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, although the re-election of current disputed President Nicolas MADURO in an election boycotted by most opposition parties was widely viewed as fraudulent. Under Hugo CHAVEZ, president from 1999 to 2013, and his hand-picked successor, MADURO, the executive branch has exercised increasingly authoritarian control over other branches of government. National Assembly President Juan GUAIDO is currently recognized by more than 50 countries - including the United States - as the interim president while MADURO retains control of all other institutions within the country and has the support of security forces. Venezuela is currently authoritarian with only one democratic institution - the National Assembly - and strong restrictions on freedoms of expression and the press. The ruling party's economic policies expanded the state's role in the economy through expropriations of major enterprises, strict currency exchange and price controls that discourage private sector investment and production, and overdependence on the petroleum industry for revenues, among others. However, Caracas in 2019 relaxed some economic controls to mitigate some impacts of the economic crisis driven by a drop in oil production. Current concerns include human rights abuses, rampant violent crime, high inflation, and widespread shortages of basic consumer goods, medicine, and medical supplies.

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
Rank: 34
Comparative: almost six times the size of Georgia; slightly more than twice the size of California

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
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Contiguous zone: 15 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

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

Elevation
Mean elevation: 450 m
Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
Highest point: Pico Bolivar 4,978 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 24.5% (2011 est.)
Forest: 52.1% (2011 est.)
Other: 23.4% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 10,550 km² (2012)

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

Geography
Note: note 1: the country lies on major sea and air routes linking North and South America

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: 31,689,176 (July 2018 est.)
Rank: 43
Growth rate: 1.21% (2018 est.)
Growth rate rank: 90
Below poverty line: 19.7% (2015 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Venezuelan(s)
Adjective: Venezuelan

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

Languages: Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects

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

Demographic profile: Social investment in Venezuela during the CHAVEZ administration reduced poverty from nearly 50% in 1999 to about 27% in 2011, increased school enrollment, substantially decreased infant and child mortality, and improved access to potable water and sanitation through social investment. 'Missions' dedicated to education, nutrition, healthcare, and sanitation were funded through petroleum revenues. The sustainability of this progress remains questionable, however, as the continuation of these social programs depends on the prosperity of Venezuela's oil industry. In the long-term, education and health care spending may increase economic growth and reduce income inequality, but rising costs and the staffing of new health care jobs with foreigners are slowing development.

Age structure
0-14 years: 27.04% (male 4,392,305 /female 4,176,518)
15-24 years: 16.82% (male 2,709,250 /female 2,621,681)
25-54 years: 40.65% (male 6,393,114 /female 6,487,570)
55-64 years: 8.11% (male 1,233,524 /female 1,336,963)
65 years and over: 7.38% (male 1,056,864 /female 1,281,387) (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 52.6 (2015 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 43 (2015 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 9.5 (2015 est.)
Potential support ratio: 10.5 (2015 est.)

Median age
Total: 28.7 years (2018 est.)
Male: 28 years
Female: 29.4 years
Rank: 132

Population growth rate: 1.21% (2018 est.)
Rank: 90

Birth rate: 18.5 births/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 90

Death rate: 5.3 deaths/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 187

Net migration rate: -1.2 migrant(s)/1000 population (2018 est.)
Rank: 147

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: 88.2% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 1.28% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 2.936 million CARACAS (capital), 2.219 million Maracaibo, 1.885 million Valencia, 1.19 million Maracay, 1.201 million Barquisimeto (2019)

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(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2018 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 11.9 deaths/1000 live births (2018 est.)
Male: 12.5 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 11.2 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 117

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.2 years (2018 est.)
Male: 73.2 years
Female: 79.3 years
Rank: 93

Total fertility rate: 2.3 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Rank: 87

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 75% (2010)

Drinking water source
Urban: 5% of population
Rural: 22.1% of population
Total: 6.9% of population (2015 est.)

Current health expenditure: 3.2% (2016)

Hospital bed density: 0.8 beds/1000 population (2014)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 2.5% of population (2015 est.)
Rural: 30.1% of population (2015 est.)
Total: 5.6% of population (2015 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.6% (2016 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 65
People living with hivaids: 120,000 (2018 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 41
Deaths note: NA

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high (2016)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A (2016)
Vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria (2016): note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 25.6% (2016)
Rank: 50

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 2.9% (2009)
Rank: 103

Education expenditures: 6.9% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 15

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 97.1%
Male: 97%
Female: 97.2% (2016)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years (2009)

Country name
Conventional long form: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Conventional short form: Venezuela
Local long form: Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela
Local short form: 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)

Administrative divisions:

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 (2019)

