Venezuela

Venezuela: Travel tips, articles, photos, gallery, cities database, population, pics, flags, statistics, free maps online

Back to Countries, Click to read the whole article: Venezuela

Introduction - Venezuela:
Country	Venezuela


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, has promoted a controversial policy of democratic 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.


Location - Venezuela:
Location	Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana

Geographic coordinates	8 00 N, 66 00 W

Map references	South America

Area	total: 912,050 sq km land: 882,050 sq km water: 30,000 sq km

Area comparative	slightly more than twice the size of California

Land boundaries	total: 4,993 km border countries: Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km

Coastline	2,800 km

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

Climate	tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Terrain	Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast

Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Pico Bolivar (La Columna) 5,007 m

Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds

Land use	arable land: 2.85% permanent crops: 0.88% other: 96.27% (2005)

Irrigated land	5,750 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards	subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts

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, 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

Geography note	on major sea and air routes linking North and South America; Angel Falls in the Guiana Highlands is the worlds highest waterfall

People - Venezuela:
Population	26,023,528 (July 2007 est.)

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.)

Median age	total: 24.9 years male: 24.3 years female: 25.5 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate	1.486% (2007 est.)

Birth rate	21.22 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate	5.08 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate	-1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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.)

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.)

Life expectancy at birth	total population: 73.28 years male: 70.24 years female: 76.48 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate	2.55 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Hiv aids adult prevalence rate	0.7%; note - no country specific models provided (2001 est.)

Hiv aids people living with hiv aids	110,000 (1999 est.)

Hiv aids deaths	4,100 (2003 est.)

Nationality	noun: Venezuelan(s) adjective: Venezuelan

Ethnic groups	Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people

Religions	nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2%

Languages	Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects

Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 93.3% female: 92.7% (2001 census)

Government - Venezuela:
Country name	conventional long form: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela conventional short form: Venezuela local long form: Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela local short form: Venezuela

Government type	federal republic

Capital	name: Caracas geographic coordinates: 10 30 N, 66 56 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

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

Independence	5 July 1811 (from Spain)

National holiday	Independence Day, 5 July (1811)

Constitution	30 December 1999

Legal system	open, adversarial court system

Suffrage	18 years of age; universal

Executive branch	chief of state: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Jorge RODRIGUEZ Gomez (since 3 January 2007); 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 Jorge RODRIGUEZ Gomez (since 3 January 2007) 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%

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

Judicial branch	Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribuna Suprema de Justicia (magistrates are elected by the National Assembly for a single 12-year term)

Political parties and leaders	A New Time or UNT [Manuel ROSALES]; Christian Democrats or COPEI [Cesar PEREZ Vivas]; Democratic Action or AD [Henry RAMOS Allup]; Fatherland for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNOZ]; Fifth Republic Movement or MVR [Hugo CHAVEZ]; Justice First [Julio BORGES]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Hector MUJICA]; 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)

International organization participation	CAN, Caricom (observer), CDB, CSN, FAO, G-3, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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)

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

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

Economy - Venezuela:
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. Tax collection - Venezuelas primary source of non-oil revenue - is expected to surpass $23 billion in 2006, exceeding the yearend collection goal by more than 20%. 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 higher oil prices, record government spending helped to boost GDP growth in 2004 and 2005 to approximately 18% and 11%, respectively. Economic growth in 2006 reached about 9%. This spending, combined with recent minimum wage hikes and improved access to domestic credit, has fueled a consumption boom - car sales in 2006 increased by around 70% - but has come at the cost of higher inflation. Despite government attempts to withdraw liquidity from the economy, Venezuelas money supply set a record in June 2006, approximately 70% higher than the previous year. Imports have also jumped significantly.

Gdp purchasing power parity	$186.3 billion (2006 est.)

Gdp official exchange rate	$149.9 billion (2006 est.)

Gdp real growth rate	10.3% (2006 est.)

Gdp per capita ppp	$7,200 (2006 est.)

Gdp composition by sector	agriculture: 3.7% industry: 41% services: 55.3% (2006 est.)

Labor force	12.5 million (November 2006 est.)

Labor force by occupation	agriculture: 13% industry: 23% services: 64% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate	8.9% (October 2006 est.)

Population below poverty line	37.9% (end 2005 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.8% highest 10%: 36.5% (1998)

Distribution of family income gini index	49.1 (1998)

Inflation rate consumer prices	15.8% (2006 est.)

