COUNTRY REPORT - VENEZUELA

COUNTRY INTRODUCTION

Figure 1: Map of Venezuela with Top 5 Populous Areas

Interactive Population Map (Click to View)

The five most populous urban areas/agglomerations in Venezuela are its capital Caracas, Maracaibo, Maracay, Barquisimeto, and Valencia (World Population Review, 2020). Below is a table of their respective populations:

Table 1: Top 5 Populous Urban Areas/Agglomerations

Top 5 Populous Areas

Rank	City	Population
1	Caracas	2,939,000
2	Maracaibo	2,258,000
3	Valencia	1,910,000
4	Barquisimeto	1,214,000
5	Maracay	1,203,000

Figure 2: Growth Rate Percentage in Venezuela Over Time

Growth Rate
Figure 2 shows the population growth rates in Venezuela’s five most populous areas from the 1950s to 2020. In this graph, we see that all areas’ growth rates have decreased over time, particularly in the city’s capital of Caracas. Migration plays a significant role in explaining these downwards trends in population growth.

An estimated 4.6 million people have migrated out of Venezuela since 2016. The three factors that have led to the migration are the economic crisis and shortages, human rights violations, and crime/violence (Rodríguez-Morales et al., 2019). These conditions along with hyperinflation, power cuts, shortages of both food and medicine are all consequences of the political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. These crises have led to the fleeing of Venezuelans with no relief insight. While Venezuelans have fled to neighboring countries to find work and support their families, others have had to flee further from home. Some of these people have sought refuge in Europe and the United States. In fact, Venezuela’s political and economic crises have caused a considerable migration flux to Europe and the Americas. At the global level, countries must consider what their role is in helping Venezuela as more and more citizens flee to countries like: Mexico, Italy, the United States, and plenty more (Eoyang et al., 2019).

Moreover, an increasing number of Venezuelans are migrating to Peru each year in particular. In 2016, 6,615 Venezuelan residents were registered in Peru but increased to more than 200,000 in 2017 and then 864,000 by September 2019 (Rodríguez-Morales et al., 2019).

URBAN & RURAL DISTRIBUTION
Urban: 88% of total population
Rural: 11.7% of total population
(CIA, 2020)

Figure 3: Rate of Growth of Urban Population

Figure 3 demonstrates Venezuela’s urban population growth from 1960-2020. Urban population growth steadily increased up until 2000, then plateaued until 2020. This plateau in urban growth is consistent with Figure 2’s plateau in population growth within the same time frame. As shown in Figure 2, while population itself steadily decreased, urban population growth subsequently increased. However, both growth rates plateaued around 2000, after Hugo Chavez was elected in 1999 (BBC News, 2019). These changes in population growth further speak to Venezuela’s migration flux following the country’s economic and political crises.

Concern of Host Countries:
A concern of the countries that Venezuelans are migrating to is that there has been an increase in infectious diseases for which they believe Venezuelan migrants are responsible. The displacement of these Venezuelans has harbored multiple repercussions for their receiving countries. For example, diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS are some of the diseases examined in the literature. Moreover, existing research has spotlighted the effects of Venezuelan migration, particularly on the HIV infection rates in countries receiving mass influx of Venezuelan migrants (Morales et al. 2019).

POPULATION DENSITY
84 people per sq. mile
Total land area: 340,561 sq. miles (Worldometer, 2020)

CLIMATIC & GEOPHYSICAL FEATURES OF LANDSCAPE
During the Spanish colonial period, Spanish explorer Francisco Fajardo established several settlements along the northerly coastline of Venezuela. Agricultural development in these areas aided the development of settlements into towns. However, rural populations remained small and dispersed due to limited amounts of arable land. In 1914, oil was discovered in the Maracaibo basin, thereby attracting individuals to the area (Carciente, 2020).

DEMOGRAPHY

Table 2: Crude Fertility Rate Compared to Neighboring Countries

Country	Crude_Mortality_Rate	Crude_Fertility_Rate
Venezuela	7.5 deaths/1,000	17.9 births/1,000
Colombia	5.6 deaths/1,000	15.4 births/1,000
Guyana	7.5 deaths/1,000	15.5 births/1,000

In Table 2, we find that Venezuela has a higher crude mortality rate relative to Colombia and the same crude mortality rate as Guyana. Additionally, Venezuela has a higher crude fertility rate than both of its neighboring countries.

