Venezuela  

Venezuela has an extremely high inflation rate of 19%. At 7%, the unemployment rate is comparatively low, but workers have access to a below average amount of physical capital, restricting labour productivity. Venezuela is amongst the five nations with the most severe level of dependence on raw material exports. Household expenditure is 25% of GDP and the domestic savings rate is 34% of GDP. However, foreign direct investment stands at less than 0.3% of GDP, suggesting that the country is an unattractive location for foreign investors. Venezuela’s banking sector remains uncompetitive and inefficient, as indicated by high net interest margins of 7.3 percentage points, and its terms of trade are very poor, ranking the country in the bottom quartile worldwide.

Barriers to entry, in terms of number of procedures required to start a business, are amongst the highest, worldwide, ranking the country 101st on this variable. The level of internet infrastructure as measured by bandwidth, and secure internet servers, are just below the global average. With only 93 personal computers per 1,000 people, the general public has very limited access to computer technology. ICT exports account for an extremely low percentage of total goods exports, ranking the country in the bottom 10, internationally. Similarly, high-tech exports account for only 3% of all exported goods, ranking the country 73rd on this variable. R&D expenditure is no more than 0.2% of GDP, implying a low interest in technological innovations, and value added in the service industry stands at 40% of GDP. On both variables Venezuela ranks in the bottom quintile. No data are available concerning registration of new businesses, or regarding royalty receipts.

Political rights and civil liberties are curtailed in Venezuela, ranking the country 72nd and 69th, respectively, on these variables. At the same time, the political system remains fairly open to political competition at both executive and legislative levels, and electoral processes are open and well regulated for executive elections. There are significant constraints in place to prevent political leaders from arbitrary action, ranking the country 43rd on this variable. However, the judicial system is not independent from other branches of the government, permitting political actors to interfere with legal proceedings. With the last political upheaval taking place just under 40 years ago, Venezuela ranks 31st, internationally, on this measure of political stability.

With an enrolment rate of 91% and one teacher for every 19 pupils, primary education in Venezuela ranks near the global average. At both the primary and secondary level, there are 103 girls enrolled for every 100 boys. By contrast, levels of gross secondary enrolment are low at 77%. Venezuelan workers have had, on average, only 2.6 years of secondary schooling; however, tertiary schooling levels are much higher. Gross enrolment in tertiary education, at 52%, is comparatively high, with Venezuela ranking 33rd on this variable.

Although there are an above average number of health professionals per 1,000 people, ranking the country 44th, the number of hospital beds available is much lower comparatively, ranking the country 80th on this variable. The health-adjusted life expectancy in Venezuela is above the global average at 64 years, despite 18% of the population being undernourished and infant mortality standing at 18 deaths per 1,000 live births. Nine out of 10 Venezuelans are satisfied with their personal health, and 79% report feeling well rested, ranking the country in the top 10 on both variables.* Only 21% of people reported health problems and 26% of respondents claimed to have been in pain for a large part of the preceding day.* Over 90% of Venezuelans have access to improved sanitation facilities, but less than three-quarters think the quality of their water is satisfactory, ranking the country just 56th, internationally.*

Venezuela has considerable security challenges related to refugees, social groups with a history of discrimination, and human flight, ranking the country 58th, 73rd, and 69th, respectively, on these variables. A significant factor contributing to insecurity is governmental involvement in violence against its own citizens, ranking Venezuela 79th on this variable. Citizens are victim to some of the highest crime rates, globally, with 24% of people reporting property stolen in 2008 and 19% reporting muggings or assaults.* Unsurprisingly, only 39% of people said that they felt safe walking alone after dark, ranking the country 99th on this variable.*

Venezuela’s civil service is highly inefficient and ineffective when implementing governmental objectives, ranking the country in the bottom 10 on this variable. Only 56% of Venezuelans have confidence in the country’s military.* The legal and judicial system in Venezuela is also underdeveloped, and laws are enforced arbitrarily, resulting in a ranking of 102nd on this variable. However, nearly 50% of Venezuelans have confidence in the legal system, a rate that is near the global median.* Additionally, although political participation is limited, over half of the population believe that elections are fair and honest.* Venezuela’s regulatory environment is, internationally, the fourth most hostile to commercial activity and markets are often uncompetitive. Nonetheless, less than three-quarters of the population believe corruption to be widespread in local businesses and government, ranking Venezuela in the top third on both of these variables.*

Venezuelan citizens enjoy freedom of movement and speech as well as the ability to freely exercise and practise their religious beliefs, ranking the country 40th on these measures. Just over three-quarters of citizens report to be satisfied with the freedom of choice afforded to them in their daily lives.* Almost seven out of 10 Venezuelan citizens felt their country was a good place to live for immigrants.* However, tolerance of both ethnic and racial minorities was considered very low, ranking Venezuela in the bottom quartile on this variable.*

Only 16% of the Venezuelan population believe that they can trust others, and consistently low scores are recorded on the variables of charitable giving, volunteer work, and helping strangers, ranking the country below average in all three variables.* The importance of friends ranks highly among Venezuelans, as does the belief that friends and family can be relied on in times of need,* ranking Venezuela 26th and 15th, respectively, on these variables.* Venezuelans report moderate levels of religious practice, placing the country 54th, suggesting reasonable access to religious support networks.* There were no data available on group membership.

* Data taken from the Gallup World Poll

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