Map of Venezuela | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background:


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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 reference: South America

Area
Total: 912,050 km²
Land: 882,050 km²
Water: 30,000 km²
Comparative: almost six times the size of Georgia; slightly more than twice the size of California
Country comparison total: 5,267 km
Country comparison border countries: (3) Brazil 2,137 km; Colombia 2,341 km; Guyana 789 km

Land boundaries
Total: 5,267 km
Border countries: (3) Brazil 2,137 km; Colombia 2,341 km; Guyana 789 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
Highest point: Pico Bolivar 4,978 m
Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
Mean elevation: 450 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 24.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 3.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 20.6% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land forest: 52.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land other: 23.4% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 10,550 km² (2012)

Major rivers
By length in km: Rio Negro (shared with Colombia [s] and Brazil [m]) - 2,250 km; Orinoco river source and mouth (shared with Colombia) - 2,101 km
By length in km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds area km²: Atlantic Ocean drainage: Amazon (6,145,186 km²), Orinoco (953,675 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 5.12 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 790 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 16.71 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 1.33 trillion m³ (2020 est.)

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

Geography
Note 1: the country lies on major sea and air routes linking North and South America
Note 2: Venezuela has some of the most unique geology in the world; tepuis are massive table-top mountains of the western Guiana Highlands that tend to be isolated and thus support unique endemic plant and animal species; their sheer cliffsides account for some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world including Angel Falls, the world's highest (979 m) that drops off Auyan Tepui


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Population
Distribution: most of the population is concentrated in the northern and western highlands along an eastern spur at the northern end of the Andes, an area that includes the capital of Caracas
Total: 31,250,306
Male: 15,555,451
Female: 15,694,855 (2024 est.)
Growth rate: 2.34% (2024 est.)
Below poverty line: 33.1% (2015 est.)
Below poverty line note: % of population with income below national poverty line

Nationality
Noun: Venezuelan(s)
Adjective: Venezuelan

Ethnic groups: unspecified Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, Indigenous

Languages: Spanish (official) 98.2%, indigenous 1.3%, Portuguese 0.1%, other 0.4% (2023 est.)
Major-language samples: La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish); Gheos World Guide, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Roman Catholic 48.1%, Protestant 31.6% (Evangelical 31.4%, Adventist 0.2%), Jehovah's Witness 1.4%, African American/umbanda 0.7%, other 0.1%, believer 3.5%, agnostic 0.1%, atheist, 0.4%, none 13.6%, unspecified 0.6% (2023 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 25% (male 3,987,361/female 3,811,307)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 10,264,353/female 10,330,376)
65 years and over: 9.1% (2024 est.) (male 1,303,737/female 1,553,172)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 57.5
Youth dependency ratio: 44.4
Elderly dependency ratio: 13.1
Potential support ratio: 7.6 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 31 years (2024 est.)
Male: 30.3 years
Female: 31.7 years

Population growth rate: 2.34% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 16.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Net migration rate: 13.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Population distribution: most of the population is concentrated in the northern and western highlands along an eastern spur at the northern end of the Andes, an area that includes the capital of Caracas

Urbanization
Urban population: 88.4% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 1.16% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 2.972 million CARACAS (capital), 2.368 million Maracaibo, 1.983 million Valencia, 1.254 million Barquisimeto, 1.243 million Maracay, 964,000 Ciudad Guayana (2023)

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
International agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 16.21 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 164.18 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 68.66 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio: 259 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 13.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 15.4 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 12.2 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.5 years (2024 est.)
Male: 71.5 years
Female: 77.7 years

Total fertility rate: 2.18 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 75% (2010)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: NA
Unimproved rural: NA
Unimproved total: 5.8% of population (2020 est.)
Unimproved urban: NA

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density: 0.9 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban: NA
Improved rural: NA
Improved total: 95.8% of population
Unimproved urban: NA
Unimproved rural: NA
Unimproved total: 4.2% of population (2020 est.)