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:
Head of government: President Nicolas MADURO Moros (since 19 April 2013); Executive Vice President Delcy RODRIGUEZ Gomez (since 14 June 2018)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 6-year term (no term limits); election last held on 20 May 2018 (next election scheduled for 2024)
Election results: Nicolas MADURO Moros reelected president; percent of vote - Nicolas MADURO Moros (PSUV) 68%, Henri FALCON (AP) 21%, Javier BERTUCCI 11%; note - the election was marked by serious shortcomings and electoral fraud; voter turnout was approximately 46% due largely to an opposition boycott of the election

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (167 seats; 113 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 51 directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed, party-list proportional representation vote, and 3 seats reserved for indigenous peoples of Venezuela; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections: last held on 6 December 2015 (next to be held by 2020)
Election results: percent of vote by party - MUD (opposition coalition) 56.2%, PSUV (pro-government) 40.9%, other 2.9%; seats by party - MUD 109, PSUV 55, indigenous peoples 3; composition - men 143, women 24, percent of women 14.4%

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; the Government of President 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 or UNT [Manuel ROSALES]Brave People's Alliance or ABP [Richard BLANCO]Christian Democrats or COPEI [Roberto ENRIQUEZ]Clear Accounts or CC [Enzo SCARENO]Coalition of parties loyal to Hugo CHAVEZ -- Great Patriotic Pole or GPP [Nicolas MADURO]Coalition of opposition parties -- The Democratic Unity Table or MUD [Jose Luis CARTAYA]Come On Venezuela or VV [Maria MACHADO]Communist Party of Venezuela or PCV [Oscar FIGUERA]Democratic Action or AD [Henry RAMOS ALLUP]Justice First or PJ [Julio BORGES]Popular Will or VP [Leopoldo LOPEZ]Progressive Wave or AP [Henri FALCON]The Radical Cause or La Causa R [Andres VELAZQUEZ]United Socialist Party of Venezuela or PSUV [Nicolas MADURO]Venezuelan Progressive Movement or MPV [Simon CALZADILLA]Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique Fernando SALAS FEO]

International organization participation: 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, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
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: Boston, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge dAffaires James Jimmy STORY (since July 2018); note - on 11 March 2019, the Department of State announced the temporary suspension of operations of the US Embassy in Caracas and the withdrawal of diplomatic personnel; all consular services, routine and emergency, are suspended
From the us telephone: [58] (212) 975-6,411, 907-8,400 (after hours)
From the us embassy: now operating from Bogota, Colombia
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 62,291, Caracas 1060-A; APO AA 34,037
From the us FAX: [58] (212) 907-8,106

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)
Lyricsmusic: 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

Economy overview: Venezuela remains highly dependent on oil revenues, which account for almost all export earnings and nearly half of the government’s revenue, despite a continued decline in oil production in 2017. In the absence of official statistics, foreign experts estimate that GDP contracted 12% in 2017, inflation exceeded 2000%, people faced widespread shortages of consumer goods and medicine, and the central bank's international reserves dwindled. In late 2017, Venezuela also entered selective default on some of its sovereign and state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., (PDVSA) bonds. Domestic production and industry continues to severely underperform and the Venezuelan Government continues to rely on imports to meet its basic food and consumer goods needs.Falling oil prices since 2014 have aggravated Venezuela’s economic crisis. Insufficient access to dollars, price controls, and rigid labor regulations have led some US and multinational firms to reduce or shut down their Venezuelan operations. Market uncertainty and PDVSA’s poor cash flow have slowed investment in the petroleum sector, resulting in a decline in oil production.Under President Nicolas MADURO, the Venezuelan Government’s response to the economic crisis has been to increase state control over the economy and blame the private sector for shortages. MADURO has given authority for the production and distribution of basic goods to the military and to local socialist party member committees. The Venezuelan Government has maintained strict currency controls since 2003. The government has been unable to sustain its mechanisms for distributing dollars to the private sector, in part because it needed to withhold some foreign exchange reserves to make its foreign bond payments. As a result of price and currency controls, local industries have struggled to purchase production inputs necessary to maintain their operations or sell goods at a profit on the local market. Expansionary monetary policies and currency controls have created opportunities for arbitrage and corruption and fueled a rapid increase in black market activity.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 47

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 222

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 126

Gross national saving:
Rank: 150

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 68.5% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 19.6% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 13.9% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.7% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 7% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -10.7% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4.7% (2017 est.)
Industry: 40.4% (2017 est.)
Services: 54.9% (2017 est.)

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

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: -2% (2017 est.)
Rank: 183

Labor force: 14.21 million (2017 est.)
Rank: 40
By occupation agriculture: 7.3%
By occupation industry: 21.8%
By occupation services: 70.9% (4th quarter 2011 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 199

Population below poverty line: 19.7% (2015 est.)

