Venezuela (2003) | Kosovo (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 23 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 federal district* (distrito federal), and 1 federal dependency** (dependencia federal); Amazonas, Anzoategui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro, Dependencias Federales**, Distrito Federal*, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Vargas, Yaracuy, Zulia
note: the federal dependency consists of 11 federally controlled island groups with a total of 72 individual islands |
30 municipalities (komunat, singular - komuna in Albanian; opstine, singular - opstina in Serbian); Decan (Decani), Dragash (Dragas), Ferizaj (Urosevac), Fushe Kosove (Kosovo Polje), Gjakove (Dakovica), Gllogoc/Drenas (Glogovac), Gjilan (Gnjilane), Istog (Istok), Kacanik, Kline (Klina), Kamenice/Dardana (Kamenica), Leposaviq (Leposavic), Lipjan (Lipljan), Malisheve (Malisevo), Mitrovice (Mitrovica), Novoberde (Novo Brdo), Obiliq (Obilic), Peje (Pec), Podujeve (Podujevo), Prishtine (Pristina), Prizren, Rahovec (Orahovac), Shtime (Stimlje), Shterpce (Strpce), Skenderaj (Srbica), Suhareke (Suva Reka), Viti (Vitina), Vushtrri (Vucitrn), Zubin Potok, Zvecan |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31% (male 3,944,749; female 3,700,799)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 7,931,194; female 7,864,697) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 552,291; female 660,964) (2003 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish | NA |
Airports | 373 (2002) | 10 (2008) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 127
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 32 914 to 1,523 m: 61 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
total: 6
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2008) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 246
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 97 under 914 m: 139 (2002) |
total: 4
under 914 m: 4 (2008) |
Area | total: 912,050 sq km
land: 882,050 sq km water: 30,000 sq km |
total: 10,887 sq km
land: 10,887 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of California | slightly larger than Delaware |
Background | Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Ecuador). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Current concerns include: an embattled president who is losing his once solid support among Venezuelans, a divided military, drug-related conflicts along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples. | Serbs migrated to the territories of modern Kosovo in the 7th century, but did not fully incorporate them into the Serbian realm until the early 13th century. The Serbian defeat at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 led to five centuries of Ottoman rule, during which large numbers of Turks and Albanians moved to Kosovo. By the end of the 19th century, Albanians replaced the Serbs as the dominant ethnic group in Kosovo. Serbia reacquired control over Kosovo from the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War (1912), and after World War II (1945) the government of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia led by Josip Broz TITO reorganized Kosovo as an autonomous province within the constituent republic of Serbia. Over the next four decades, Kosovo Albanians lobbied for greater autonomy and Kosovo was granted the status almost equal to that of a republic in the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution. Despite the legislative concessions, Albanian nationalism increased in the 1980s leading to nationalist riots and calls for Kosovo's independence. Serbs in Kosovo complained of mistreatment and Serb nationalist leaders, such as Slobodan MILOSEVIC, exploited those charges to win support among Serbian voters, many of whom viewed Kosovo as their cultural heartland. Under MILOSEVIC's leadership, Serbia instituted a new constitution in 1989 that drastically curtailed Kosovo's autonomy and Kosovo Albanian leaders responded in 1991 by organizing a referendum that declared Kosovo independent from Serbia. The MILOSEVIC regime carried out repressive measures against the Albanians in the early 1990s as the unofficial government of Kosovo, led by Ibrahim RUGOVA, tried to use passive resistance to gain international assistance and recognition of its demands for independence. In 1995, Albanians dissatisfied with RUGOVA's nonviolent strategy created the Kosovo Liberation Army and launched an insurgency. In 1998, MILOSEVIC authorized a counterinsurgency campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians by Serbian military, police, and paramilitary forces. The international community tried to resolve the conflict peacefully, but MILOSEVIC rejected the proposed international settlement - the Rambouillet Accords - leading to a three-month NATO bombing of Serbia beginning in March 1999, which forced Serbia to withdraw its military and police forces from Kosovo in June 1999. UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999) placed Kosovo under a transitional administration, the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), pending a determination of Kosovo's future status. Under the resolution, Serbia's territorial integrity was protected, but it was UNMIK who assumed responsibility for governing Kosovo. In 2001, UNMIK promulgated a Constitutional Framework, which established Kosovo's Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG), and in succeeding years UNMIK increasingly devolved responsibilities to the PISG. A UN-led process began in late 2005 to determine Kosovo's future status. Negotiations held intermittently between 2006 and 2007 on issues related to decentralization, religious heritage, and minority rights failed to yield a resolution between Serbia's willingness to grant a high degree of autonomy and the Albanians' call for full independence for Kosovo. On 17 February 2008, the Kosovo Assembly declared its independence from Serbia. |
Birth rate | 19.78 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $21.5 billion
expenditures: $27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $893.2 million
expenditures: $796.6 million (2006 est.) |
Capital | Caracas | name: Pristina (Prishtine)
