Venezuela’s Economy Finishes 2024 with 2nd-Highest Growth Rate in South America
According to the latest report from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), published this Wednesday, the growth rate of Venezuela’s economy was the second highest of any in South American country in 2024.
In the report, “Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2024,” it is observed that the country will achieve a growth rate of 6.2% in 2024.
The worst positioned in the South American ranking is Argentina, which will close the year with a -3.2%. The South American average was 2.1%. The highest growth rate in South America was that of Guyana (41.5%), largely due to its theft and exploitation of Venezuelan oil reserves in the Essequibo territory.
President Maduro: Venezuelan Economy Has Grown by 10% in 2024
It is worth noting that both the national government and various associations projected an increase in the Venezuelan economy of over 9% despite the fact that it faces unilateral coercive measures applied by the United States and its Western allies.
“We have recovered all of the productive engines. Venezuela has a good industrial sector, public and private,” said President Nicolás Maduro a few days ago during the closing of the 25th World Forum on the Development of Special Economic Zones held in Caracas.
At that event, the president recalled that several studies showed that, between 2018 and 2019, the country lost 99% of its income.
He also highlighted other figures from that period which indicate that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by 30% and annualized inflation rose by 344,000%.
2025 Projection
For next year, ECLAC projects a growth in Latin America and the Caribbean economy of 2.4%, which, in the opinion of the organization, represents “a trajectory of low growth that has resulted in a lower contribution of the region to the growth of the world GDP in the medium term.”
In this scenario, the United Nations agency indicates that Venezuela may have a growth of 3.1% in 2025 despite the geopolitical problems.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/BR/SL
