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 overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples.

Geographic coordinates: 8 00 N 66 00 W

Map reference: South America

Area
Total: 912,050 km²
Rank: 33
Land: 882,050 km²
Water: 30,000 km²
Comparative: slightly more than twice the size of California

Land boundaries
Total: 4,993 km
Border countries: (3) 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
Extremes highest point: Pico Bolivar 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 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 1233.2 km³ (2000)

Natural hazards: subject to floods rockslides mudslides; periodic droughts

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

Population: 27,223,228 (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 45
Growth rate: 1.515% (2010 est.)
Growth rate rank: 81
Below poverty line: 37.9% (yearend 2005 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Venezuelan
Adjective: Venezuelan

Ethnic groups: Spanish Italian Portuguese Arab German African indigenous people

Languages: Spanish (official) numerous indigenous dialects

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 30.5%
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 8,480,872/female 8,754,620)
65 years and over: 5.2% (male 620,657/female 778,905) (2010 est.)

Median age
Total: 25.8 years
Male: 25.1 years
Female: 26.5 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.515% (2010 est.)
Rank: 81

Birth rate: 20.29 births/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 91

Death rate: 5.14 deaths/1000 population (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 182

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 101

Urbanization
Urban population: 93% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 2% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

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 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 21.07 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 96
Male: 24.6 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 17.37 deaths/1000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.77 years
Rank: 109
Male: 70.69 years
Female: 77 years (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.45 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Rank: 93

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.7%; note - no country specific models provided (2001 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 63
People living with hivaids: 110,000 (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 45
Deaths: 4,100 (2003 est.)
Deaths rank: 49

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
Vectorborne disease: dengue fever and malaria (2009)

Education expenditures: 3.7% of GDP (2007)
Rank: 122

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 93%
Male: 93.3%
Female: 92.7% (2001 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 15 years (2008)

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-4.5 (half an 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 (Federal Dependencies)** Distrito Capital (Capital District)* 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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias ; Executive Vice President Elias JAUA Milano (since 26 January 2010); 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 Elias JAUA Milano (since 26 January 2010)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for unlimited reelection); election last held on 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; in 2009 a national referendum approved the elimination of term limits on all elected officials including the presidency
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 (165 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; three seats reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela)
Elections: last held on 26 September 2010 (next to be held in 2015)
Election results: percent of vote by party - pro-government 48.9% opposition coalition 47.9% other 3.2%; seats by party - pro-government 98 opposition 65 other 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (32 magistrates are elected by the National Assembly for a single 12-year term)

Political parties and leaders: A New Time or UNT [Omar BARBOZA]; Brave People's Alliance or ABP [Oscar PEREZ]; Christian Democrats or COPEI [Luis Ignacio PLANAS]; Communist Party of Venezuela or PCV [Oscar FIGUERA]; Democratic Action or AD [Henry RAMOS Allup]; Fatherland for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNOZ]; For Social Democracy or PODEMOS [Ramon MARTINEZ]; Justice First [Julio BORGES]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Felipe MUJICA]; United Socialist Party of Venezuela or PSUV [Hugo CHAVEZ]; Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique SALAS Romer]

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Bernardo ALVAREZ Herrera
In the us chancery: 1099 30th Street NW Washington DC 20,007
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 342-2,214
In the us fax: [1] (202) 342-6,820
In the us consulate general: Boston Chicago Houston Miami New Orleans New York San Francisco San Juan (Puerto Rico)
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador
From the us embassy: Calle F con Calle Suapure Urbanizacion Colinas de Valle Arriba Caracas 1080
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 62,291 Caracas 1060-A; APO AA 34,037
From the us telephone: [58] (212) 975-6,411 907-8,400 (after hours)
From the us fax: [58] (212) 907-8,199

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 President Hugo CHAVEZ ordered an eighth star added to the star arc - a decision that sparked much controversy

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

Economy overview: Venezuela remains highly dependent on oil revenues which account for roughly 95% of export earnings about 55% 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 by about 10% in 2006 8% in 2007 and nearly 5% in 2008 before a sharp drop in oil prices caused a contraction in 2009-10. 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 32% in 2008 and slowing only slightly to 30% in 2010 despite the lengthy downturn. Imports also jumped significantly before the recession of 2009. President Hugo CHAVEZ's continued efforts to increase the government's control of the economy by nationalizing firms in the agribusiness financial construction oil and steel sectors have hurt the private investment environment reduced productive capacity and slowed non-petroleum exports. In the first half of 2010 Venezuela faced the prospect of lengthy nationwide blackouts when its main hydroelectric power plant - which provides more than 35% of the country's electricity - nearly shut down. In January 2010 CHAVEZ announced a dual exchange rate system for the bolivar and closed the unofficial foreign exchange market - the 'parallel' market - in an effort to stem inflation and slow the currency's depreciation. The foreign exchange system offers a 2.6 bolivar per dollar rate for imports of essentials including food medicine and industrial machinery and a 4.3 bolivar per dollar rate for imports of other products including cars and telephones.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 35
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 207