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 25.6% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 2.51 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 1.54 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.92 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 1.3% of GDP (2017 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 97.5%
Male: 97.4%
Female: 97.7% (2021)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 10.8% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 9.5% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 female: 14.1% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Conventional short form: Venezuela
Local long form: República Bolivariana de Venezuela
Local short form: Venezuela
Former: State of Venezuela, Republic of Venezuela, United States of Venezuela
Etymology: native stilt-houses built on Lake Maracaibo reminded early explorers Alonso de OJEDA and Amerigo VESPUCCI in 1499 of buildings in Venice and so they named the region 'Venezuola,' which in Italian means 'Little Venice'

Government type: federal presidential republic

Capital
Name: Caracas
Geographic coordinates: 10 29 N, 66 52 W
Time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: named for the native Caracas tribe that originally settled in the city's valley site near the Caribbean coast

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 (Federal Dependencies)**, Distrito Capital (Capital District)*, Falcon, Guarico, La Guaira, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Yaracuy, Zulia
Note: the federal dependency consists of 11 federally controlled island groups with a total of 72 individual islands

Dependent areas

Independence: 5 July 1811 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1811)

Constitution
History: many previous; latest adopted 15 December 1999, effective 30 December 1999
Amendments: proposed through agreement by at least 39% of the National Assembly membership, by the president of the republic in session with the cabinet of ministers, or by petition of at least 15% of registered voters; passage requires simple majority vote by the Assembly and simple majority approval in a referendum; amended 2009
Note: in 2016, President MADURO issued a decree to hold an election to form a constituent assembly to change the constitution; the election in July 2017 approved the formation of a 545-member constituent assembly and elected its delegates, empowering them to change the constitution and dismiss government institutions and officials

Legal system: civil law system based on the Spanish civil code

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: yes
Citizenship by descent only: yes
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years; reduced to five years in the case of applicants from Spain, Portugal, Italy, or a Latin American or Caribbean country

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Nicolas MADURO Moros (since 19 April 2013; Notification Statement: the United States does not recognize Nicolas MADURO Moros as president of Venezuela
Note: the president is both chief of state and head of government

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (277 seats; 3 seats reserved for indigenous peoples of Venezuela; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections: last held on 6 December 2020 (next expected to be held in December 2025)
Elections results: percent of vote by party - GPP (pro-government) 69.3%, Democratic Alliance (opposition coalition) 17.7%, other 13%; seats by party - GPP 253, Democratic Alliance 18, indigenous peoples 3, other 3; composition - NA
Note: in 2020, the National Electoral Council increased the number of seats in the National Assembly from 167 to 277 for the December 2020 election

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Tribunal of Justice (consists of 32 judges organized into constitutional, political-administrative, electoral, civil appeals, criminal appeals, and social divisions)
Judge selection and term of office: judges proposed by the Committee of Judicial Postulation (an independent body of organizations dealing with legal issues and of the organs of citizen power) and appointed by the National Assembly; judges serve nonrenewable 12-year terms
Note: in July 2017, the National Assembly named 33 judges to the court to replace a series of judges, it argued, had been illegally appointed in late 2015 by the outgoing, socialist-party-led Assembly; MADURO and the Socialist Party-appointed judges refused to recognize these appointments, however, and many of the new judges have since been imprisoned or forced into exile
Subordinate courts: Superior or Appeals Courts (Tribunales Superiores); District Tribunals (Tribunales de Distrito); Courts of First Instance (Tribunales de Primera Instancia); Parish Courts (Tribunales de Parroquia); Justices of the Peace (Justicia de Paz) Network

Political parties and leaders: A New Era (Un Nuevo Tiempo) or UNT, Cambiemos Movimiento Ciudadano or CMC, Christian Democrats or COPEI (also known as the Social Christian Party), Citizens Encounter or EC, Clear Accounts or CC, Coalition of parties loyal to Nicolas MADURO - Great Patriotic Pole or GPP, Coalition of opposition parties - Democratic Alliance (Alianza Democratica) (includes AD, EL CAMBIO, COPEI, CMC, and AP), Come Venezuela (Vente Venezuela) or VV, Communist Party of Venezuela or PCV, Consenso en la Zona or Conenzo, Convergencia, Democratic Action or AD, Fatherland for All (Patria para Todos) or PPT, Fearless People's Alliance or ABP, Fuerza Vecinal or FV, Hope for Change (Esperanza por el Cambio) or EL CAMBIO, Justice First (Primero Justicia) or PJ, LAPIZ, Movement to Socialism (Movimiento al Socialismo) or MAS, Popular Will (Voluntad Popular) or VP, Progressive Advance (Avanzada Progresista) or AP, The Radical Cause or La Causa R, United Socialist Party of Venezuela or PSUV, Venezuela First (Primero Venezuela) or PV, Venezuelan Progressive Movement or MPV, Venezuela Project or PV