geographic coordinates: 42 40 N, 21 10 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands | influenced by continental air masses resulting in relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall and hot, dry summers and autumns; Mediterranean and alpine influences create regional variation; maximum rainfall between October and December |
Coastline | 2,800 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 30 December 1999 | Constitutional Framework of 2001; note - the Kosovo Government is charged with putting forward an AHTISAARI (UN Special Envoy) Plan-compliant draft of a new constitution soon after independence |
Country name | conventional long form: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
conventional short form: Venezuela local long form: Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela local short form: Venezuela |
conventional long form: Republic of Kosovo
conventional short form: Kosovo local long form: Republika e Kosoves (Republika Kosova) local short form: Kosova (Kosovo) former: Kosovo i Metohija, Autonomna Pokrajina |
Currency | bolivar (VEB) | - |
Death rate | 4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $38.2 billion (2000) | Serbia continued to pay Kosovo's external debt, which it claimed was around $1.2 billion; Kosovo was willing to accept around $900 million, according to the national bank of Serbia (2007) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Charles S. SHAPIRO
embassy: Calle F con Calle Suapure, Urbanizacion Colinas de Valle Arriba, Caracas 1080 mailing address: P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A; APO AA 34037 telephone: [58] (212) 975-9234, 975-6411 FAX: [58] (212) 975-8991 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Bernardo ALVAREZ
chancery: 1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2214 FAX: [1] (202) 342-6820 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
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Disputes - international | claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo River; maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea; US, France and the Netherlands recognize Venezuela's claim to give full effect to Aves Island, which creates a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines protest the claim and other states' recognition of it | Serbia with several other states protest the US and other states' recognition of Kosovo's declaring itself as a sovereign and independent state in February 2008; ethnic Serbian municipalities along Kosovo's northern border challenge final status of Kosovo-Serbia boundary; several thousand NATO-led KFOR peacekeepers under UNMIK authority continue to keep the peace within Kosovo between the ethnic Albanian majority and the Serb minority in Kosovo; Kosovo authorities object to alignment of the Kosovo boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement |
Economic aid - recipient | $74 million (2000) | $252 million (2006) |
Economy - overview | Venezuela continues to be highly dependent on the petroleum sector, which accounts for roughly one-third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and more than half of government operating revenues. Despite higher oil prices at the end of 2002 and into 2003, domestic political instability, culminating in a two-month national oil strike from December 2002 to February 2003, temporarily halted economic activity. The economy is likely to remain in a recession in 2003, after sinking an estimated 8.9 percent in 2002. | Kosovo's economy has largely transitioned to a market-based system but is highly dependent on the international community and the diaspora for financial and technical assistance. Remittances from the diaspora - located mainly in Germany and Switzerland - account for about 30% of GDP. Kosovo's citizens are the poorest in Europe with an average per capita income of only $1900 - about one-third the level of neighboring Albania. Unemployment - at 50% of the population - is a severe problem that encourages outward migration. Most of Kosovo's population lives in rural towns outside of the largest city, Pristina. Inefficient, near-subsistence farming is common - the result of small plots, limited mechanization, and lack of technical expertise. The complexity of Serbia and Kosovo's political and legal relationships created uncertainty over property rights and hindered the privatization of state-owned assets. Minerals and metals - including lignite, lead, zinc, nickel, chrome, aluminum, magnesium, and a wide variety of construction materials - once formed the backbone of industry, but output has declined because investment is insufficient to replace ageing Eastern Bloc equipment. Technical and financial problems in the power sector also impede industrial development, and deter foreign investment. Economic growth is largely driven by the private sector - mostly small-scale retail businesses. Both the euro and the Serbian dinar circulate. Kosovo's tie to the euro has helped keep inflation low. Kosovo has maintained a budget surplus as a result of efficient tax collection and inefficient spending. While maintaining ultimate oversight, UNMIK continues to work with the EU and Kosovo's provisional government to accelerate economic growth, lower unemployment, and attract foreign investment. In order to help integrate Kosovo into regional economic structures, UNMIK signed (on behalf of Kosovo) its accession to the Central Europe Free Trade Area (CEFTA) in 2006. |
Electricity - consumption | 81.47 billion kWh (2001) | 4.281 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 87.6 billion kWh (2001) | 3.996 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 31.7%
hydro: 68.3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Bolivar (La Columna) 5,007 m |
lowest point: Drini i Bardhe/Beli Drim 297 m (located on the border with Albania)
highest point: Gjeravica/Deravica 2,565 m |
Environment - current issues | sewage pollution of Lago de Valencia; oil and urban pollution of Lago de Maracaibo; deforestation; soil degradation; urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean coast; threat to the rainforest ecosystem from irresponsible mining operations | - |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping |
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Ethnic groups | Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people | Albanians 88%, Serbs 7%, other 5% (Bosniak, Gorani, Roma, Turk) |