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

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 74

Budget
Revenues: 92.8 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 189.7 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -46.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 220

Taxes and other revenues: 44.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 25

Public debt:
Rank: 135

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 226

Central bank discount rate: 29.5% (2015)
Rank: 1

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 12

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 29

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 29

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 60

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 60

Current account balance:
Rank: 32

Exports:
Rank: 63
Partners: US 34.8%, India 17.2%, China 16%, Netherlands Antilles 8.2%, Singapore 6.3%, Cuba 4.2% (2017)
Commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, bauxite and aluminum, minerals, chemicals, agricultural products

Imports:
Rank: 99
Commodities: agricultural products, livestock, raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials, medical equipment, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, iron and steel products
Partners: US 24.8%, China 14.2%, Mexico 9.5% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 75

Debt external:
Rank: 47

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 70

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 47

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 99.6% (2016)
Access electrification urban areas: 100% (2016)
Access electrification rural areas: 96.4% (2016)
Production: 109.3 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 34
Consumption: 71.96 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 39
Exports: 0 kWh (2015 est.)
Exports rank: 215
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 216
Installed generating capacity: 31 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 32
Generation sources fossil fuels: 51% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 150
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 208
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 49% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 43
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 213

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 1.484 million bbl/day (2018 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 16
Crude oil exports: 1.656 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 8
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 212
Crude oil proven reserves: 302.3 billion bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 1

Refined petroleum
Products production: 926,300 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 20
Products consumption: 659,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 29
Products exports: 325,800 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 27
Products imports: 20,640 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 117

Natural gas
Production: 27.07 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 28
Consumption: 24.21 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 33
Exports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 209
Imports: 0 m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 209
Proven reserves: 5.739 trillion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 7

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 129.9 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 36

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 547,291
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 19 (2018 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 92
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 20,731,169
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 72 (2018 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 54

Telephone system
General assessment: modern and expanding; by late 2018 teledensity has fallen due to political upheaval in the country with people holding on to mobile service, but cancelling fixed-line telecom services; poor quality of service in many areas of the country due to financial concerns of customers, decrepit sate of fixed-line network and difficulty to pay for equipment from foreign vendors; popularity of social networks has given growth to mobile data traffic; LTE population coverage about 47% (2018)
Domestic: two domestic satellite systems with three earth stations; recent substantial improvement in telephone service in rural areas; installation of a national inter-urban fiber-optic network capable of digital multimedia services; 3 major providers operate in the mobile market and compete with state-owned company; fixed-line 19 per 100 and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership about 78 per 100 persons (2018)
International: country code - 58; submarine cable systems provide connectivity to Cuba and 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

Broadcast media: government supervises a mixture of state-run and private broadcast media; 13 public service networks, 61 privately owned TV networks, a privately owned news channel with limited national coverage, and a government-backed Pan-American channel; state-run radio network includes roughly 65 news stations and another 30 stations targeted at specific audiences; state-sponsored community broadcasters include 235 radio stations and 44 TV stations; the number of private broadcast radio stations has been declining, but many still remain in operation

Internet
Country code: .ve
Users total: 18,547,381
Users percent of population: 60% (July 2016 est.)
Users rank: 35

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 2,610,118
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 8 (2017 est.)
Rank: 44

Military expenditures:
Rank: 149

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), Integral Aerospace Defense Command (Comando de Defensa Aeroespacial Integral, CODAI), Bolivarian National Guard (Guardia Nacional Bolivaria, GNB), Bolivarian Militia (Milicia Bolivariana, NMB) (2019)

Military service age and obligation: all citizens of military service age (18-60 years old) are obligated to register for military service and subject to military training, though mandatory recruitment is forbidden; the minimum service obligation is 24-30 months (2016)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 17 (2015)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 122 (2015)
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 6,456,853 (2015)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 6,204,085
Note: mt-km (2015)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: YV (2016)

Airports: 444 (2013)
Rank: 19
With paved runways total: 127 (2013)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 6 (2013)
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 9 (2013)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 33 (2013)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 62 (2013)
With paved runways under 914 m: 17 (2013)
With unpaved runways total: 317 (2013)
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 57 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 127 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 130 (2013)

Heliports: 3 (2013)

Pipelines: 981 km extra heavy crude, 5,941 km gas, 7,588 km oil, 1778 km refined products (2013)

Railways
Total: 447 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 447 km
Note: 1.435-m gauge (41.4 km electrified) (2014)
Rank: 115

Roadways
Total: 96,189 km (2014)
Rank: 50

Waterways: 7,100 km
Note: (Orinoco River (400 km) and Lake de Maracaibo navigable by oceangoing vessels) (2011)
Rank: 20

Merchant marine
Total: 269
By type: bulk carrier 4, container ship 1, general cargo 30, oil tanker 26, other 208 (2018)
Rank: 53

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: La Guaira, Maracaibo, Puerto Cabello, Punta Cardon
Oil terminal: Jose terminal

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 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 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; US, France, and the Netherlands recognize Venezuela's granting full effect to Aves Island, thereby claiming a Venezuelan Economic Exclusion Zone/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

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 67,156 (Colombia) (2018)

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