International organization participation: ACS, Caricom (observer), CD, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, LAS (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, Petrocaribe, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none
In the us note: the embassy, which had been run by the Venezuelan political opposition, announced on 5 January 2023, that it had ended all embassy functions
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); as of 19 May 2023, Francisco L. PALMIERI serves as the chief of mission of the Venezuela Affairs Unit, located in the US Embassy, Bogota
From the us embassy: Venezuela Affairs Unit, US Embassy, Carrera 45 N. 24B-27, Bogota, Colombia, previously - F St. and Suapure St.; Urb. Colinas de Valle Arriba; Caracas 1080
From the us mailing address: 3,140 Caracas Place, Washington DC 20,521-3,140
From the us telephone: 1-888-407-4,747
From the us email address and website: ACSBogota@state.gov; [link]

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; the flag retains the three equal horizontal bands and three main colors of the banner of Gran Colombia, the South American republic that broke up in 1830; yellow is interpreted as standing for the riches of the land, blue for the courage of its people, and red for the blood shed in attaining independence; the seven stars on the original flag represented the seven provinces in Venezuela that united in the war of independence; in 2006, then President Hugo CHAVEZ ordered an eighth star added to the star arc - a decision that sparked much controversy - to conform with the flag proclaimed by Simon Bolivar in 1827 and to represent the historic province of Guayana

National symbols: troupial (bird); national colors: yellow, blue, red

National anthem
Name: 'Gloria al bravo pueblo' (Glory to the Brave People)
Lyrics/music: Vicente SALIAS/Juan Jose LANDAETA
Note: adopted 1881; lyrics written in 1810, the music some years later; both SALIAS and LANDAETA were executed in 1814 during Venezuela's struggle for independence

National heritage
Total world heritage sites: 3 (2 cultural, 1 natural)
Selected world heritage site locales:


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Economy overview: South American economy; ongoing hyperinflation since mid-2010s; chaotic economy due to political corruption, infrastructure cuts, and human rights abuses; in debt default; oil exporter; hydropower consumer; rising Chinese relations

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $269.068 billion (2018 est.); $381.6 billion (2017 est.); $334.751 billion (2017 est.)
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate: -19.67% (2018 est.); -14% (2017 est.); -15.76% (2017 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real gdp per capita: $7,704 (2018 est.); $12,500 (2017 est.); $9,417 (2017 est.)
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 75.3% (2014 est.)
Government consumption: 14.6% (2014 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 21.6% (2014 est.)
Investment in inventories: 3.2% (2014 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 16.7% (2014 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -31.4% (2014 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 5% (2014 est.)
Industry: 37.2% (2014 est.)
Services: 51.7% (2014 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

Agriculture products: milk, sugarcane, maize, plantains, oil palm fruit, bananas, rice, potatoes, pineapples, chicken (2022)
Note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

Industries: agricultural products, livestock, raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, iron and steel products, crude oil and petroleum products

Industrial production growth rate: -5.84% (2014 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Labor force: 11.548 million (2023 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate: 5.53% (2023 est.); 5.75% (2022 est.); 7.03% (2021 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 10.8% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 9.5% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 female: 14.1% (2023 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

Population below poverty line: 33.1% (2015 est.)
Note: % of population with income below national poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $30 million (2017 est.)
Expenditures: $76 million (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 44.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt: 38.9% of GDP (2017 est.)
Note: data cover central government debt, as well as the debt of state-owned oil company PDVSA; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include some debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; some debt instruments for the social funds are sold at public auctions

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 146,101.7% (2019 est.); 45,518.1% (2018 est.); 416.8% (2017 est.)
Note: annual % change based on consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance: -$3.87 billion (2016 est.); -$3.87 billion (2016 est.); -$16.051 billion (2015 est.)
Note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars

Exports: $83.401 billion (2018 est.); $93.485 billion (2017 est.); $28.684 billion (2016 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Partners: China 16%, Turkey 14%, Spain 12%, US 10%, Brazil 8% (2022)
Partners note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Commodities: scrap iron, petroleum coke, crude petroleum, acyclic alcohols, aluminum (2022)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $18.432 billion (2018 est.); $18.376 billion (2017 est.); $25.81 billion (2016 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Partners: China 31%, US 23%, Brazil 14%, Colombia 7%, Turkey 4% (2022)
Partners note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Commodities: soybean oil, wheat, soybean meal, corn, plastic products (2022)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $9.794 billion (2017 est.); $10.15 billion (2016 est.); $15.625 billion (2015 est.)
Note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2022 est.)
Installed generating capacity: 34.742 million kW (2022 est.)
Consumption: 56.768 billion kWh (2022 est.)
Exports: 652 million kWh (2020 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 27.882 billion kWh (2022 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 22.3% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 77.6% of total installed capacity (2022 est.)