Exchange rates | bolivares per US dollar - 1,160.44 (2002), 723.67 (2001), 679.96 (2000), 605.72 (1999), 547.56 (1998) | Serbian dinars per US dollar - 54.5 (2008 est.) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Jose Vicente RANGEL (since 28 April 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Jose Vicente RANGEL (since 28 April 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 30 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Hugo CHAVEZ Frias reelected president; percent of vote - 60% |
chief of state: President Fatmir SEJDIU (since 10 February 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Hashim THACI (since 9 January 2008) cabinet: ministers; elected by the Kosovo Assembly elections: the president is elected for a 5-year term by the Kosovo Assembly; the prime minister is elected by the Kosovo Assembly election results: Fatmir SEJDIU and Hashim THACI elected to be president and prime minister respectively by the Assembly |
Exports | NA (2001) | $13.08 million (2006) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures | scrap metals, mining and processed metal products, plastics, wood |
Exports - partners | US 53.4%, Netherlands Antilles 17.3%, Canada 2.9% (2002) | Central Europe Free Trade Area (CFTA) 56% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), blue, and red with the coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band and an arc of seven white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band | centered on a dark blue field is the shape of Kosovo in a gold color surmounted by six white, five-pointed stars - each representing one of the major ethnic groups of Kosovo - arrayed in a slight arc |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $131.7 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5%
industry: 50% services: 45% (2001) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,400 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -8.9% (2002 est.) | 2.6% (2007) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 66 00 W | 42 35 N, 21 00 E |
Geography - note | on major sea and air routes linking North and South America; Angel Falls in the Guiana Highlands is the world's highest waterfall | - |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | 2 (2008) |
Highways | total: 96,155 km
paved: 32,308 km unpaved: 63,847 km (1999 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 36.5% (1998) |
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Illicit drugs | small-scale illicit producer of opium and coca for the processing of opiates and coca derivatives; however, large quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana transit the country from Colombia bound for US and Europe; significant narcotics-related money-laundering activity, especially along the border with Colombia and on Margarita Island; active eradication program primarily targeting opium; increasing signs of drug-related activities by Colombian insurgents on border | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | $84.99 million (2006) |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials | petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and electrical equipment |
Imports - partners | US 27.5%, Colombia 6.9%, Brazil 5.7%, Mexico 4.4% (2002) | Central Europe Free Trade Area (CFTA) 48% (2006) |
Independence | 5 July 1811 (from Spain) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | -5.4% (2002 est.) | - |
Industries | petroleum, iron ore mining, construction materials, food processing, textiles, steel, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly | NA |
Infant mortality rate | total: 23.79 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 27.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 31.2% (2002 est.) | 2% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | CAN, Caricom (observer), CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 540 sq km (1998 est.) | - |
Judicial branch | Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribuna Suprema de Justicia (magistrates are elected by the National Assembly for a single 12-year term) | Supreme Court judges are appointed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG); district courts judges are appointed by the SRSG; municipal courts judges are appointed by the SRSG |
Labor force | 9.9 million (1999) | 832,000 (June 2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 64%, industry 23%, agriculture 13% (1997 est.) | agriculture: 21.4%
industry: NA services: NA (2006) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,993 km
border countries: Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km |
total: 700.7 km
border countries: Albania 111.8 km, Macedonia 158.7 km, Montenegro 78.6 km, Serbia 351.6 km |
Land use | arable land: 2.99%
permanent crops: 0.96% other: 96.05% (1998 est.) |
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Languages | Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects | Albanian, Serbian, Bosniak, Turkish |
Legal system | based on organic laws as of July 1999; open, adversarial court system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | evolving legal system based on terms of UN Special Envoy Martii AHTISAARI's Plan for Kosovo's supervised independence |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (165 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; three seats reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela)
elections: last held 30 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - pro-government 108 (MVR 92, MAS 6, indigenous 3, other 7), opposition 57 (AD 33, COPEI 6, Justice First 5, other 13) |
unicameral Kosovo Assembly of the Provisional Government (120 seats; 100 seats directly elected, 10 seats for Serbs, 10 seats for other minorities; to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 17 November 2007 (next to be held NA) election results: percent of vote by party - Democratic Party of Kosovo 34.3%, Democratic League of Kosovo 22.6%, New Kosovo Alliance 12.3%, Democratic League of Dardania-Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo 10.0%, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo 9.6%; seats by party - Democratic Party of Kosovo 37, Democratic League of Kosovo 25, New Kosovo Alliance 13, Democratic League of Dardania-Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo 11, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.81 years
