Venezuela: cost of living

What is the Gini coefficient of Venezuela?

Venezuela's Gini coefficient was 0.394 in 2025, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), up from 0.393 in 2024 and 0.381 in 2022. INE's series starts at 0.469 in 1999.

The Gini coefficient measures income inequality on a scale from 0, where everyone has the same income, to 1, where one household has all of it. INE calculates it from its Household Sample Survey. The World Bank's own Gini estimate for Venezuela, on a 0 to 100 scale, has not been updated since 2006, so the two series are not directly comparable.

Official sources: INE: Gini coefficient table (xlsx)

How fast are prices rising in Venezuela in 2026?

The IMF projects that average consumer prices in Venezuela will rise by 467.9% in 2026, after 252% in 2025, according to the World Economic Outlook (October 2026).

This is a projection for the year as a whole, made by IMF staff, and it will be revised as data for the year come in. The official monthly consumer price index is published by the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), whose website could not be read on 15 October 2026 because of a TLS certificate error. Because prices of many goods are quoted with reference to the US dollar, price changes in bolívars also reflect changes in the official exchange rate.

Official sources: IMF DataMapper: Inflation, Venezuela

What is Venezuela's inflation rate?

In 2016, consumer price inflation in Venezuela was 254.9%, according to the IMF. It is the top of the series, which starts in 2009. It is 1st highest of 31 in Latin America & Caribbean, where the median is 2.4%. World rank, highest first: 2nd of 180.

How many people in Venezuela are poor?

In 2015, the share of people below the national poverty line in Venezuela was 33.1%, according to the World Bank. Its high point since 2005 was 2005, at 42.4%; its low point was 2009, at 26.4%. Across Latin America & Caribbean the middle value was 23.3%, and Venezuela placed 2nd highest of 9. Of 54 countries with 2015 data, 8th highest.