位於南美洲北部,擁有世界第一石油儲量,更是石油輸出組織OPEC的發起國,石油收入占全國出口收入的99%。但2012年左派總統馬杜羅上台後經濟表現驟降,GDP增長率從2014年開始皆為負值,為全美洲最差。2019年爆發政治危機,反對派領袖瓜伊多宣布成立臨時政府,獲得西方國家支持,中俄古巴則支持立場偏左的馬杜羅。此危機使經濟加速惡化,2016年進入惡性通膨,2019年達到10,000,000%,糧食嚴重短缺,可以說是窮到只剩石油。雖為民主共和國家,但其民主指數為美洲最低,甚至落後於獨裁國家古巴。
Year Founded: 1830
Located in northern South America, Venezuela has the world’s largest known oil reserves and is a founding member of OPEC. Its economy is strongly dependent on the exportation of oil. Poverty and inflation began to increase when Nicolás Maduro was elected president in 2012. A political crisis broke out in 2019 when some western countries supported Juan Guaidó for president, while other countries such as Cuba, China, and Russia continued to recognize the left-leaning Maduro as president. The crisis caused hyperinflation in Venezuela that began in 2016. The inflation rate hit 10 million percent in 2019, resulting in a food shortage crisis. Oil revenue was all they had left. Although it’s a democratic republic, Venezuela has been one of the least democratic regimes in Latin America according to the Democracy Index, even less democratic than Cuba.