Venezuela (2008) | Pacific Ocean (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 23 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 capital district* (distrito capital), 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: 31.6% (male 4,169,979/female 4,046,170)
15-64 years: 63.4% (male 8,120,661/female 8,369,065) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 586,863/female 730,790) (2007 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish | - |
Airports | 390 (2007) | - |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 128
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 61 under 914 m: 18 (2007) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 262
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 97 under 914 m: 149 (2007) |
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Area | total: 912,050 sq km
land: 882,050 sq km water: 30,000 sq km |
total: 155.557 million sq km
note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of California | about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world |
Background | Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). 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. Hugo CHAVEZ, president since 1999, seeks to implement his "21st Century Socialism," which purports to alleviate social ills while at the same time attacking globalization and undermining regional stability. Current concerns include: a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, 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. | The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south. |
Birth rate | 21.22 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $63.27 billion
expenditures: $68.22 billion (2007 est.) |
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Capital | name: Caracas
geographic coordinates: 10 30 N, 66 56 W time difference: UTC-4.5 (half an hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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Climate | tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands | planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December |
Coastline | 2,800 km | 135,663 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 | 5.08 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $45.44 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Patrick DUDDY
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, 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 the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into their waters; dispute with Colombia over maritime boundary and Venezuelan-administered Los Monjes islands near the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitary activities penetrate Venezuela's shared border region; in 2006, an estimated 139,000 Colombians sought protection in 150 communities along the border in Venezuela; US, France, and the Netherlands recognize Venezuela's granting full effect to Aves Island, thereby claiming a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines protest Venezuela's full effect claim | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) |
Economic aid - recipient | $48.66 million (2005) | - |
Economy - overview | Venezuela remains highly dependent on oil revenues, which account for roughly 90% of export earnings, more than 50% of the federal budget revenues, and around 30% of GDP. A nationwide strike between December 2002 and February 2003 had far-reaching economic consequences - real GDP declined by around 9% in 2002 and 8% in 2003 - but economic output since then has recovered strongly. Fueled by high oil prices, record government spending helped to boost GDP in 2006 by about 9% and in 2007 by about 8%. This spending, combined with recent minimum wage hikes and improved access to domestic credit, has created a consumption boom but has come at the cost of higher inflation-roughly 20 percent in 2007. Imports also have jumped significantly. Embolden by his December 2006 reelection, President Hugo CHAVEZ in 2007 nationalized firms in the petroleum, communications, and electricity sectors, which reduced foreign influence in the economy. Although voters in December 2007 rejected CHAVEZ's proposed constitutional changes, CHAVEZ still has significant control of the economy and has indicated he intends to continue to consolidate and centralize authority over the economy by implementing "21st Century Socialism." | The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to fluctuations in new drillings. |
Electricity - consumption | 73.36 billion kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - production | 99.2 billion kWh (2005) | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Bolivar (La Columna) 5,007 m |
lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m
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 | endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people | - |
Exchange rates | bolivares per US dollar - 2,147 (2007), 2,147 (2006), 2,089.8 (2005), 1,891.3 (2004), 1,607 (2003) | - |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Executive Vice President Ramon Alonzo CARRIZALEZ Rengifo (since 4 January 2008); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Executive Vice President Ramon Alonzo CARRIZALEZ Rengifo (since 4 January 2008) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 3 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2012) note: in 1999, a National Constituent Assembly drafted a new constitution that increased the presidential term to six years; an election was subsequently held on 30 July 2000 under the terms of this constitution election results: Hugo CHAVEZ Frias reelected president; percent of vote - Hugo CHAVEZ Frias 62.9%, Manuel ROSALES 36.9% |
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Exports | 2.203 million bbl/day (2006 est.) | - |
Exports - commodities | petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures | - |
