Venezuela’s Economy in 2025: Data and Factors of Growth

By Misión Verdad  –  Jun 12, 2025

Venezuela suffered an economic onslaught resulting from the sanctions imposed on its population by the first Trump administration (2017-2020). The impact of the damage on social stability was gradually addressed by the Economic Recovery, Growth, and Prosperity Program announced by President Nicolás Maduro in 2018. It was implemented with the approach of reactivating the national productive economy despite the aggression.

According to a report by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), published on May 1, the GDP grew 9.32% in the first quarter of 2025, a higher growth than that recorded in the same period of 2024, when it reached 9.13%. The recovery measures have helped the economy grow for 16 consecutive quarters and made it possible for the economy to close 2024 with an annual growth of 8.54%.

This growth is due to the 18.23% increase in oil sector activity and the 13.46% increase in the mining sector during the first quarter of 2025. The BCV pointed out that these figures demonstrate “the economy’s capacity to respond to the external aggression that our country is experiencing amid the commercial war initiated by the US government, which threatens to provoke a global recession.”

There are multiple fronts on which the Venezuelan government has approached the recovery of the Venezuelan economy. The information and data confirming the country’s productive potential in a scenario of new aggressions are similarly numerous.

The recovery and reboot in figures
During the World Retailers Congress 2025 on June 4, the vice president and minister of Hydrocarbons of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, summarized the Venezuelan economic growth of recent years as follows:

• 2021: 1.2%
• 2022: 14.8%
• 2023:9%
• 2024: 8.5%

In addition to confirming the information published by the BCV, she provided other data:

• Mining activity grew by 13.46%.
• The commerce and repair services sector increased by 8.23%.
• The manufacturing sector grew by 5.77% in its activity.
• Venezuela became the Latin American country with the highest growth in exports, 18.7%, above countries that are not victims of economic aggression, such as Argentina, Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador, and Chile.
• The metallurgical industry grew by 165%.
• The oil industry has recovered, with a growth rate of 17.3% in the last 12 months.
• In recent months, the drop in oil prices has been 24.4%.

At the same event, Rodríguez highlighted the growth of both the commerce sector (7%) and the industrial sector. She pointed out that these growths “should be linked.” The retail sector, comprising the network of supermarkets and chain stores, contributes 4.5% of the national GDP and generates 640,000 jobs.

She also highlighted that, according to statistics from the National Association of Supermarkets and Self-Service Stores (ANSA), 90% of the products sold in the supermarket network are of national production. Moreover, the Unified Registry of Persons Engaged in Economic Activities (RUPDAE), responsible for the formalization of companies, recorded 66.19% growth between 2024 and 2025.

Facing the broad economic onslaught
The attack on the economy was focused on the oil industry, whose backbone is the national oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). In a master class at the Venezuelan University of Hydrocarbons on the occasion of the inauguration of the Diploma on Unilateral Coercive Measures, Vice President Rodríguez explained how Venezuela has promoted a sovereign energy policy based on its “own efforts.”

She stressed that “in the case of Venezuela, unilateral coercive measures have meant crimes against humanity. Why? Because there is a massive violation of human rights. These are policies that are implemented and affect the whole world.”

Rodríguez detailed the global overview regarding unilateral coercive measures:

• 46% of the world’s oil reserves are in countries under coercive measures.
• 42% of the world’s oil reserves are in BRICS countries.
• 25% of the global daily oil production is sanctioned.

She added the following figures describing the economic impact of these measures on the country:

• 99% drop in foreign exchange earnings between 2014 and 2020;
• loss of $232 billion for PDVSA;
• a total loss of $642 billion of the GDP in five years.

She further described how Venezuelan oil became a target of sanctions:

• Confiscation of assets abroad, such as CITGO and Monómeros;
• Prohibition of PDVSA’s international operations;
• Secondary sanctions against PDVSA’s partners;
• Financial costs exceeding 30%.

She also explained the measures implemented by the national oil industry to face the attack:

• Internal development “with our own effort.”
• Energy cooperation with friendly countries.
• Diversification of markets and export routes.
• Technical and financial restructuring of PDVSA.

Vice President Rodríguez said that “there is national consensus around the fact that the illegitimate blockade and economic aggression can be defeated: the path is to build economic independence. We have to forget about whether there are sanctions or not. If the sanctions are there for eternity, the economic independence of the Venezuelan people must also be for eternity.”

Venezuela is developing its economy by circumventing Washington’s siege, which Trump has already tried to globalize through his trade war and tariffs, desperately trying to reverse the declining US hegemony.

The challenge to increase production with “own effort”
According to the latest OPEC report, Venezuela’s oil production reached an average of 1.51 million barrels per day (b/d) in April, an increase of 0.3% compared to the 1.48 million b/d of March.

