Economy

Imports
$9.59 billion (2022). Soybean Oil ($365M), Soybean Meal ($305M), Corn ($286M), Rice ($244M), and Raw Sugar ($241M), importing mostly from China ($3.01B), United States ($2.21B), Brazil ($1.33B), Colombia ($632M), and Turkey ($366M).

Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of  age)
• 84% have an account with a financial institution
• 18.5% have a credit card
• 30.3% have a mobile money account
• 15.7% make online purchases

Ease of doing business
Ease of conducting business is below average (rated 30.2 out of 100) ranked 32nd out of 32 Latin American countries ranked 188th out of 190 countries worldwide (2022, World Bank).

Exports
$4.3 billion (2022). Scrap Iron ($564M), Petroleum Coke ($509M), Crude Petroleum ($495M), Acyclic Alcohols ($418M), and Raw Aluminium ($337M), exporting mostly to China ($703M), Turkey ($597M), Spain ($518M), United States ($438M), and Brazil ($361M).

Main local online stores
Linio, Zapacos, Tuticket.com, TodoClon.com, Traetelo.com, EPA, Macro, Zelvas.

Economic freedom
‘Repressed’ (rated 28.1 out of 100) ranked 31st out of 32 Latin American countries, and ranked 174th out of 176 countries worldwide (2023, Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal).

Media

Media language
Spanish

Information channels
Political polarization is mirrored in the media, a process that began under the late president Hugo Chavez, whose critics accused him of persecuting hostile media operators during his 1999–2013 rule. Opponents of President Nicolas Maduro say he has continued these tactics, which have also been condemned by media freedom groups. Anti-government and exiled media have emerged online. Many journalists have fled Venezuela because of threats and physical dangers, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Print media are often affected by “strange newsprint shortages”, RSF says. Some newspapers have reported being forced to stop printing after being denied hard currency to buy newsprint and ink. The government’s main TV mouthpiece is Venezolana de Television (VTV), which carries Mr. Maduro’s speeches and reports on the activities of his ministers. Its coverage routinely ignores the opposition. Telecoms regulators have barred many of VTV’s competitors from cable networks. Globovision, a one-time critical channel, changed its editorial line after it was sold to government-linked owners in 2013. Venezuela is the main shareholder in Telesur, a Caracas-based pan-American TV. Governments with a stake in the venture are all left-wing or left of center. The government and its opponents use social media as a battleground. Officials and the military operate an array of interlocking Twitter accounts, as does the opposition movement. During street violence in early 2019, NetBlocks, a digital rights organization, documented disruptions in access to Twitter, Facebook, and the video streaming app Periscope.

The press

El Nacional – online only, Caracas
Ultimas Noticias – Caracas-based daily
El Universal – Caracas-based daily
El Carabobeno – online only, Valencia-based
Efecto Cocuyo – online, independent news outlet
El Estímulo – online, independent news outlet
El Pitazo – online, independent news outlet
El Diario – online, independent news outlet

Television

Venezolana de Television – state-run
Televen – private
Venevision – private
Globovision – private
Telesur – Caracas-based pan-American TV

Radio

Radio Fe y Alegría – independent radio network
Unión Radio – independent news radio
Radio Nacional de Venezuela – state-run
Union Radio Noticias – commercial news network

News agency

Agencia Venezolana de Noticias (AVN) – state-run, pages in English
LaPatilla – news website

Internet Data

Internet users
61.6% penetration, 17.94 million

Share of web traffic by device
56.44% mobile phones, 41.23% computers (laptops and desktops), 2.29% tablet devices, others 0.03%.

Median speed of mobile Internet connection
11.15 Mbps

Median speed of fixed Internet connection
39.83 Mbps

Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 73.2%

Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 99.4%

Most popular web search engines
Google (95.85%), Bing (3.26%), Yahoo! (0.6%), DuckDuckGo (0.12%), Yandex (0.08%), other (0.08%). 

Most used social media
Facebook (45.58%), Instagram (21.49%), Pinterest (13.11%), Twitter (10.97%), YouTube (7.91%), Tumblr (0.42%), reddit (0.31%), other (0.21%).

Social statistics

Life expectancy
71 yrs (2022)

Gender
While it remains true that Latin-American men often discriminate against women at work (machismo), in Venezuela, this is changing. Every day, women are demonstrating (in real terms) they can be as competitive as men at any position, if not more. 

Corruption perceptions Index
Venezuela scored 14 out of 100, ranked 177 out of 180 countries worldwide.

Current health expenditure
3.82% of GDP

Religion
In reference to religion, Venezuelans are mainly Catholic, some Jewish, and some Anglican. Religion is not a sensitive issue or topic. All religions are respected.

CO2 emissions
2.5 metric tons per capita

World Happiness Index
Venezuela ranked 108 out of 137 countries, with a score of 4.925.

Current education expenditure
97.1% of total expenditure in public institutions.