Table 3: Life Expectancy

Sex	LifeExpectancy
Male	67.5 years
Female	74.7 years

As shown in Table 3, Venezuela’s life expectancy is 67.5 years for males and 74.7 years for females, giving females a 7.2 year lead in life expectancy (CIA, 2020). Further, Venezuela’s overall life expectancy increased from 71.8 in 1998 to 73.1 in 2010, then decreased to 72.1 in 2018 (simulating an arch-shaped curve). The country’s infant mortality rate is 31.1 deaths/1,000 live births for males and 24.5 deaths/1,000 live births for females (CIA, 2020).Infant mortality as whole decreased from 19.9 deaths/live births in 1998 to 14.7 deaths/live births from 2008-2011, then increased and plateaued at 21 deaths/live births from 2016-2018. Over a span of 20 years (1998-2018), infant mortality rates decreased as life expectancy increased and vice versa (The World Bank, 2020). Moreover, we can see how Venezuela’s political history has contributed to trends in these demographic metrics. In 1998, Hugo Chavez was elected president and launched the ‘Bolivarian Revolution,’ which brought a new Venezuelan constitution, as well as socialist and populist economic and social policies funded by high oil prices (BBC News, 2019). The new constitution provided free healthcare to all Venezuelan citizens and as a result, life expectancy at birth rose from 71.8 to 74.1 years for both genders and infant mortality fell from 26.7 to 14.6 deaths per 1000 live births between 1998 and 2013 (The Lancet, 2018).

Table 4: Median Age

Sex	MedianAge
Male	29.4 years
Female	30.7 years
All	30 years

From Table 4, we find that the median age of Venezuelan residents is 29.4 years for males and 30.7 years for females with an overall median age of 30 years (CIA, 2020). Of the population, 55.97% are of working age, or are between the ages 20 and 64 (United Nations, 2019). To better understand the demographic breakdown of Venezuela, below is an age sex pyramid which shows the country’s age distribution by sex, per 2020 estimates (United Nations, 2020).

Mortality
Venezuela had made immense improvements towards their infant mortality rates from 1950-2000, quickly becoming one of the most improved countries in Latin America due to its development of programs such as mass vaccination campaigns, and antibiotic distribution (Garcia, 2019). Beginning in 2010 the primary healthcare infrastructure has seen a progressive dismantling with reports that medical supplies have gone missing or getting embargoed and sitting in ports, with some media alleging corruption disrupting the distribution (Beyrer, 2019). Causing long term shortages of essential medicines and medical supplies, with only 30% of basic drugs to treat infectious diseases being available in public hospitals (Paniz-Mondolfi, 2019).

Since 2013, there have been no publications of official updated mortality statistics (Garcia, 2019). Making it difficult to accurately assess, there have been publicans such as The UN Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME) which produces an annual report on trends in neonatal, infant, and under-5 mortality for all UN member state that can be used in conjunction with others to assess the rate. The lack of statistics is due to the recent economic crisis that has caused the Venezuelan government to suppress the information claiming that there is no humanitarian crisis (The Lancet, 2018).

Figure 4: Age Sex Pyramid

By looking at Figure 4, we see that the number of individuals aged 0-4 is smaller than is typical of age sex distributions. This finding is unusual, and is likely attributed to the country’s severe economic crisis. Despite the Venezuelan government’s suppression of data on health statistics, numerous reports have found that in 2017, hundreds of young children had died from malnutrition, dehydration, and exacerbated by overcrowded hospitals (Kohut & Herrera, 2017). Moreover, many low-income families had become so desperate during the crisis that women saught out medical sterilization to avoid having children they could not financially care for (Kohut & Herrera). Therefore, child mortality and sterilization may account for the small number of individuals aged 0-4.

CULTURAL-LINGUISTIC INFORMAITON

Spanish is the official language of Venezuela and is spoken throughout the majority of the country. In 1995, 972.29 per 1,000 Venezuelans spoke Spanish (Nation Master, 2013). The “standard” version of Venezuelan Spanish is the Caracan dialect, which is predominantly spoken in the capital city of Caracas (Sawe, 2017). In addition to Spanish, there are several unspecified native languages.

There are even some indigenous communities in remote locations who do not understand Spanish. For example, speakers of the Warao language reside in the Orinoco Delta region in northeastern Venezuela. Speakers of the Wayuu language reside in the northwest. Speakers of the Cariban dialect Pemon are located in the southeast region of Venezuela. Panare is another Cariban dialect whose speakers live in the Bolivar state in southern Venezuela. Most indigenous languages fall under either the Cariban or Arawakan families (Sawe, 2017). Figure 5 shows a map of these indigenous regions (Ethnologue, 2020).

Figure 5: Language Map

Among other languages, people in Venezuela speak English, more commonly in high- and middle-class communities or in professional or academic settings (Sawe, 2017).

