11abril.com
Poverty1
Percentage
|
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
|
Poverty |
43.9 |
42.0 |
40.4 |
39.0 |
48.6 |
55.1 |
|
Non-Extreme
Poverty |
26.9 |
25.1 |
25.5 |
25.0 |
27.6 |
30.1 |
|
Extreme
Poverty |
17.1 |
16.9 |
14.9 |
14.0 |
21.0 |
25.0 |
The INE (Venezuelan National
Institute of Statistics) changed Venezuela's official poverty figures, after
Chavez said they reflected the international ''neoliberal'' standards of
measuring poverty. Today, the INE numbers, calculated under the new methodology,
show that poverty has fallen to 38.5% (first semester of 2005). INE numbers
also show that extreme poverty has fallen from 25% in 2003, to 18.6 in 2004,
and to 10.1% during the first semester of 2005.
Extreme Poverty and
Hunger
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean2
CEPAL � June 2005
|
Population
whose income is below $1 purchasing power parity per day* |
Proportion of
population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption |
||||
|
Level 1990 |
Level 2004 |
Progress by 2004 |
Level |
Level 2000-2002 |
Progress by 2000-2002 |
|
14.6 |
22.7 |
-111.1 |
11 |
17 |
-109.1 |
* The percentages of extreme poverty
for 2004 correspond to a projection of each country's statistics for 2001 or
2002
|
|
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005* |
US$/barrel |
10.57 |
16.04 |
25.91 |
20.21 |
21.95 |
25.76 |
32.61 |
44.76 |
* 2005 year-average� (Estimate)
Crude oil
price (10/24/05 � 10/28/05): 49.52 US$/barrel
Exports: 2.2 MMB/day (Source: PDVSA brochure, August 2005)
Transparency International
Corruption Perceptions Index 20054
|
Country Rank |
Country |
2005 CPI score*
|
|
130 |
Venezuela |
2.3 |
* CPI Score relates to perceptions of the
degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts, which ranges
between �10� (highly clean) and �0� (highly corrupt).
World
press freedom ranking 2005
Reporters without Borders
Country |
Rank |
|
Venezuela |
93 |
Reporters Without Borders compiled this Index of 167 countries
by asking its partner organizations (14 freedom-of-expression groups scattered
across five continents) and its network of 130 correspondents�as well as
journalists, researchers, legal experts and human rights activists�to answer 50
questions used to assess the status of press freedom in each country.
Human Development Report 2005
United Nations Development Programme
Country |
HDI*
Rank |
HDI*
Rank 2004 |
HDI*
Rank 2005 |
|
Venezuela |
48 |
68 |
75 |
* HDI: Human Development
Index.
The HDI is a summary composite index that measures
a country's average achievements in three basic aspects of human development:
longevity, knowledge, and a decent standard of living. Longevity is measured by
life expectancy at birth; knowledge is measured by a combination of the adult
literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary gross enrolment
ratio; and standard of living by GDP per capita (PPP US$).
Growth Competitiveness Index (GCI) rankings 2005
World Economic Forum5
|
GCI-
2001 Rank |
GCI-
2003 Rank |
GCI-
2004 Rank |
GCI �
2005 Rank (117 countries analyzed) |
GCI
-2005 Score |
|
62 |
82 |
85 |
89 |
3.22 |
GCI identifies �three pillars�: the quality of the
macroeconomic environment, the state of the country�s public
institutions, and, given the importance of technology and innovation, the level
of its technological readiness.
The Business Competitiveness Index (BCI) 2005
World Economic Forum5
|
Country |
BCI Ranking |
Company operations
and strategy ranking
|
Quality of the national business environment
ranking |
|
Venezuela |
92 |
85 |
97 |
The BCI specifically measures two areas that are critical to
the microeconomic business environment in an economy: the sophistication of
company operations and strategy, as well as the quality of the overarching
national business environment in which they are operating.
2005 Index of Economic Freedom
The Heritage Foundation6
|
Rank |
Score |
Category |
|
146 |
4.09 |
Repressed |
Low scores are more
desirable. The higher the score on a factor, the greater the level of government
interference in the economy and the less economic freedom a country enjoys.
Present and Past Score
(Index of Economic Freedom)
|
|
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
|
Score |
3.43 |
3.48 |
3.43 |
3.78 |
3.88 |
3.71 |
4.18 |
4.09 |
Economic freedom is defined as the absence of
government coercion or constraint on the production, distribution, or
consumption of goods and services beyond the extent necessary for citizens to protect
and maintain liberty itself. In other words, people are free to work,
produce, consume, and invest in the ways they feel are most productive.
To measure economic freedom and rate each country, the
authors of the Index study 50 independent economic variables. These
variables fall into 10 broad categories, or factors, of economic freedom: Trade
policy, Fiscal burden of government, Government intervention in the economy,
Monetary policy, Capital flows and foreign investment, Banking and finance,
Wages and prices, Property rights, Regulation, and Informal market activity.
