Economy - overview:
Venezuela continues to be highly dependent on the petroleum sector, which accounts for roughly one-third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and more than half of government operating revenues. Despite higher oil prices at the end of 2002 and into 2003, domestic political instability, culminating in a two-month national oil strike from December 2002 to February 2003, temporarily halted economic activity. The economy is likely to remain in a recession in 2003, after sinking an estimated 8.9 percent in 2002.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $132.8 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
-8.9% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $5,500 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 5%
industry: 50%
services: 45% (2001)
Population below poverty line:
47% (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 36.5% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
49.5 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
31.2% (2002)
Labor force:
9.9 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation:
services 64%, industry 23%, agriculture 13% (1997 est.)
Unemployment rate:
17% (2002 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $21.5 billion
expenditures: $27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Industries:
petroleum, iron ore mining, construction materials, food processing, textiles, steel, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly
Industrial production growth rate:
-5.4% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production:
87.6 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 31.7%
hydro: 68.3%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
81.47 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
3.08 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
505,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
63.95 billion bbl (January 2002 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
4.202 trillion cu m (January 2002 est.)
Agriculture - products:
corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish
Exports:
$28.6 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities:
petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures
Exports - partners:
US 60%, Brazil 5.5%, Colombia 3.5%, Italy 3.5%, Spain 3.4% (2000)
Imports:
$18.8 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Imports - commodities:
raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials
Imports - partners:
US 35.8%, Colombia 6.8%, Brazil 4.5%, Germany 3.9%, Italy 3.9% (2000)
Debt - external:
$38.2 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient:
$74 million (2000)
Currency:
bolivar (VEB)
Currency code:
VEB
Exchange rates:
bolivares per US dollar - 1,160.44 (2002), 723.666 (2001), 679.96 (2000), 605.717 (1999), 547.556 (1998)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
NOTE: The information regarding Venezuela on this page is re-published from the 2003 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guinea Geography 2003 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Venezuela Economy 2003 should be addressed to the CIA.
