Population below poverty line: Household income or consumption by percentage share: Distribution of family income - Gini index: Budget: Taxes and other revenues: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-): Public debt: Fiscal year: Inflation rate (consumer prices): Central bank discount rate: Commercial bank prime lending rate: Stock of narrow money: Stock of broad money: Stock of domestic credit: Market value of publicly traded shares: Current account balance: Exports: Exports - commodities: Exports - partners: Imports: Imports - commodities: Imports - partners: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Debt - external: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: Exchange rates:
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Venezuela on this page is re-published from the 2014 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Venezuela Economy 2014 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Venezuela Economy 2014 should be addressed to the CIA.
$397.9 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 34
note:
data are in 2012 US dollars
[see also: GDP country ranks ]
$376.1 billion (2012 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]
5.6% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]
$13,500 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 98
note:
data are in 2012 US dollars
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]
28.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30
[see also: Gross national saving country ranks ]
household consumption: 58.9%
[see also: GDP - composition, by end use - household consumption country ranks ]
government consumption:
12.2%
investment in fixed capital:
19.9%
investment in inventories:
6.1%
exports of goods and services:
25.8%
imports of goods and services:
-22.9%
agriculture: 3.7%
[see also: GDP - composition, by sector of origin - agriculture country ranks ]
industry:
35.5%
services:
60.8% (2012 est.)
corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish
petroleum, construction materials, food processing, textiles; iron ore mining, steel, aluminum; motor vehicle assembly, chemical products, paper products
4.7% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 60
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]
13.49 million (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]
agriculture: 7.3%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry:
21.8%
services:
70.9% (4th quarter, 2011)
7.8% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 87
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]
31.6% (2011 est.)
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]
lowest 10%: 1.7%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%:
32.7% (2006)
39 (2011)
country comparison to the world: 69
[see also: Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks ]
revenues: $109.8 billion
[see also: Budget revenues country ranks ]
expenditures:
$165.3 billion (2012 est.)
29.2% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 100
[see also: Taxes and other revenues country ranks ]
-14.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 213
[see also: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) country ranks ]
26.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 121
note:
data cover central government debt, as well as the debt of state-owned oil company PDVSA; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include some debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; some debt instruments for the social funds are sold at public auctions
[see also: Public debt country ranks ]
calendar year
21.1% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 217
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]
29.5% (31 December 2010)
country comparison to the world: 3
[see also: Central bank discount rate country ranks ]
16.38% (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 27
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]
$162.7 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]
$188.2 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]
$160.1 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 45
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]
$5.143 billion (31 December 2011)
country comparison to the world: 89
[see also: Market value of publicly traded shares country ranks ]
$11.02 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]
$97.34 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39
[see also: Exports country ranks ]
petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, minerals, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures
US 39.1%, China 14.3%, India 12%, Netherlands Antilles 7.8%, Cuba 4.6% (2012)
$59.31 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 50
[see also: Imports country ranks ]
agricultural products, livestock, raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, iron and steel products
US 31.7%, China 16.8%, Brazil 9.1%, Colombia 4.8% (2012)
$29.89 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]
$75.75 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 53
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]
$47.4 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 55
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home country ranks ]
$21.25 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad country ranks ]
bolivars (VEB) per US dollar -
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 06-Nov-14