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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, seeks to implement his "21st Century Socialism," which purports to alleviate social ills while at the same time attacking capitalist globalization and existing democratic institutions. 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 :
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana
Geographic Coordinates Center :
8 00 N, 66 00 W (Latitude, Longtitude)
Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :
| West | -73.35 |
| North | 12.20 |
| East | -59.80 |
| South | 0.63 |
Map references :
America
Area :
| total | 912 050 | square km |
| land | 882 050 | square km |
| water | 30 000 | square km |
Land boundaries :
| total | 4 993 | km |
| Brazil (br) | 2 200 | km |
| Colombia (co) | 2 050 | km |
| Guyana (gy) | 743 | km |
Coastline :
2800.00 km
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 | 0 | metres |
| highest point | 5 007 | metres |
Natural resources :
| bauxite | diamonds |
| gold | hydropower |
| iron ore | natural gas |
| other minerals | petroleum |
Land use :
| arable land | 2.85 | % |
| permanent crops | 0.88 | % |
| other | 96.27 | % |
Irrigated land :
5 750 square km
Total renewable water resources :
1 233 cubic km
Natural hazards :
| floods | lides |
| mudslides | periodic droughts |
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
international agreements :
| 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 |
Population :
26 814 843
Indicators :
| Growth rate | 1.51 | % |
| Birth rate | 20.61 | births/1,000 population |
| Total fertility rate | 2.48 | children born/woman |
| Death rate | 5.12 | deaths/1,000 population |
| Net migration rate | -0.42 | migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Age structure :
| 0-14 years | 30.50 | % |
| 15-64 years | 64.30 | % |
| 65 years and over | 5.20 | % |
Median age :
| total | 25.50 | years |
| male | 24.80 | years |
| female | 26.20 | years |
Sex ratio :
| at birth | 1.05 | male(s)/female |
| under 15 years | 1.03 | male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 0.97 | male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.80 | male(s)/female |
| total population | 0.98 | male(s)/female |
Health :
| Infant mortality rate | 21.54 | deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth - total population | 73.61 | years |
| Life expectancy at birth - male | 70.54 | years |
| Life expectancy at birth - female | 76.83 | years |
| HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate | 0.70 | % |
| HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS | 110 000 | |
| HIV-AIDS deaths | 4 100 |
Religions :
| Roman Catholic | 96.00 | % |
| Protestant | 2.00 | % |
| other | 2.00 | % |
Languages :
| Spanish |
Literacy :
| total population | 93.00 | % |
| male | 93.30 | % |
| female | 92.70 | % |
Country name :
| conventional long form | Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela |
| conventional short form | Venezuela |
| local long form | Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela |
| local short form | Venezuela |
Country Codes :
| ISO 3166 | VE |
| ISO Numeric | 862 |
| ISO3 | VEN |
| FIPS | VE |
| ccTLD | ve |
| English | Venezuela |
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|
Capital :
| name | Caracas |
| geographic coordinates | 10 30 N, 66 56 W |
| time difference | -4.50 |
International organization participation :
| CDB | Caricom (observer) |
| FAO | G-15 |
| G-24 | G-77 |
| IADB | IAEA |
| IBRD | ICAO |
| ICC | ICCt |
| ICRM | IDA |
| IFAD | IFC |
| IFRCS | IHO |
| ILO | IMF |
| IMO | IMSO |
| IOC | IOM |
| IPU | ISO |
| ITSO | ITU |
| ITUC | Interpol |
| LAES | LAIA |
| LAS (observer) | MIGA |
| Mercosur (associate) | NAM |
| OAS | OPANAL |
| OPCW | OPEC |
| PCA | PetroCaribe |
| RG | UN |
| UNASUR | UNCTAD |
