Value System, Language and Relationships

Venezuela scores high on the power distance index, very low on individualism, and higher than average on uncertainty and masculinity. It is a highly status conscious country. Image is very important, and in an urban setting, people are very aware of style and appearance. Many younger Venezuelans have been educated in the U.S. and may own homes there. The region around Miami is sometimes called Venezuela’s 21st state. Spanish is the official language.

Business Climate

Employees do not contradict their bosses, and foreign teams should be careful not to argue with each other in public. This can be interpreted as demonstrating poor judgement and a lack of leadership.

The Pew Global Attitudes Project is an interactive database that allows users to explore public opinion trends in 55 countries on topics ranging from attitudes towards the U.S. to peoples assessments of their own lives to views about globalization, democratization and extremism and other important issues.

The country ranks as no. 158 (of 180 countries) on Transparency International’s 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index.