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Compare Venezuela (2005) - Southern Ocean (2008)
Compare Venezuela (2005) z Southern Ocean (2008)
| Venezuela (2005) | Southern Ocean (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 |
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| Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.9% (male 3,909,876/female 3,667,958)
15-64 years: 65% (male 8,287,255/female 8,209,599) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 590,236/female 710,357) (2005 est.) |
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| Agriculture - products | corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish | - |
| Airports | 369 (2004 est.) | - |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 127
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 31 914 to 1,523 m: 61 under 914 m: 19 (2004 est.) |
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| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 242
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 88 under 914 m: 144 (2004 est.) |
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| Area | total: 912,050 sq km
land: 882,050 sq km water: 30,000 sq km |
total: 20.327 million sq km
note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
| Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of California | slightly more than twice the size of the US |
| 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: a polarized political environment, a politicized military, drug-related violence 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. | A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which in turn allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government. |
| Birth rate | 18.91 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | - |
| Budget | revenues: $26.91 billion
expenditures: $30.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.6 billion (2004 est.) |
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| Capital | Caracas | - |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands | sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter |
| Coastline | 2,800 km | 17,968 km |
| Constitution | 30 December 1999 | - |
| Country name | conventional long form: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
conventional short form: Venezuela local long form: Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela local short form: Venezuela |
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| Death rate | 4.9 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | - |
| Debt - external | $33.29 billion (2004 est.) | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador William R. BROWNFIELD
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 Herrera
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 the area west of the Essequibo River in Guyana, preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before UNCLOS that the Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into their waters; dispute with Colombia over Los Monjes islands and maritime boundary near the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitary activities penetrate Venezuela's shared border region resulting in several thousand residents migrating away from the border; 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 Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation and other states' recognition of it | Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west |
| Economic aid - recipient | $74 million (2000) | - |
| Economy - overview | Venezuela continues to be highly dependent on the petroleum sector, accounting for roughly one-third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and over half of government operating revenues. A disastrous two-month national oil strike from December 2002 to February 2003, temporarily halted economic activity. The economy remained in depression in 2003, declining by 9.2% after an 8.9% fall in 2002. Despite continued domestic instability, output recovered strongly in 2004, aided by high oil prices. Both inflation and unemployment remain fundamental problems. | Fisheries in 2003-04 landed 136,262 metric tons, of which 87% (118,166 tons) was krill and 8% (11,182 tons) Patagonian toothfish, compared to 142,555 tons in 2002-03 of which 83% (117,728 tons) was krill and 12% (16,479 tons) Patagonian toothfish (estimated fishing from the area covered by the Convention of the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which extends slightly beyond the Southern Ocean area). International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. In the 2004-05 Antarctic summer, 28,202 tourists, most of them seaborne (approximately 97%), visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 in 1999-2000. |
| Electricity - consumption | 89.3 billion kWh (2003) | - |
| Electricity - exports | 450 million kWh (2003) | - |
| Electricity - imports | 30 million kWh (2003) | - |
| Electricity - production | 89.7 billion kWh (2003) | - |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Bolivar (La Columna) 5,007 m |
lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench
highest point: sea level 0 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 | increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish
note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed but not ratified:: none of the selected agreements |
the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)
note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence), which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north |
| Ethnic groups | Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people | - |
| Exchange rates | bolivares per US dollar - 1,891.3 (2004), 1,607 (2003), 1,161 (2002), 723.7 (2001), 680 (2000) | - |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Jose Vicente RANGEL Vale (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 Vale (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% note: a special presidential recall vote on 15 August 2004 resulted in a victory for CHAVEZ; percent of vote - 58% in favor of CHAVEZ fulfilling the remaining two years of his term, 42% in favor of terminating his presidency immediately |
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| Exports | 2.1 million bbl/day (2004 est.) | - |
| Exports - commodities | petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures | - |
| Exports - partners | US 55.6%, Netherlands Antilles 4.7%, Dominican Republic 2.8% (2004) | - |
| 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 | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 46.5% services: 53.4% (2004 est.) |
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| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2004 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 16.8% (2004 est.) | - |
| Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 66 00 W | 60 00 S, 90 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude |
| 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 | the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds |
| 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 | - |
| Imports - commodities | raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials | - |
| Imports - partners | US 28.8%, Colombia 9.9%, Brazil 7%, Mexico 4.1% (2004) | - |
| Independence | 5 July 1811 (from Spain) | - |
| Industrial production growth rate | 12.3% (2004 est.) | - |
| Industries | petroleum, iron ore mining, construction materials, food processing, textiles, steel, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly | - |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 22.2 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.31 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
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| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 22.4% (2004 est.) | - |
| International organization participation | CAN, CDB, CSN, FAO, G-3, G-15, 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, Mercosur (associate), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | - |
| 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) | - |
| Labor force | 12.25 million (2004 est.) | - |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 13%, industry 23%, services 64% (1997 est.) | - |
| Land boundaries | total: 4,993 km
border countries: Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km |
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| Land use | arable land: 2.95%
permanent crops: 0.92% other: 96.13% (2001) |
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| Languages | Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects | - |
| Legal system | open, adversarial court system | - |
| 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 July 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) |
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| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.31 years
male: 71.27 years female: 77.58 years (2005 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 | body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica |
| Map references | South America | Antarctic Region |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 15 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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| Merchant marine | total: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 740,919 GRT/1,191,483 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 16, chemical tanker 1, container 1, liquefied gas 5, passenger/cargo 9, petroleum tanker 19, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 9 (Denmark 2, Greece 1, Hong Kong 2, Mexico 1, Russia 2, Spain 1) registered in other countries: 20 (2005) |
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| Military branches | National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales, FAN): Ground Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or Ejercito), Naval Forces (Fuerzas Navales or Armada - includes Marines, 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 | $1.687 billion (2004) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.5% (2004) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 5 July (1811) | - |
| Nationality | noun: Venezuelan(s)
adjective: Venezuelan |
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| Natural hazards | subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts | huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 m thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds | probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fish |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | - |
| Pipelines | extra heavy crude 992 km; gas 5,262 km; oil 7,360 km; refined products 1,681 km; unknown (oil/water) 141 km (2004) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Democratic Action or AD [Jesus MENDEZ Quijada]; Fifth Republic Movement or MVR [Hugo CHAVEZ]; Homeland for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNOZ]; Justice First [Julio BORGES]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Hector MUJICA]; National Convergence or Convergencia [Juan Jose CALDERA]; Radical Cause or La Causa R [Andres VELASQUEZ]; Social Christian Party or COPEI [Eduardo FERNANDEZ]; Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique SALAS Romer] | - |
| 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 | 25,375,281 (July 2005 est.) | - |
| Population below poverty line | 47% (1998 est.) | - |
| Population growth rate | 1.4% (2005 est.) | - |
| Ports and harbors | Amuay, La Guaira, Maracaibo, Puerto Cabello, 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 (2004) |
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| Religions | nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2% | - |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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| Suffrage | 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: country code - 58; 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 | 2,841,800 (2002) | - |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 6,463,600 (2002) | - |
| Television broadcast stations | 66 (plus 45 repeaters) (1997) | - |
| Terrain | Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast | the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 m over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 m (the global mean is 133 m); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million sq km in March to about 18.8 million sq km in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers |
| Total fertility rate | 2.26 children born/woman (2005 est.) | - |
| Transportation - note | - | Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal |
| Unemployment rate | 17.1% (2004 est.) | - |
| Waterways | 7,100 km
note: Orinoco River and Lake de Maracaibo navigable by oceangoing vessels, Orinoco for 400 km (2004) |
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