CARACAS – A newly circulated economic report claiming to compare Venezuela’s economic performance between 1999 and 2026 has reignited debate over the scale of the country’s economic collapse during the years of Chavismo and the administration of former president Nicolás Maduro.
The report, which references figures allegedly prepared by the Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV) and international institutions, paints a devastating picture of Venezuela’s economic deterioration over the past quarter-century, though several of the figures remain disputed or difficult to independently verify.
What is clear, however, is that Venezuela’s economy suffered one of the deepest collapses in modern Latin American history.
Among the most striking claims is that Venezuela’s external debt has risen from $28 billion in 1999 to around $160 billion by early 2026.
That figure broadly aligns with recent estimates by international financial analysts. Reuters reported this month that Venezuela’s total debt burden—including sovereign bonds, PDVSA obligations, bilateral loans and arbitration claims—now falls between $150 billion and $170 billion.
The report also claims that Venezuela’s gold reserves have fallen by more than 80 percent, from 317 tons in 1999 to between 52 and 60 tons today.
That decline is broadly consistent with long-term reserve data and public reports showing Venezuela has aggressively sold or moved gold reserves over the past decade to finance state operations and bypass sanctions.
Oil production, once the backbone of Venezuela’s economy, has also collapsed dramatically.
The report places oil production at 3.12 million barrels per day in 1999 compared to just over 1.14 million barrels today. While exact historical baselines vary, international oil data confirms that Venezuela’s production has fallen sharply over the past two decades, despite some modest recovery in recent years.
Inflation remains one of the clearest signs of economic distress.
The report estimates annual inflation between 540 and 629 percent, figures broadly consistent with the International Monetary Fund’s assessment that Venezuela continues to face triple-digit inflation and rapid currency depreciation.
Perhaps the most politically explosive figure is the minimum wage.
The report claims Venezuela’s minimum monthly wage has collapsed from over $200 in 1999 to less than one dollar in 2026, illustrating the near-total destruction of purchasing power after years of hyperinflation, currency devaluations and economic contraction.
Independent economic observatories have repeatedly documented that Venezuelan salaries cover only a fraction of the monthly food basket.
The report also claims extreme poverty has risen to between 67 and 76 percent of the population, a figure that broadly matches trends reported in recent years by academic and humanitarian studies.
Some figures in the report, however, remain questionable.
For example, the GDP per capita comparison uses nominal dollar values without accounting for inflation, exchange distortions or purchasing power, making direct comparisons difficult.
Even critics of Maduro’s economic policies argue that real GDP contraction may have been even worse than the report suggests.
The publication of the figures comes at a sensitive time.
Earlier this month, the IMF and World Bank resumed formal engagement with Venezuela after years of suspension, opening the door to a full economic assessment for the first time in decades.
That process is expected to produce the first internationally validated snapshot of Venezuela’s financial condition after years of limited official transparency.
For millions of Venezuelans at home and abroad, the figures—whether fully accurate or not—reflect a reality already visible in daily life: lower incomes, reduced public services, migration, weakened institutions and one of the most dramatic economic transformations in the modern history of Latin America.