| UNESCO | UNHCR |
| UNIDO | UNWTO |
| UPU | Union Latina |
| WCO | WFTU |
| WHO | WIPO |
| WMO | WTO |
Independence :
1811-07-05
National holiday :
Independence Day
1811-07-05
Executive branch :
| President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias |
GDP - Gross Domestic product :
| PPP - Purchasing Power Parity | 355 200 000 000 | $ |
| Official Exchange Rate | 353 500 000 000 | |
| RGR - Real Growth rate | -1.50 | % |
| PPP - per capita | 13 200 | $ |
GDP Composition by sector :
| agriculture | 4.00 | % |
| industry | 34.60 | % |
| services | 61.40 | % |
Labor force - by occupation :
| agriculture | 13.00 | % |
| industry | 23.00 | % |
| services | 64.00 | % |
Other Indicators :
| Labor force | 12 670 000 | people |
| Unemployment rate | 10.90 | % |
| Population below poverty line | 37.90 | % |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 48.20 | |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 27.30 | % |
| Investment (gross fixed) | 18.30 | % of GDP |
| Current account balance | 2 558 000 000 | $ |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | 26 410 000 000 | $ |
| Debt external | 43 410 000 000 | $ |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | 20 700 000 000 | $ |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | 41 580 000 000 | $ |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | 8 250 999 999 | $ |
| Military expenditures | 1.20 | % of GDP |
| Public debt | 19.40 | % of GDP |
Household income or consumption by percentage share :
| lowest 10% | 1.70 | % |
| highest 10% | 32.70 | % |
Budget :
| revenues | 65 140 000 000 | $ |
| expenditures | 92 040 000 000 | $ |
Agriculture - products :
| bananas | beef |
| coffee | corn |
| eggs | fish |
| milk | pork |
| rice | sorghum |
| sugarcane | vegetables |
Industries :
| aluminum | construction materials |
| food processing | iron ore mining |
| motor vehicle assembly | petroleum |
| steel | textiles |
Industrial production growth rate :
-10.40 %
Energy :
| Electricity Production | 113 300 000 000 | kWh |
| Electricity Consumption | 83 020 000 000 | kWh |
| Electricity Exports | 540 000 000 | kWh |
| Electricity Imports | 1 651 000 000 | kWh |
| Oil Production | 2 643 000 | bbl/day |
| Oil Consumption | 760 000 | bbl/day |
| Oil Exports | 2 182 000 | bbl/day |
| Oil Proved reserves | 99 380 000 000 | bbl |
| Natural gas Production | 24 010 000 000 | cubic metres |
| Natural gas Consumption | 25 510 000 000 | cubic metres |
| Natural gas Imports | 1 500 000 000 | cubic metres |
| Electricity Exports | 4 840 000 000 000 | cubic metres |
Value :
51 990 000 000 $
Partners :
| United States (us) | 39.80 | % |
| Netherlands Antilles (an) | 7.60 | % |
| China (cn) | 4.60 | % |
Commodities :
| agricultural products | basic manufactures |
| bauxite and aluminum | chemicals |
| crude oil | steel |
Value :
41 040 000 000 $
Partners :
| United States (us) | 26.10 | % |
| Colombia (co) | 12.60 | % |
| Brazil (br) | 10.70 | % |
| China (cn) | 6.90 | % |
| Mexico (mx) | 4.80 | % |
Commodities :
| construction materials | machinery and equipment |
| raw materials | transportation equipment |
Currency-code :
VEB
Currency-name :
bolivar
Communications :
| Telephons Main lines in use | 6 304 000 | |
| Telephons Mobile, Cellular | 27 084 000 | |
| Television broadcast stations | 66 | |
| Internet Country code (ccTLD) | ve | |
| Internet Hosts | 155 139 | |
| Internet Users | 7 167 000 |
Transportation :
| Airports with paved runways | 131 | |
| Heliports | 4 | |
| Pipelines - gas | 5 258 | km |
| Pipelines - oil | 6 695 | km |
| Pipelines - refined products | 1 484 | km |
| Roadways - total | 96 155 | km |
| Roadways - paved | 32 308 | km |
| Roadways - unpaved | 63 847 | km |
| Railways | 806 | km |
| Waterways | 7 100 | km |
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