Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Venezuela instead of Iraq, you would:

Health

be 15.8% less likely to be obese

In Iraq, 30.4% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Venezuela, that number is 25.6% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 64.4% less likely to be unemployed

In Iraq, 15.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Venezuela, that number is 5.5% as of 2023.

make 38.9% less money

Iraq has a GDP per capita of $12,600 as of 2023, while in Venezuela, the GDP per capita is $7,704 as of 2018.

be 43.9% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Iraq, 23.0% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Venezuela, however, that number is 33.1% as of 2015.

pay a 2.3 times higher top tax rate

Iraq has a top tax rate of 15.0% as of 2016. In Venezuela, the top tax rate is 34.0% as of 2016.

Life

be 94.6% more likely to be literate

In Iraq, the literacy rate is 50.1% as of 2018. In Venezuela, it is 97.5% as of 2021.

be 3.4 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Iraq, approximately 76.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Venezuela, 259.0 women do as of 2020.

have 29.5% fewer children

In Iraq, there are approximately 23.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Venezuela, there are 16.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 60.6% more likely to have internet access

In Iraq, approximately 49.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Venezuela, about 78.7% do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 72.3% less on education

Iraq spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2016. Venezuela spends 1.3% of total GDP on education as of 2017.

spend 25.5% less on healthcare

Iraq spends 5.1% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Venezuela, that number is 3.8% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 48.3 times more coastline

Iraq has a total of 58 km of coastline. In Venezuela, that number is 2,800 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Ministerio del Poder Popular de Finanzas, SENIAT.

Venezuela: At a glance

Venezuela is a sovereign country in South America, with a total land area of approximately 882,050 sq km. Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Hugo CHAVEZ, president from 1999 to 2013, sought to implement his "21st Century Socialism," which purported to alleviate social ills while at the same time attacking capitalist globalization and existing democratic institutions. His hand-picked successor, President Nicolas MADURO, continues CHAVEZ's socialist programs. Current concerns include: a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, rampant violent crime, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, foreign exchange controls that discourage private-sector investment, high inflation, a decline in the quality of fundamental houman rights, and widespread scarcity of consumer goods.
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How big is Venezuela compared to Iraq? See an in-depth size comparison.

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