By Deisy Buitrago
CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s economy expanded around 15% last year, President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday during his annual state of the nation address, crediting the expansion to diversification of the largely oil-focused economy.
The South American country’s economy grew 17.73% year-over-year in the first three quarters of 2022, its central bank said in December, following an eight-year economic collapse.
The country has seen extended economic hardship under its largely state-controlled model, prompting more than 7 million people to migrate.
“Venezuela has had growth in 2022 above 15% of gross domestic product, the best growth in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Maduro told lawmakers, ministers and other guests during an hours-long speech, thanking business people and entrepreneurs for their efforts.
(Reporting by Deisy Buitrago, Vivian Sequera and Mayela Armas; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
Source: us news
