Venezuela profile

Demography and Health

In 2024, Venezuela is home to about 28.4 million people, placing it around the 53rd largest population globally. The country’s fertility is moderate, with a birth rate of 15.1 per 1,000 people, while the crude death rate stands at 7.56 per 1,000, implying a positive but gradual natural population increase. Life expectancy at birth is 72.5 years, and under-5 mortality is 24.3 per 1,000 live births, signaling persistent child health challenges that warrant continued attention to maternal and child health services. The demographic picture is further shaped by a substantial net outflow of people, with migration in 2024 totaling -105,297, indicating significant emigration driven by economic and possibly security concerns. When combined with a growing population, this out-migration suggests evolving age structure and potential skills shortages, with implications for both social programs and economic dynamism. How health systems are financed adds another layer of constraint: current health expenditure amounts to 4.55% of GDP (2022), and domestic general government health expenditure per capita, in PPP terms, is about $59.6 (2022). These figures point to relatively constrained public investment in health relative to many peers, which can impede access to care and the scale of preventive and curative services amid rising demand. Nutrition remains a vulnerability, with 17.6% of the population undernourished (2022), underscoring the links between health, food security, and social protection. Governance indicators help explain some of the health financing and service delivery constraints: political stability and absence of violence/terrorism score -1.19, regulatory quality -2.03, rule of law -2.15, control of corruption -1.69, and government effectiveness -1.6. Taken together, these signals suggest that improving health outcomes requires not only resources but credible policy, transparent administration, and effective delivery mechanisms to reach underserved communities and to address nutrition, child health, and access disparities.

Economy, Trade and Investment

The available indicators sketch a challenging but nuanced economic landscape. Venezuela’s military expenditure in 2023 is about $3.92 billion (interpreted from a value of 3,917,057 in current US$), which places it mid-range in global comparisons and reflects continued defense spending within a context of broader fiscal stress. Governance weaknesses are prominent: political stability -1.19, regulatory quality -2.03, rule of law -2.15, control of corruption -1.69, and government effectiveness -1.6 imply an uncertain macro policy environment and elevated risk for investment, contracting, and business operations. Trade and infrastructure quality show a mixed signal: the Logistics Performance Index for quality of trade and transport-related infrastructure is 2.4 on a 1–5 scale (2022), with a global rank of 22, indicating that while some trade logistics capacity exists, efficiency constraints and costs remain potential barriers to diversified trade and export growth. The energy mix reveals a substantial role for renewables, with renewable energy consumption at 33.7% of total final energy consumption (2021), suggesting momentum toward cleaner energy and potential opportunities for investment in grid modernization, storage, and distributed generation. Emissions per capita are moderate at 5.38 t CO2e (2023), aligning with a developing economy that is transitioning its energy use. Health spending is relatively low, at 4.55% of GDP (2022), and per-capita health expenditure in PPP terms is about $59.6 (2022), implying limited public resources that can constrain social and physical infrastructure upgrades. Net migration continues to be a factor, with a 2024 net outflow of 105,297 people, signaling potential long-run implications for labor supply, domestic demand, and entrepreneurship. Considering these dynamics together, Venezuela’s investment climate is hampered by governance fragility and migration headwinds, even as there are opportunities tied to energy diversification and some logistics capacity. Policy reform toward stronger rule of law, corruption control, and regulatory quality could unlock investment, improve contract enforcement, and support diversification away from a narrow resource focus, thereby enhancing productivity, competitiveness, and resilience in the face of external shocks.

Governance and Institutions

Venezuela presents a portrait of significant governance challenges across multiple domains. The World Bank-style indicators show political stability and absence of violence/terrorism at -1.19, regulatory quality at -2.03, rule of law at -2.15, control of corruption at -1.69, and government effectiveness at -1.6 (all values in 2023 except where noted). These negative scores reflect weak institutional capacity, limited policy credibility, and challenges in enforcing rules and delivering public services. Such a governance environment raises substantial risk for investors, complicates policy continuity, and hinders effective public administration, which in turn can slow reforms needed to stabilize the economy, improve health and education systems, and attract capital. Nevertheless, governance weakness is not uniform across all dimensions. The relatively mid-range Logistics Performance Index score suggests that trade and transport infrastructure exists and can function, offering a potential anchor for reform if governance improves contract enforcement, transparency, and anti-corruption measures. Strengthening accountability, ensuring predictable regulations, and building independent, professional institutions would be critical steps toward restoring confidence among citizens and international partners and toward enabling more effective implementation of development policies and public investment programs.

Infrastructure and Technology

Infrastructure and technology indicators point to a mixed but improvable landscape. The Logistics Performance Index score of 2.4 out of 5 (2022), with a global rank of 22, indicates Venezuela has some foundational logistics capacity—enabling import/export activity—but also clear room for efficiency gains in roads, ports, customs, and other trade-related infrastructure. On the energy side, renewable energy accounts for 33.7% of total final energy consumption (2021), signaling meaningful progress toward a cleaner energy base and offering opportunities for investment in grid modernization, storage, and diversification of the energy supply. Water resource data shows a freshwater withdrawal of 7.54% of available resources (2021), suggesting manageable water stress relative to resource availability, though climate variability and population growth could alter this balance without proper management and investment in water infrastructure. Total greenhouse gas emissions per capita are 5.38 tCO2e (2023), aligning with a developing economy still in transition. Public health expenditure as a share of GDP is 4.55% (2022) and per-capita health expenditure in PPP terms is $59.6 (2022), indicating limited budgetary space for large-scale infrastructure or technology upgrades in health and social sectors. Overall, Venezuela has foundational infrastructure and energy diversification in place but would benefit from governance improvements that enable efficient project execution, greater private sector participation, and faster adoption of technology in transport, energy, and public services.

Environment and Sustainability

Environmentally, Venezuela presents a mix of strengths and vulnerabilities. Total greenhouse gas emissions per capita are 5.38 t CO2e (2023), placing the country in a moderate emissions tier relative to many peers. A notable portion of energy—about one-third of total final energy consumption—comes from renewable sources (33.7%, 2021), reflecting potential for continued decarbonization and resilience in the energy system as the country modernizes its grid and expands clean-energy capacity. However, social dimensions of sustainability show nutritional vulnerability, with 17.6% of the population undernourished (2022), a statistic that highlights food-security challenges that climate change and economic instability can intensify. Water resources show relatively low withdrawal pressure at 7.54% of available freshwater (2021), indicating some resource resilience, but climate variability could alter this balance and require water management investments. Governance weaknesses—weaknesses in regulatory quality, rule of law, and anti-corruption efforts—complicate the design and enforcement of environmental policies and investment in sustainability projects. Addressing climate risk, expanding renewable energy, and stabilizing governance to implement environmental regulations effectively will be crucial for achieving long-term environmental and human development objectives in Venezuela.