Why does Venezuela have such a high Big Mac Index? Venezuela is ranked #2 in the 2014 Big Mac Index at \$7.15 per Big Mac. You can see the graph here.  However, Venezuela is not a very rich country, having a gross domestic product of \$11,789 per capita. 

There are at least 20 McDonalds in Caracas, so there is a fairly large supply. With a small gross domestic product the quantity demanded should be smaller by high prices. Even if the market for Big Mac-like products is a monopoly in Venezuela, I still think the price shouldn't be that high.

Another thing that is remarkable is that after 2014, the price had a rapid decrease. Maybe the transformation from a monopoly market to a monopolistic competition market caused it rapid decrease in price in June 2015?

In short the questions:


How could the price of a Big Mac be so high? 
What caused it rapid decrease in price?
It is worth noting that Venezuela has had currency controls in place for quite some time now, so the locals cannot get dollars at the world exchange rate.


  On January 2010, the government of Venezuela created a two-tiered official exchange rate system. Imports designated as "non-essential" receive a rate of 4.3 bolivares per dollar, and "essential" goods are exchanged at a rate of 2.6. There is also a third and unofficial exchange rate in the black market valued at around 6.8 bolivares per dollar (March 2010).
  The Venezuelan government decides what "essential" goods qualify for the 2.6 rate. They include imports for sectors related to food, health, education, equipment, and technology; remittances to relatives settled abroad; students' academic expenses abroad; expenses related to health, sport, culture, and scientific investigations; payments to retired and resident pensioners abroad; and currency conversions related to diplomatic activities.


The dollar value of a Big Mac at the official Venezuelan exchange rate is less than \$7.15.
(If my deeming it non-essential is correct it would be around \$2.50.)



Truth be told I am surprised they still have McDonald's restaurants in Venezuela, because long time president Chavez chastized US companies strongly and frequently and I think everyone associates McDonald's with the US.