ECONOMIC INFORMATION

Venezuela relies on imports for 70% of its food consumption (USDA, 2013). As of 2020, 75.5% of the population in Venezuela worked in the services industry, meaning that a majority of the population worked in services, followed by 16% in the industrial sector, and 8% in agriculture (Pletcher, 2020). The current youth unemployment rate is 17.82 %. Youth is defined as individuals aged 15 to 24 years (Pletcher, 2020).

The typical worker in Venezuela earns about $1.54, or 1,590,000 VES, annually. The typical salary ranges from $0.39 to $6.85, or 402,000 VES to 7,090,000 VES annually (Salary Explorer, 2020). This dramatic exchange rate is attributed to substantial spikes in inflation rates within the past few years. The following two graphs help to illustrate these changes in the Venezuelan economy. The first is a plot of Venezuela’s GDP per capita from 1984 to 2021 (Statista, 2019). The second is a plot of Venezuela’s change in inflation rate during the same time period (Statista, 2019). From these plots, we can see the disastrous effects of Venezuela’s political and economic crisis, particularly from the years 2017-2018 and lasting to present day.

Figure 6: GDP Per Capita and Inflation Rates

Income Inequality
To study income inequality, it is best to look at the variability in Venezuela’s coefficient of human inequality as well at its inequality income percentage. The latter represents inequality in income distribution, based on data collected from household survey data and calculated by the Atkinson inequality index. Venezuela’s “inequality in income” percentage increased from 32% in 2010 to 45% in 2011. The income inequality percentage then dropped to 28.4% in 2013 and down to 25.2% in 2017 (United Nations, 2020). This 8-year trend is consistent with Venezuela’s coefficient of human inequality, which similarly increased from 2010 to 2011 and steadily decreased after 2013 (United Nations, 2020). The UN’s coefficient of human inequality measures Venezuela’s average level of inequality based on three central dimensions of human development: life expectancy, inequality in education, and inequality in income (United Nations, 2020).

The country’s GDP had halved between 2013 and 2018, consequently deepening poverty rates and income inequality. Economic reforms failed to contain hyperinflation and led to nearly 10% of the population emigrating between 2014 and 2018 (Pantoulas & McCoy, 2019). In response to Venezuela’s economic crisis, some citizens have turned to cybercrime. Information gathering operations have proven to be an especially lucrative business for individuals facing severe levels of poverty in Venezuela (Sesin, 2019). This is one example of how Venezuela’s economic conditions create new and often unconventional opportunities for citizens to stay afloat during an incredibly destabilizing economic crisis.

Noticeable Changes in the Country that Led to Inequality
Former President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez’s legacy left the country in shambles when he passed away in 2013. He gave the country a promise of “socialism of the 21st century”. In theory, his new socialism was to be used in order to close social gaps and resolve the short-term difficulties of the Venezuelans. What really happened is another story altogether. Chavez’s socialist policies actually worsened social gaps. This internal struggle has had implications on every level of society, from everyday earnings of $1.54 annually to Venezuelan officials illegally transferring goods to neighboring Colombia (Fernández, 2017). The Venezuelan economy shrank 5.8% in the last quarter of 2009 due to a global financial crisis. This to led to President Chavez announcing a sharp devaluation of Venezuela’s currency in January 2010. Having been reluctant in the past, this was the first time that Chavez had devalued the national currency. President Chavez made the decision to devalue the bolivar in hopes of boosting revenue from oil exports and revitalize the economy (BBC News, 2019).

In 2013, Hugo Chavez died from cancer and Nicolas Maduro took his place as president that same year (Millard et al., 2019). Chavez’s legacy left the country in shambles when he passed away, leading to a consequent surge in inflation and poverty rates, coupled with a data blackout of the central bank in 2014, leading to low visibility of the country’s overall economic condition (Millard et al., 2019). Overall, the economy quickly declined during the Maduro presidency and remains in a severe economic crisis today.

EDUCATION

On average, adults aged 25+ finish 10.3 years of schooling (Roser, 2019). With 69.2% of those continuing on and finishing a form of higher education such as college or university (United Nations). The Venezuelan Constitution guarantees the right to education for all. Stating that education must be democratic, free, and mandatory because it is a fundamental human right. Due to this factor higher education is typically free or very low cost. Venezuela’s six state universities are all federally funded (Clark, 2013).

Figure 7 illustrates the enrollment of students in secondary school who are 15 years old and above. Data was collected from the World Bank who has been gathering the following data over the past forty years. Moreover, as seen in the data there was a fairly constant rise in the percentage of students enrolled in school up until 2015. Then the percentage began to decline, there are many possible reasons for this decline as explored through the socioeconomic trends and their lasting impacts on the Venezuelan people.

Figure 7: Secondary School Enrollment

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