How Iran and Venezuela are economic peas in a pod

How Iran and Venezuela are economic peas in a pod

Photo: Getty Images

 

News that Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro will visit the Islamic Republic of Iran soon could hardly be more symbolic. That’s because few countries are so well paired when it comes to economic mismanagement.

By ForbeSimon Constable

Dic 27, 2021

If the visit augers even more “cooperation” between the two countries, then observers should expect both countries to shrink further into oblivion.





Let’s go through the similarities.

Both countries have huge reserves of oil. Venezuela’s is the largest in the world with approximately 300 billion barrels, while Iran holds 158 billion barrels.

Incredible Shrinking Economies

Yet despite the oil wealth both countries have disastrous economies that have shrunk substantially over the past few years. For instance, Venezuela’s GDP per capita, which measures the average income per person fell to $3,411 in 2018 (the latest available) from $10,568 in 2015, according to World Bank data. Iran has taken a similar route south. In 2011 GDP per capita in the Islamic Republic was $18,009, but that fell to $13,333 last year.

Read More: Forbe – How Iran and Venezuela are economic peas in a pod

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