male: 70.78 years female: 77.07 years (2003 est.) |
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Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.4% male: 93.8% female: 93.1% (2003 est.) |
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Location | Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana | Southeast Europe, between Serbia and Macedonia |
Map references | South America | Europe |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 15 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 714,073 GRT/1,256,667 DWT
ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 8, chemical tanker 1, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 15, roll on/roll off 10, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 1, Greece 1, Italy 1, UK 1, US 2 (2002 est.) |
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Military branches | National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales or FAN) includes Ground Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or Ejercito), Naval Forces (Fuerzas Navales or Armada - including marines and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerzas Aereas or Aviacion), Armed Forces of Cooperation or National Guard (Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperacion or Guardia Nacional) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $934 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (FY99) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 6,767,862 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 4,870,751 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 249,319 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 5 July (1811) | - |
Nationality | noun: Venezuelan(s)
adjective: Venezuelan |
noun: Kosovoan
adjective: Kosovoan |
Natural hazards | subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts | - |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds | nickel, lead, zinc, magnesium, lignite, kaolin, chrome, bauxite |
Net migration rate | -0.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | - |
Pipelines | extra heavy crude 992 km; gas 5,262 km; oil 7,484 km; refined products 1,681 km; unknown (oil/water) 141 km (2003) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Action or AD [Claudio FERMIN]; Fifth Republic Movement or MVR [Garcia PONCE]; Homeland for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNIZ]; Justice First [Julio BORGES]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Hector MUJICA]; National Convergence or Convergencia [Juan Jose CALDERA]; Radical Cause or La Causa R [Antonio HERRERA]; Social Christian Party or COPEI [Oswaldo ALVAREZ Paz]; Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique SALAS Romer] | Albanian Christian Democratic Party of Kosovo or PSHDK [Mark KRASNIQI]; Alliance for the Future of Kosovo or AAK [Ramush HARADINAJ]; Alliance of Independent Social Democrats of Kososvo and Metohija or SDSKiM [Slavisa PETKOVIC]; Autonomous Liberal Party of SLS [Slobodan PETROVIC]; Bosniak Vakat Coalition [ Dzezair MURATI]; Citizens' Initiative of Gora or GIG [Murselj HALILI]; Council of Independent Social Democrats of Kosovo or SNSDKIM [Ljubisa ZIVIC]; Democratic League of Dardania or LDD [Nexhat DACI]; Democratic League of Kosovo or LDK [Fatmir SEJDIU]; Democratic Party of Ashkali of Kosovo or PDAK [Sabit RRAHMANI]; Democratic Party of Kosovo or PDK [Hashim THACI]; Kosovo Democratic Turkish Party of KDTP [Mahir YAGCILAR]; New Democratic Initiative of Kosovo or IRDK [Xhevdet Neziraj]; New Democratic Party or ND [Branislav GRBIC]; New Kosovo Alliance [Behgjet PACOLLI]; Popular Movement of Kosovo or LPK [Emrush XHEMAJLI]; Reform Party Ora; Serb National Party or SNS [Mihailo SCEPANOVIC]; Serbian Kosovo and Metohija Party or SKMS [Dragisa MIRIC]; United Roma Party of Kosovo or PREBK [Haxhi Zylfi MERXHA]; Democratic Action Party or SDA [Numan BALIC] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; VECINOS groups; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers or CTV (labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action) | - |
Population | 24,654,694 (July 2003 est.) | 2,126,708 (2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 47% (1998 est.) | 30% (2006 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.48% (2003 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | Amuay, Bajo Grande, El Tablazo, La Guaira, La Salina, Maracaibo, Matanzas, Palua, Puerto Cabello, Puerto la Cruz, Puerto Ordaz, Puerto Sucre, Punta Cardon | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 201, FM NA (20 in Caracas), shortwave 11 (1998) | - |
Railways | total: 682 km
standard gauge: 682 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
total: 430 km (2005) |
Religions | nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2% | Muslim, Serbian Orthodox, Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
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Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern and expanding
domestic: domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations; recent substantial improvement in telephone service in rural areas; substantial increase in digitalization of exchanges and trunk lines; installation of a national interurban fiber-optic network capable of digital multimedia services international: 3 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 PanAmSat; participating with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in the construction of an international fiber-optic network |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 2.6 million (however, 3,500,000 have been installed) (1998) | 106,300 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2 million (1998) | 562,000 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 66 (plus 45 repeaters) (1997) | - |
Terrain | Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast | flat fluvial basin with an elevation of 400-700 m above sea level surrounded by several high mountain ranges with elevations of 2,000 to 2,500 m |
Total fertility rate | 2.36 children born/woman (2003 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 17% (2002 est.) | 50% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | 7,100 km
note: Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels |
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