Investment gross fixed	19.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

Budget	revenues: $52.24 billion expenditures: $52.9 billion; including capital expenditures of $2.6 billion (2006 est.)

Public debt	28.4% of GDP (2006 est.)

Agriculture products	corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish

Industries	petroleum, construction materials, food processing, textiles; iron ore mining, steel, aluminum; motor vehicle assembly

Industrial production growth rate	7% (2006 est.)

Electricity production	93.03 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity consumption	86.52 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity exports	0 kWh (2004)

Electricity imports	0 kWh (2004)

Oil production	3.081 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil consumption	560,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil exports	2.293 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil imports	NA bbl/day

Oil proved reserves	75.27 billion bbl (2006 est.)

Natural gas production	27.2 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas consumption	27.2 billion cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas exports	0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas imports	0 cu m (2004 est.)

Natural gas proved reserves	4.276 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

Current account balance	$31.82 billion (2006 est.)

Exports	$69.23 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports commodities	petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures

Exports partners	US 45.8%, Netherlands Antilles 7.5%, China 3.2% (2006)

Imports	$28.81 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports commodities	raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials

Imports partners	US 30.2%, Colombia 10%, Brazil 8.2%, Mexico 6.3%, China 5.7% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	$35.95 billion (2006 est.)

Debt external	$35.63 billion (2006 est.)

Economic aid recipient	$74 million (2000)

Currency code	bolivar (VEB)

Exchange rates	bolivares per US dollar - 2,147 (2006), 2,089.8 (2005), 1,891.3 (2004), 1,607 (2003), 1,161 (2002)

Communications - Venezuela:
Fiscal year	calendar year

Telephones main lines in use	4.217 million (2006)

Telephones mobile cellular	18.79 million (2006)

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

Radio broadcast stations	AM 201, FM NA (20 in Caracas), shortwave 11 (1998)

Television broadcast stations	66 (plus 45 repeaters) (1997)

Internet country code	.ve

Internet hosts	51,968 (2006)

Internet users	4.14 million (2006)

Transportation - Venezuela:
Airports	375 (2006)

Airports with paved runways	total: 129 over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 60 under 914 m: 19 (2006)

Airports with unpaved runways	total: 246 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 90 under 914 m: 147 (2006)

Heliports	1 (2006)

Pipelines	extra heavy crude oil 992 km; gas 5,369 km; oil 7,607 km; refined products 1,681 km; unknown (oil/water) 141 km (2006)

Railways	total: 682 km standard gauge: 682 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)

Roadways	total: 96,155 km paved: 32,308 km unpaved: 63,847 km (1999)

Waterways	7,100 km note: Orinoco River (400 km) and Lake de Maracaibo navigable by oceangoing vessels (2005)

Merchant marine	total: 56 ships (1000 GRT or over) 824,941 GRT/1,327,924 DWT by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 10, chemical tanker 2, container 1, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 12, petroleum tanker 18 foreign-owned: 13 (Denmark 3, Greece 3, India 1, Mexico 3, Panama 1, Russia 1, Spain 1) registered in other countries: 15 (Bahamas 1, Panama 14) (2006)

Ports and terminals	Amuay, La Guaira, Maracaibo, Puerto Cabello, Punta Cardon

Military - Venezuela:
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 service age and obligation	18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 30 months; all citizens of military service age (between 18 and 50 years old) are obligated to register for military service (2007)

Manpower available for military service	males age 18-49: 6,236,012 females age 18-49: 6,137,622 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service	males age 18-49: 4,907,947 females age 18-49: 5,151,843 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually	males age 18-49: 252,396 females age 18-49: 237,300 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures percent of gdp	1.2% (2005 est.)

Trafficking in persons	current situation: Venezuela is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor; women and children from Colombia, China, Peru, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic are trafficked to and through Venezuela and subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor; Venezuelans are trafficked internally and to Western Europe, particularly Spain and the Netherlands, and to countries in the Caribbean region for commercial sexual exploitation; Venezuela is a transit country for illegal migrants from other countries in the region and for Asian nationals, some of whom are believed to be trafficking victims tier rating: Tier 3 - Venezuela does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so

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 Tobagos 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 Venezuelas 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 Venezuelas 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 Venezuelas full effect claim