2005
Index of Democratic Development (IDD-Lat)
The Konrad Adenauer Foundation7
|
Country |
2005 Index |
|
Chile (position 1) |
10,435 |
|
Venezuela (position 17) |
2,581 |
|
Guatemala (position 18) |
1,648 |
The 2005 index is calculated based on the measuring of
four dimensions of democratic development: basic conditions of democracy;
respect for political rights and civil liberties; institutional quality and
political efficiency, and effective exercise of power to governing.
Venezuela has maintained its low performance in the
IDD-Lat. It occupies the second lowest place of the table, after Guatemala.
Freedom
House � Freedom in the World 20058
|
Country |
Political Rights (PL)* |
Civil Liberties (CL) * |
Freedom Rating |
|
Venezuela |
3 |
4 |
Partly Free |
* A rating of 1 indicates the highest degree of
freedom and 7 the least amount of freedom.
Freedom House measures freedom according to two broad categories: political
rights and civil liberties. Political rights enable people to participate
freely in the political process, including through the right to vote, compete
for public office, and elect representatives who have a decisive impact on
public policies and are accountable to the electorate. Civil liberties allow
for the freedoms of expression and belief, associational and organizational
rights, rule of law, and personal autonomy without interference from the state.
Freedom House - Freedom of the Press 20058
Global Press Freedom Rankings
|
|
2004 |
2005 |
|
Rank |
150 |
162 (194
countries analyzed) |
|
Rating |
68 |
72 |
|
Status |
Not Free |
Not Free |
Venezuela is today rated as a Partly
Free society in Freedom in the World, but its rating for media
freedom has been lowered to Not Free in our annual press freedom
index.
The examination of the level of press freedom in each country
is divided into three broad categories: the legal environment, the political
environment, and the economic environment.
The degree to which each country permits the free flow of
information determines the classification of its media as �Free,� �Partly
Free,� or �Not Free.� Countries scoring 0 to 30 are regarded as having �Free�
media, 31 to 60, �Partly Free� media, and 61 to 100, �Not Free� media.
|
Human
Rights Watch |
� Small
Number of Countries Holding UN World Summit Hostage on Human Rights, Security,
Poverty, September 5, 2005
A small number of
countries are determined to block an historic draft measure on governments�
�responsibility to protect civilians� that could stop future genocides.
Countries trying to block this include India, Egypt, Algeria, Pakistan, Venezuela,
Cuba, Iran, Syria and Russia.
� Court
Orders Trial of Civil Society Leaders, July 8, 2005
�The court has given the
government a green light to persecute its opponents. Prosecuting people for
treason when they engage in legitimate electoral activities is utterly absurd.�
- Jos� Miguel Vivanco, America�s director at Human Rights Watch
� Criminal
Investigation Launched to Intimidate Critic of Government�s Rights Record,
April 5, 2005
�This is a clear-cut case of
political persecution, targeting someone who has been an effective critic of
the Ch�vez government�s human rights record.� - Jos�
Miguel Vivanco, America�s director at Human Rights Watch
|
The Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights (IACHR) |
October 28,
2005
"The
IACHR expresses its concern for the effects of criminal law reform (in
Venezuela) upon the exercise of the freedom of expression, as well as the
effects of the Law of social responsibility for radio and television." - President
Clare Roberts sat the end of the 123rd regular session.
|
The Inter-American Press Association
(IAPA) |
October 28,
2005
The Inter American Press Association condemns the
24-hour closure of "El Impulso" newspaper by the taxation office as
an attack on press freedom and the right to information.
"It is
an impertinence to close down a media for an alleged failing that was committed
so many years ago." - Gonzalo Marroqu�n, president of IAPA Committee
for Freedom of Press and Information.
|
Center for Security Policy |
Paper �What to do about Venezuela� by J. Michael Waller, May 2005
Venezuela�s increased pace of repression, militarization,
weapons imports, and destabilization of neighboring countries shows that time
is running out for the Venezuelan people and for the relative peace that most
of the hemisphere has enjoyed. The Bolivarian regime in Caracas presents a
clear and present danger to peace and democracy in the hemisphere.
By Maria Gabriela Fabio, editor@11abril.com
- URL: http://www.11abril.com
1 INE �
Venezuelan National Institute of Statistics � April 2005
2 The Millennium Development Goals: a Latin American
and Caribbean perspective
3 INE �
Venezuelan National Institute of Statistics, Venezuela Department of Energy
& PDVSA
4 Transparency
International (TI) -
5 World Economic Forum -
Global Competitiveness Report 2005-2006
5 World Economic Forum -
Global Competitiveness Report 2005-2006
6 Heritage.org
7
Idd-lat.org
8 Freedom
House