Match 254 DB Rec# - 7,706 Dataset-WOFACT
Title :Venezuela
Text :
Venezuela
Geography
Location:
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana
Map references:
South America
Area:
total area:
912,050 sq km
land area:
882,050 sq km
comparative area:
slightly more than twice the size of California
Land boundaries:
total 4,993 km, 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
International disputes:
claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo River; maritime boundary dispute
with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela
Climate:
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Terrain:
Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains
(llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower,
diamonds
Land use:
arable land:
3%
permanent crops:
1%
meadows and pastures:
20%
forest and woodland:
39%
other:
37%
Irrigated land:
2,640 sq km (1989 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
natural hazards:
subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts
Geography
international agreements:
party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Hazardous Wastes, Marine
Dumping
Note:
on major sea and air routes linking North and South America
People
Population:
21,004,773 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
35% (female 3,650,705; male 3,795,032)
15-64 years:
60% (female 6,350,466; male 6,313,887)
65 years and over:
5% (female 486,020; male 408,663) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.1% (1995 est.)
Birth rate:
25.11 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate:
4.57 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
26.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
73.31 years
male:
70.48 years
female:
76.29 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.97 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Venezuelan(s)
adjective:
Venezuelan
Ethnic divisions:
mestizo 67%, white 21%, black 10%, Amerindian 2%
Religions:
nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%
Languages:
Spanish (official), native dialects spoken by about 200,000 Amerindians in
the remote interior
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
total population:
90%
male:
91%
female:
89%
Labor force:
7.6 million
by occupation:
services 63%, industry 25%, agriculture 12% (1993)
Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of Venezuela
conventional short form:
Venezuela
local long form:
Republica de Venezuela
local short form:
Venezuela
Digraph:
VE
Type:
republic
Capital:
Caracas
Administrative divisions:
21 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 territory* (territorio), 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 and head of government:
President Rafael CALDERA Rodriguez (since 2 February 1994); election last
held 5 December 1993 (next to be held NA December 1998); results - Rafael
CALDERA (National Convergence) 30.45%, Claudio FERMIN (AD) 23.59%, Oswaldo
ALVAREZ PAZ (COPEI) 22.72%, Andres VELASQUEZ (Causa R) 21.94%, other 1.3%
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch:
bicameral Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la Republica)
Senate (Senado):
elections last held 5 December 1993 (next to be held NA December 1998);
results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (53 total) AD 18, COPEI 15,
Causa R 9, MAS 5, National Convergence 6; note - 3 former presidents (2 from
AD, 1 from COPEI) hold lifetime senate seats
Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados):
elections last held 5 December 1993 (next to be held NA December 1998);
results - AD 27.9%, COPEI 26.9%, MAS 12.4%, National Convergence 12.9%,
Causa R 19.9%; seats - (203 total) AD 55, COPEI 53, MAS 24, National
Convergence 26, Causa R 40, other 5
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia) Roberto YEPES,
President
Government
Political parties and leaders:
National Convergence (Convergencia), Jose Miguel UZCATEGUI, president, Juan
Jose CALDERA, national coordinator; Social Christian Party (COPEI), Luis
HERRERA Campins, president, and Donald RAMIREZ, secretary general;
Democratic Action (AD), Pedro PARIS Montesinos, president, and Luis ALFARO
Ucero, secretary general; Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), Gustavo MARQUEZ,
president, and Enrique OCHOA Antich, secretary general; Radical Cause (La
Causa R), Pablo MEDINA, secretary general
Other political or pressure groups:
FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; Venezuelan Confederation of
Workers (CTV, labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action);
VECINOS groups
Member of:
AG, BCIE, CARICOM (observer), CDB, CG, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24,
G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, MINURSO, NAM,
OAS, ONUSAL, OPANAL, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNIKOM, UNMIH, UNPROFOR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Pedro Luis ECHEVERRIA
chancery:
1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone:
[1] (202) 342-2214
consulate(s) general:
Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and
San Juan (Puerto Rico)
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Jeffrey DAVIDOW
embassy:
Avenida Francisco de Miranda and Avenida Principal de la Floresta, Caracas
mailing address:
P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A; APO AA 34037
telephone:
[58] (2) 285-2222, 3111
FAX:
[58] (2) 285-0366
Flag:
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:
Despite efforts to broaden the base of the economy, petroleum continues to
play a dominant role. In 1994, as GDP declined 3.3%, the oil sector - which
accounts for 24% of the total - enjoyed a 6% expansion, provided 45% of the
budget revenues, and generated 70% of the export earnings. President
CALDERA, who assumed office in February 1994, has used an interventionist,
reactive approach to managing the economy, instituting price and foreign
exchange controls in mid-year to slow inflation and stop the loss of foreign
exchange reserves. The government claims it will remove these controls once
inflationary pressures abate, but the $8 billion bailout of the banking
sector in 1994 has made it difficult for the government to make good on its
promise. Economic controls, coupled with political uncertainty driven by
recurrent coup rumors, continue to deter foreign and domestic investment;
private forecasters see the recession persisting for a third year in 1995.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power parity - $178.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate:
-3.3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita:
$8,670 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
71% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate:
9% (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$10.3 billion
expenditures:
$14.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $103 million (1994 est.)
Exports:
$15.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities:
petroleum 72%, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural
products, basic manufactures
partners:
US and Puerto Rico 55%, Japan, Netherlands, Italy
Imports:
$7.6 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities:
raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction
materials
partners:
US 40%, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Canada
External debt:
$40.1 billion (1994)
Industrial production:
growth rate -1.4% (1993 est.); accounts for 41% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
18,740,000 kW
production:
72 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
3,311 kWh (1993)
Industries:
petroleum, iron-ore mining, construction materials, food processing,
textiles, steel, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly
Economy
Agriculture:
accounts for 6% of GDP; products - corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas,
vegetables, coffee, beef, pork, milk, eggs, fish; not self-sufficient in
food other than meat
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; important money-laundering hub
Economic aid:
recipient:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-86), $488 million; Communist countries
(1970-89), $10 million
Currency:
1 bolivar (Bs) = 100 centimos
Exchange rates:
bolivares (Bs) per US$1 - 169.570 (January 1995), 148.503 (1994), 90.826
(1993), 68.38 (1992), 56.82 (1991), 46.90 (1990)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Transportation
Railroads:
total:
542 km (363 km single track; 179 km privately owned)
standard gauge:
542 km 1.435-m gauge
Highways:
total:
81,000 km
paved:
31,200 km
unpaved:
gravel 24,800 km; earth and unimproved earth 25,000 km
Inland 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:
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:
39 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 686,811 GRT/1,110,829 DWT
ships by type:
bulk 4, cargo 11, combination bulk 1, liquefied gas tanker 2, oil tanker 15,
passenger-cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 4, short-sea passenger 1
Airports:
total:
431
with paved runways over 3,047 m:
4
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m:
11
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m:
34
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
65
with paved runways under 914 m:
191
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m:
12
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
114
Communications
Telephone system:
1,440,000 telephones; modern and expanding
local:
NA
intercity:
3 domestic satellite earth stations
international:
3 submarine coaxial cables; 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Radio:
broadcast stations:
AM 181, FM 0, shortwave 26
radios:
NA
Television:
broadcast stations:
59
televisions:
NA
Defense Forces
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 Cooperation or Guardia
Nacional)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 5,491,524; males fit for military service 3,981,190; males
reach military age (18) annually 227,292 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $1.95 billion, 4% of GDP (1991)
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The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995
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