Coal
Production: 197,000 metric tons (2022 est.)
Consumption: 82,000 metric tons (2022 est.)
Exports: 124,000 metric tons (2022 est.)
Imports: 300 metric tons (2022 est.)
Proven reserves: 730.999 million metric tons (2022 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 761,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 367,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 303.806 billion barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 17.696 billion m³ (2022 est.)
Consumption: 17.696 billion m³ (2022 est.)
Proven reserves: 5.674 trillion m³ (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 80.769 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 188,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 44.539 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 36.042 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2022 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 57.282 million Btu/person (2022 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 3.147 million (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 11 (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 17.949 million (2022 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 63 (2022 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 5.2% of GDP (2019 est.); 4.4% of GDP (2018 est.); 2.9% of GDP (2017 est.); 2.2% of GDP (2016 est.); 1.8% of GDP (2015 est.)

Military and security forces: Bolivarian National Armed Forces (Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana, FANB): Bolivarian Army (Ejercito Bolivariano, EB), Bolivarian Navy (Armada Bolivariana, AB; includes marines, Coast Guard), Bolivarian Military Aviation (Aviacion Militar Bolivariana, AMB; includes a joint-service Aerospace Defense Command (Comando de Defensa Aeroespacial Integral, CODAI), Bolivarian Militia (Milicia Bolivariana), Bolivarian National Guard (Guardia Nacional Bolivaria, GNB); Ministry of Interior, Justice, and Peace: Bolivarian National Police (Policía Nacional Bolivariana, PNB) (2024)
Note 1: the Bolivarian Militia was added as a 'special component' to the FANB in 2020; it is comprised of armed civilians who receive periodic training in exchange for a small stipend
Note 2: the National Guard, established in 1937 and made a component of the FANB in 2007, is responsible for maintaining public order, guarding the exterior of key government installations and prisons, conducting counter-narcotics operations, monitoring borders, and providing law enforcement in remote areas; it reports to both the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Interior, Justice, and Peace
Note 3: the PNB is a federal force created by Hugo CHAVEZ in 2008 as a “preventative police force,” separate from state and local ones; the PNB largely focuses on policing Caracas’ Libertador municipality, patrolling Caracas-area highways, railways, and metro system, and protecting diplomatic missions; the PNB includes the Special Action Forces (Fuerzas de Acciones Especiales, FAES), a paramilitary unit created by President MADURO to bolster internal security after the 2017 anti-government protests; it has been accused of multiple human rights abuses

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 (25 for women) for voluntary service; the minimum service obligation is 24-30 months; all citizens of military service age (18-50) are obligated to register for military service and subject to military training, although “forcible recruitment” is forbidden (2023)

Space program

Terrorist groups: National Liberation Army (ELN); Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP); Segundo Marquetalia
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 12 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 75
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 2,137,771 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 1.55 million (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: YV

Airports: 502 (2024)

Heliports: 88 (2024)

Pipelines: 981 km extra heavy crude, 5,941 km gas, 7,588 km oil, 1,778 km refined products (2013)

Railways

Roadways
Total: 96,189 km (2014)

Waterways: 7,100 km (2011) (Orinoco River (400 km) and Lake de Maracaibo navigable by oceangoing vessels)

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 39,185 (Colombia) (mid-year 2022)
Note: As of November 2023, approximately 7.7 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants were residing worldwide with 84.7% in Latin America and the Caribbean

Illicit drugs: a major drug-transit country and trafficking route in the Western Hemisphere for illegal drugs mainly cocaine; government depends on rents from narco-trafficking, along with other illicit activities, to maintain power; evidence of coca cultivation and cocaine production in domestic drug laboratories suggests the country is now also an illicit drug-producing country; a major source of precursor or essential chemicals used in the production of illicit narcotics