Venezuela: More than 75% of population living in 'extreme poverty', says latest study

Amid an ongoing economic crisis, a research recently revealed that three in every four Venezuelans live in extreme poverty. According to the report - the National Survey of Living Conditions (Encovi) - the researchers at Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB) linked the increase to both the COVID-19 pandemic and a fuel crisis. The experts revealed that extreme poverty rose to 76.6% from 67.7% last year. 

As per the study, the chronic fuel shortages in the oil-rich nation and Coronavirus-induced lockdowns were the main contributing factors. The researchers said that the poorest were the ones hit the hardest as they were unable to find work in a country where one in two people works in the informal economy. The study added that the rise in poverty reversed the improvement seen in the previous years, which came after the Venezuelan government started direct cash transfers to those in need and implemented economic changes. 

Venezuela crisis 

It is worth mentioning that since 2014, Venezuela has suffered from shortages of basic supplies and hyperinflation. Even though the nation has the largest oil reserves in the world, Venezuela has seen the collapse of its oil industry. Recently, the tough US sanctions on oil exports, introduced in response to the disputed 2018 presential election, have also contributed to the crisis. 

The latest report by Encovi estimated that the Venezuelan Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the total of all value-adds created in the economy, shrank by 74% between 2014 and 2020. It even noted that the economic collapse has led to a humanitarian crisis in the nation of 28 million population.

Separately, the United Nations' World Food Programme (WFP) said that before the Coronavirus pandemic, it was estimated that one in three people struggled to get enough food to meet the minimum nutrition requirements. The UN said that the situation resulted in one of the largest displacement crises in the world. It added that more than 5.6 million people have left the nation so far. 

The administration of President Nicolás Maduro, on the other hand, has pointed the blame on US sanctions as reason behind the country’s predicament. 

(Image: Unsplash/AP)