📜 A long story
Venezuela, 1800 → today
Venezuela grew from 1 million in 1800 to 28.3 million; a newborn can expect 44.5 more years of life than in 1900, and output per person is 4.9× its 1800 level, adjusted for inflation.
Told with long-run reconstructions, not the yearly series used elsewhere on the site: each chapter names its source. Scroll to move through the years.
☺ Chapter 1 · Population
How many people live there?
1800
In 1800, about 1 million people lived in Venezuela.
1900
2.7 million people.
2.7× the 1800 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1880.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 16% between 1801 and 1809 (978,200 → 819,900).
1950
5.49 million people.
2× the 1900 level
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1947.
2023
28.3 million people, the latest year in this series.
5.2× the 1950 level
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 1966.
Reached 20 times the 1800 level in 1991.
Long-run series: before 1950, reconstructions by HYDE and Gapminder, filled in between benchmark years by those sources. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
✚ Chapter 2 · Life expectancy
How long do people live?
1900
In 1900, a newborn in Venezuela could expect to live 28 years, on average.
1950
51.1 years.
+23 years since 1900
Passed 40 and 50 years in 1950 (no data between 1940 and 1950, so it may have happened earlier).
2023
72.5 years, the latest year in this series.
+21 years since 1950
Passed 60 years in 1963.
Passed 70 years in 1985.
Long-run series: before 1950, historical estimates (Riley, Clio Infra, Human Mortality Database), only for years they cover. Dashed stretches are years without data.
◎ Chapter 3 · GDP per person (PPP)
How much is produced per person?
1800
In 1800, Venezuela produced about Int$1,070 per person, in 2011 prices.
1900
Int$1,850.
1.7× the 1800 level
Reached twice the 1800 level in 1832.
1950
Int$8,460.
4.6× the 1900 level
Reached 5 times the 1800 level in 1945.
2022
Int$5,270, the latest year in this series.
38% lower than in 1950
Reached 10 times the 1800 level in 1956.
The sharpest fall in the data: down 74% between 2013 and 2021 (Int$18,500 → Int$4,900).
Long-run series (Maddison Project) in 2011 international dollars: adjusted for inflation, so not the same unit as today’s PPP figure. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates. Dashed stretches are years without data.
❦ Chapter 4 · CO₂ per person
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
1870
In 1870, fossil fuels and industry in Venezuela emitted about 0.0006 t of CO₂ per person.
1900
0.014 t.
23× the 1870 level
Reached twice the 1870 level in 1877.
Reached 5 times the 1870 level, reached 10 times the 1870 level, reached 20 times the 1870 level in 1885.
Reached 50 times the 1870 level in 1889.
1950
7 t.
499× the 1900 level
The sharpest fall in the data: down 97% between 1929 and 1931 (0.6 t → 0.016 t).
2024
4.1 t, the latest year in this series.
41% lower than in 1950
Long-run series: fossil CO₂ emitted within each country’s borders (Global Carbon Budget); early estimates are less certain. Log scale: equal steps up mean equal growth rates.
☕ Chapter 5 · Years of schooling
How long do people go to school?
1870
In 1870, people aged 15–64 in Venezuela had spent 0.02 years in school, on average.
1900
0.4 years.
+0.42 years since 1870
1950
1.7 years.
+1.2 years since 1900
2015
9 years, the latest year in this series.
+7.4 years since 1950
Passed 2 years in 1955.
Passed 4 years in 1975.
Passed 6 years in 1995.
Passed 8 years in 2010.
Long-run series (Lee & Lee, Barro & Lee) for people aged 15–64, every 5 years until 2015: a different age group than today’s figure (25 and older).