Exports - partners | US 46.2%, Netherlands Antilles 13.5%, China 3.2% (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 eight white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 40% services: 56.5% (2007 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate | 8.3% (2007 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 66 00 W | 0 00 N, 160 00 W |
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 chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean |
Heliports | 2 (2007) | - |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 35.2% (2003) |
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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 | 0 bbl/day (2006 est.) | - |
Imports - commodities | raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials | - |
Imports - partners | US 30.6%, Colombia 10.2%, Brazil 10.1%, Mexico 5.9%, China 4.9%, Panama 4.8% (2006) | - |
Independence | 5 July 1811 (from Spain) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.5% (2007 est.) | - |
Industries | petroleum, construction materials, food processing, textiles; iron ore mining, steel, aluminum; motor vehicle assembly | - |
Infant mortality rate | total: 22.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 26.14 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 20.7% (Year ending November 2007) | - |
International organization participation | CAN, Caricom (observer), CDB, CSN, FAO, G-3, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, LAS (observer), Mercosur (associate), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | - |
Irrigated land | 5,750 sq km (2003) | - |
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 | 12.5 million (2007 est.) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 13%
industry: 23% services: 64% (1997 est.) |
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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: 2.85%
permanent crops: 0.88% other: 96.27% (2005) |
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Languages | Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects | - |
Legal system | open, adversarial court system | - |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (167 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; three seats reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela)
elections: last held 4 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - pro-government 167 (MVR 114, PODEMOS 15, PPT 11, indigenous 2, other 25), opposition 0; total seats by party as of 1 January 2008 - pro-government 152 (PSUV 114, PPT 11, indigenous 2, other 25), PODEMOS 15 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.28 years
male: 70.24 years female: 76.48 years (2007 est.) |
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Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93% male: 93.3% female: 92.7% (2001 census) |
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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 the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere |
Map references | South America | Political Map of the World |
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: 59 ships (1000 GRT or over) 808,721 GRT/1,285,783 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 14, chemical tanker 3, container 1, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 3, Greece 3, Mexico 3, Panama 1, Russia 1, Spain 1) registered in other countries: 11 (Bahamas 1, Panama 10) (2007) |
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Military branches | National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales or 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 - percent of GDP | 1.2% (2005 est.) | - |
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 | surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds | oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish |
Net migration rate | -1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | - |
Pipelines | extra heavy crude oil 992 km; gas 5,400 km; oil 7,607 km; refined products 1,650 km; unknown (oil/water) 141 km (2007) | - |
Political parties and leaders | A New Time or UNT [Manuel ROSALES]; Christian Democrats or COPEI [Cesar PEREZ Vivas]; Communist Party of Venezuela or PCV [Jeronimo CARRERA]; Democratic Action or AD [Henry RAMOS Allup]; Fatherland for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNOZ]; Justice First [Julio BORGES]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Hector MUJICA]; United Socialist Party of Venezuela or PSUV [Hugo CHAVEZ]; Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique SALAS Romer]; We Can or PODEMOS [Ismael GARCIA] | - |
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 | 26,023,528 (July 2007 est.) | - |
Population below poverty line | 37.9% (end 2005 est.) | - |
Population growth rate | 1.486% (2007 est.) | - |
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 (2006) |
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Religions | nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2% | - |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.803 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2007 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; fixed-line teledensity, at 16 per 100 persons, is low by regional standards; mobile-cellular subscribership jumped 50 percent in 2006 international: country code - 58; submarine cable systems provide connectivity to the Caribbean, Central and South America, and US; 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 | 4.217 million (2006) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 18.79 million (2006) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 66 (plus 45 repeaters) (1997) | - |
Terrain | Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast | surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest |
Total fertility rate | 2.55 children born/woman (2007 est.) | - |
Transportation - note | - | Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state) |
Unemployment rate | 9.1% (2007 est.) | - |
Waterways | 7,100 km
note: Orinoco River (400 km) and Lake de Maracaibo navigable by oceangoing vessels (2005) |
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