This figure represents the highest level since 2019 and adds to the four consecutive months of production of over one million barrels per day. In the first four months of 2025, the average was 1.39 million b/d, a year-on-year increase of 19.7% compared to 2024, when it stood at 868,000 b/d.

On May 29, at the inauguration ceremony of the Expo Fedeindustria 2025, Vice President Rodríguez stated, “I want to tell you that, at this hour, 12:15 p.m. on May 29, the Petroboscán, Petropiar, Petroindependencia, Petrojunín, Petrosucre, Petroquiriquire, Petroregional del Lago, and Cardón IV fields are in full production. PDVSA’s workers maintain their production plan despite the fact that both PDVSA and its partners are victims of unilateral coercive measures.”

The Venezuelan oil fields have not slowed down. Rodríguez detailed the production figures of some of them:

• Petroboscán: 103,000 b/d;
• Petropiar: 109,000 b/d;
• Petroquiriquire: 40,000 b/d;
• Petroindependencia: 34,000 b/d;
• Petroregional del Lago: 20,000 b/d;
• Petrojunín: 12,000 b/d;
• Petrosucre: 4,000 b/d.

Given the sanctions, she said, “In the case of Venezuela, as you know, by the Anti-Blockade Law and by our Constitution, we do not recognize any jurisdiction other than that of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Therefore, the US measures of license or no license are not recognized by the national legal system.”

Reports indicate that the operational goals are being steadily achieved, even after Washington revoked the US company Chevron’s operation licenses in Venezuela.

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A plan aimed at full production
President Maduro launched the Hydrocarbons Monitoring and Control Room as a fundamental tool for the Absolute Productive Independence Plan (PIPA). This is a method for monitoring the real-time progress of production plans and the fulfillment of the commitments established with international partners.

The technical, labor, managerial, and scientific strengths of the hydrocarbon industry have provided for operational normality. In addition, the assurance and safeguarding of the infrastructure have protected the oil activity through intelligence work.

Some of PIPA’s strategic objectives are:

• Consolidation of sustained oil and gas production.
• Boosting the export of liquefied natural gas goal for 2026-2027.
• Development of the petrochemical chain in the west of the country.
• Revenues for social investment reach 75% of the annual budget.
• Boosting economic diversification.

President Maduro highlighted the participation of the oil sector workers, “With the workers’ expertise, we reiterate that we do not depend on any license. We really depend on the effort to produce those barrels, the energy that will leverage the economic growth that we have been experiencing in the last few years.”

Growth beyond oil
Between January and April of this year, Venezuela recorded a growth of 87.66% in non-oil exports in comparison with 2024. The following achievements stand out:

• Exports of two million cases of rum to over 100 countries, constituting a 3% contribution to the national GDP.
• The Socialist Cement Corporation (CSC) exported over 15,000 tons of cement, which is a new record.
• The public company Abastecer exported 6.7 tons of high-quality fruits to the Caribbean islands, mostly to Barbados.
• Export of coffee to Russia.
• Producers of the Communal Coffee Plan made their second export of green coffee from the Lara communes to Italy and the United States.
• Export of mung beans to China as part of the agreement between Venezuela and that country.
• Maderas del Orinoco expanded its export operations of wood chips for construction to China and western Asia, thanks to the dredging of the Orinoco River by Corporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG).
• Venezuela became tenth in the world in shrimp exports, with 60% of the produce destined for the Netherlands, Spain, France, and England.
• In February 2025, there was an increase in trade between Venezuela and Colombia. Among the five main products of Venezuelan origin exported to Colombia are iron and steel castings, fertilizers, aluminum and its products, fuels and oils, and organic chemical products.
• Venezuela became third in Latin America in the export of livestock, with a cattle herd of 14.5 million and a daily production of 3.5 million liters of milk.

Progress with or without licenses
The sustained economic growth of the Venezuelan economy is driven by the efforts of different productive sectors—public and private—that have shown interest in overcoming the US siege through investment, sovereignty, and job creation. This is part of an agenda centered on national agreements, international alliances based on real cooperation, and an economic scheme that seeks to break with oil rentierism through economic diversification.

Although there is no end in sight to the threats and impositions from the United States and its allies, Venezuelan national capacities have focused on reversing the factors that could impede growth and their impact on social welfare. The tactics that attempt to halt and reverse the trends in economic growth range from the manipulation of the exchange rate to terrorist plans by mercenaries. Venezuelan security agencies have taken concrete actions in response to these threats.

There are concrete plans and actions to sustain production levels and mitigate the consequences of license cancelations. These include the integration of Venezuela into emerging multipolar and anti-imperialist blocks that are trying to minimize the impact of the Western hegemonic control model demonstrated by the sanctions.

 

(Misión Verdad)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/SC/SF