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, Central America and the Caribbean

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:
contiguous zone: 15 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 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 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: 4%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 20%
forests and woodland: 34%
other: 41% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,900 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: subject to floods, rockslides, mud slides; 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

Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping

Geography—note: on major sea and air routes linking North and South America

Population: 23,203,466 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 33% (male 3,988,499; female 3,741,568)
15-64 years: 62% (male 7,231,546; female 7,184,769)
65 years and over: 5% (male 484,071; female 573,013) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.71% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 22.25 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 4.93 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 26.51 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.95 years
male: 69.97 years
female: 76.16 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.61 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Venezuelan(s)
adjective: Venezuelan

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

Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%

Languages: Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.1%
male: 91.8%
female: 90.3% (1995 est.)

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Venezuela
conventional short form: Venezuela
local long form: Republica de Venezuela
local short form: Venezuela

Data code: VE

Government type: republic

Capital: Caracas

Administrative divisions: 22 states (estados, singular—estado),1 federal district* (distrito federal), 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, 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: 23 January 1961

Legal system: based on Napoleonic code; judicial review of legislative acts in Cassation Court only; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); note—the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA December 2003)
election results: Hugo CHAVEZ Frias elected president; percent of vote—NA%

Legislative branch: bicameral Congress of the Republic or Congreso de la Republica consists of the Senate or Senado (52 seats, two from each state and the federal district (46), one for each of the retired presidents, and others representing minorities (6); members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (207 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate—last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA December 2003); Chamber of Deputies—last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA December 2003)
election results: Senate—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—AD 16, COPEI 14, Causa R 9, National Convergence 5, MAS 3, independents 5; note—two former presidents (1 from AD, 1 from COPEI) hold lifetime Senate seats; Chamber of Deputies—percent of vote by party—AD 25.6%, COPEI 24.6%, MAS 10.6%, National Convergence 8.7%, Causa R 19.3%; seats by party—AD 53, COPEI 51, Causa R 40, MAS 22, National Convergence 18, other 23

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia), magistrates are elected by both chambers in joint session for a nine-year term, one-third are reelected every three years

Political parties and leaders: National Convergence or Convergencia [Jose Miguel UZCATEGUI, president, Juan Jose CALDERA, national coordinator]; Social Christian Party or COPEI [Luis HERRERA Campins, president, and Donald RAMIREZ, secretary general]; Democratic Action or AD [David MORALES Bello, president, and Luis ALFARO Ucero, secretary general]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Felipe MUJICA, president, and Leopoldo PUCHI, secretary general]; Radical Cause or La Causa R [Lucas MATHEUS, secretary general]; Homeland for All or PPT [Alexis ROSAS, director]

Political pressure groups and leaders: FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers or CTV (labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action); VECINOS groups

International organization participation: CAN, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G- 3, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
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, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John Francis MAISTO
embassy: Calle F con Calle Suapure, Colinas de Valle Arriba, Caracas 1060
mailing address: P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A; APO AA 34037
telephone: [58] (2) 977-2011
FAX: [58] (2) 977-0843

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 seven white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band

Economy—overview: The petroleum sector dominates the economy, accounting for roughly a third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and more than half of government operating revenues. As a result, the steep downturn in international oil prices has had a severe impact on the economy; fiscal cuts spurred by the loss of revenues, high interest rates, and the sharp downturn in export earnings drove the economy into recession in 1998. The recession continued into 1999 with oil prices forecast to stay relatively low, but rising. Although the government has pursued moderate austerity measures to address the downturn in revenues, Venezuela's ongoing reform program has largely stalled. Pressure on the bolivar—overvalued by as much as 40%—was also significant through much of 1998, increasing the probability of an adjustment of the currency in 1999. Newly elected President Hugo CHAVEZ will be hard pressed to address Venezuela's many economic ills. He has promised to strike a balance between reforms designed to address the structural deformities of the economy and addressing declining living standards. CHAVEZ has sought to play down the populism that marked his political campaign for the presidency in an effort to allay investor concerns. The wide range of viewpoints represented on CHAVEZ's economic team is likely to make rapid implementation of a coherent policy difficult.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$194.5 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: -0.9% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$8,500 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 63%
services: 33% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: 31.3% (1989 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.5%
highest 10%: 35.6% (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 29.9% (1998)

Labor force: 9.2 million

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

Unemployment rate: 11.5% (1997 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $11.99 billion
expenditures: $11.48 billion, including capital expenditures of $3 billion (1996 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 0.5% (1995 est.)

Electricity—production: 73 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 20.55%
hydro: 79.45%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)

Electricity—consumption: 72.85 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—exports: 150 million kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 0 kWh (1996)

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

Exports: $16.9 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports—commodities: petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures (1998)

Exports—partners: US and Puerto Rico 57%, Colombia, Brazil (1997)

Imports: $12.4 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Imports—commodities: raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials (1998)

Imports—partners: US 53%, Japan, Colombia, Italy, Germany (1997)

Debt—external: $26.5 billion (1996)

Economic aid—recipient: $50.8 million (1995)

Currency: 1 bolivar (Bs) = 100 centimos

Exchange rates: bolivares (Bs) per US$1—570.267 (January 1999), 547.556 (1998), 488.635 (1997), 417.333 (1996), 176.843 (1995), 148.503 (1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Telephones: 1.44 million (1987 est.)

Telephone system: modern and expanding
domestic: domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations
international: 3 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth station—1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 181, FM 0, shortwave 26

Radios: 9.04 million (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 66 (in addition, there are 45 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions: 3.3 million (1992 est.)

Railways:
total: 584 km (248 km privately owned)
standard gauge: 584 km 1.435-m gauge

Highways:
total: 84,300 km
paved: 33,214 km
unpaved: 51,086 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: 7,100 km; Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels

Pipelines: crude oil 6,370 km; petroleum products 480 km; natural gas 4,010 km

Ports and harbors: Amuay, Bajo Grande, El Tablazo, La Guaira, La Salina, Maracaibo, Matanzas, Palua, Puerto Cabello, Puerto la Cruz, Puerto Ordaz, Puerto Sucre, Punta Cardon

Merchant marine:
total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 535,882 GRT/937,461 DWT
ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 9, combination bulk 1, liquefied gas tanker 2, oil tanker 8, passenger-cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 5, short-sea passenger 1 (1998 est.)

Airports: 371 (1998 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 122
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 32
914 to 1,523 m: 59
under 914 m: 16 (1998 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 249
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 94
under 914 m: 145 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)

Military branches: National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales or FAN) includes Ground Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or Ejercito), Naval Forces (Fuerzas Navales or Armada), Air Force (Fuerzas Aereas or Aviacion), Armed Forces of Cooperation or National Guard (Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperacion or Guardia Nacional)

Military manpower—military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 6,268,982 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 4,522,757 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 242,362 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $1.1 billion (1998)

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1% (1998)

Disputes—international: claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo River; maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis, opium, and coca leaf for the international drug trade on a small scale; however, large quantities of cocaine and heroin transit the country from Colombia bound for US and Europe; important money-laundering hub; active eradication program primarily targeting opium

Source: 1999 CIA World Factbook