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 91
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4.1%
Industry: 34.9%
Services: 61.1% (2010 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: -8% (2010 est.)
Rank: 166

Labor force: 13.3 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 40
By occupation agriculture: 13%
By occupation industry: 23%
By occupation services: 64% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: 7.9% (2009 est.)
Rank: 130

Population below poverty line: 37.9% (yearend 2005 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.7%
Highest 10: 32.7% (2006)

Distribution of family income gini index: 49.5 (1998)
Rank: 57

Public debt: 18% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 98

Inflation rate consumer prices: 27.1% (2009 est.)
Rank: 224

Central bank discount rate: 33.5% (31 December 2008)
Rank: 3

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 22.37% (31 December 2008 est.)
Rank: 12

Stock of narrow money: $93.19 billion (31 December 2009 est)
Rank: 37

Stock of broad money: $107 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 58

Stock of domestic credit: $75.87 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 62

Market value of publicly traded shares:

Current account balance: $8.561 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 15

Exports: $57.6 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 44
Commodities: petroleum bauxite and aluminum minerals chemicals agricultural products basic manufactures
Partners: US 35.18% Netherlands Antilles 8.56%
Partners note: excludes oil exports; Venezuela last published petroleum figures by country in 2008 (2009)

Imports: $38.44 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 57
Commodities: agricultural products raw materials machinery and equipment transport equipment construction materials
Partners: US 23.66% Colombia 14.43% Brazil 9.13% China 8.44% Mexico 5.47% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $35 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 35

Debt external: $53.58 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 54

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $41.21 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 58

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $17.67 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 39

Exchange rates: bolivars (VEB) per US dollar - 4.3039 (2010) 2.1522 (2009) 2.147 (2008) 2,147 (2007) 2,147 (2006)

Electricity
Production: 113.3 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Production rank: 29
Consumption: 83.02 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption rank: 34
Exports: 540 million kWh (2007 est.)
Imports: 1.651 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 23.06 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Production rank: 29
Consumption: 24.86 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 31
Exports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Exports rank: 102
Imports: 1.8 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Imports rank: 48
Proven reserves: 4.983 trillion m³ (1 January 2010 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 9

Telephones
Main lines in use: 6.867 million (2009)
Main lines in use rank: 28
Mobile cellular: 28.124 million (2009)
Mobile cellular rank: 32

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; combined fixed and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership 130 per 100 persons
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 (2009)

Broadcast media: government supervises a mixture of state-run and private broadcast media; 1 state-run television network 4 privately-owned TV networks and a government-backed pan-American channel; state-run radio network includes 15 stations; large number of private broadcast radio stations (2007)

Internet
Country code: .ve
Hosts: 238,665 (2010)
Hosts rank: 64
Users: 8.918 million (2009)
Users rank: 32

Military expenditures: 1.2% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 123

Military service age and obligation: 18-30 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; 30-month conscript service obligation; all citizens of military service age (18-60 years old) are obligated to register for military service (2010)

Airports: 409 (2010)
Rank: 20
With paved runways total: 129
With paved runways over 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 10
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 34
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 63
With paved runways under 914 m: 17 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 280
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 16
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 91
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 172 (2010)

Heliports: 4 (2010)

Pipelines: extra heavy crude 980 km; gas 5,258 km; oil 6,695 km; refined products 1484 km; unknown 141 km (2009)

Railways
Total: 806 km
Rank: 101
Standard gauge: 806 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)

Roadways
Total: 96,155 km
Rank: 47
Paved: 32,308 km
Unpaved: 63,847 km (2002)

Waterways: 7,100 km
Rank: 21
Note: Orinoco River (400 km) and Lake de Maracaibo navigable by oceangoing vessels (2010)

Merchant marine
Total: 59
Rank: 66
By type: bulk carrier 5 cargo 15 chemical tanker 5 liquefied gas 5 passenger 1 passenger/cargo 12 petroleum tanker 16
Foreign owned: 10 (Denmark 1 Estonia 1 Germany 1 Greece 4 Mexico 1 Norway 1 Spain 1)
Registered in other countries: 9 (Panama 8 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2010)

Ports and terminals: La Guaira Maracaibo Puerto Cabello Punta Cardon

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

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