1981 Edition

Area

911,680 km2; 4% cropland, 18% pasture, 21% forest, 57% urban, waste, and other

Coastline

2,800 km

Communists

none known

Elections

Supreme Pontiff elected for life by College of Cardinals

Government leader

Supreme Pontiff, JOHN PAUL II (Karol WOJTYLA, elected Pope 16 October 1978)

Land boundaries

4,181 km

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

12 nm plus 3 nm contiguous zone for customs and sanitation (economic, including fishing, 200 nm)

Member

IAEA, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, UPU, WTO; permanent observer status at FAO, OAS, UN, and UNESCO

Other political or pressure groups

none (exclusive of influence exercised by other church officers in universal Roman Catholic Church)

Suffrage

limited to cardinals less than 80 in age

Ethnic divisions

67% mestizo, 21% white, 10% Negro, 2% Indian

Labor force

4.4 million (1980); 24% agriculture, 6% construction, 17% manufacturing, 6% transportation, 18% commerce, 25% services, 4% petroleum, utilities, and other

Language

Spanish (official); "Indian" dialects spoken by about 200,000 aborigines in the interior

Literacy

74% (claimed, 1970 est.)

Nationality

noun — Venezuelan(s); adjective — Venezuelan

Organized labor

27% of labor force

Population

18,427,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.8%

Religion

96% nominally Roman Catholic, 2% Protestant

Branches

executive (President), bicameral legislature, judiciary

Capital

Caracas

Communists

3,000-5,000 members (est.)'

Elections

every five years by secret ballot; last held December 1978; next national election for President and bicameral legislature to be held 4 December 1983 Political parties and leaders: Social Christian Party (COPEI), Rafael Caldera; Action Democratica (AD), Carlos Andres Perez, Gonzalo Barrios; Movement to Socialism (MAS), Teodoro Petkoff, Pompeyo Marquez Voting strength (1978 election): 46% COPEI, 43% AD, 5% MAS, 6% others

Government leader

President Luis HERRERA CAMPINS

Legal system

based on Napoleonic code; constitution promulgated 1961; judicial review of legislative acts in Cassation Court only; dual court system, state and federal; VENEZUELA (Continued) legal education at Central University of Venezuela; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

Andean Pact, AIOEC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDE, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMCO, IMF, IPU, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, LAFTA, NAMUCAR (Caribbean Multinational Shipping Line— Naviera Multinational del Caribe), OAS, OPEC, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

Independence Day, 5 July

Official name

Republic of Venezuela

Other political or pressure groups

Fedecamaras (a conservative business group); ProVenezuela (PRO-VEN; a leftist, nationalist economic group)

Political subdivisions

20 states, 1 federal district, 2 federal territories, and 72 island dependencies in the Caribbean

Suffrage

universal and compulsory over age 18, though rarely enforced

Type

republic

Agriculture

main crops — sugarcane, corn, coffee, rice; imports wheat (US), corn (South Africa), sorghum (Argentina, US); caloric intake 2,435 calories per day per capita (1977)

Budget

1980 — revenues $14.6 billion; expenditures, $12.0 billion, capital $2.2 billion

Crude steel

848,000 metric tons produced (1978), 60 kg per capita

Electric power

2100 kW (standby) capacity (1981); all power is imported from Italy

10,000,000 kW capacity (1981); 43.0 billion kWh produced (1981), 2,500 kWh per capita

Exports

$19.3 billion (f.o.b., 1980); petroleum (95%), iron ore, coffee

Fiscal year

calendar year

Fishing

catch 178,000 metric tons (1980); exports $1.6 million (1979), imports $19.7 million (1980)

GNP

$60 billion (1980, in 1980 dollars), $4,000 per capita; 52% private consumption, 14% public consumption, 34% gross investment (1979); real growth rate —0.1% (1980)

Imports

$11.3 billion (f.o.b., 1980); industrial machinery and equipment, chemicals, manufactures, wheat

Major industries

petroleum, iron-ore mining, construction, food processing, textiles

Major trade partners

imports — 45% US, 8% Japan, 6% West Germany; exports— 30% US, 11% Canada (1980)

Monetary conversion rate

4.2925 bolivares=US$l (January 1982)

Airfields

none

268 total, 267 usable; 115 with permanentsurface runways; 7 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 82 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

68 major transport aircraft, including 4 leased in and 1 leased out

Highways

none (city streets)

77,785 km total; 22,780 km paved, 24,720 km gravel, 14,450 km earth roads, and 15,835 km unimproved earth

Inland waterways

7,100 km; Orinoco River and Lake Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels

Military budget

proposed for fiscal year ending 31 December 1980, $861.2 million; about 6.5% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 4,373,000; 3,322,000 fit for military service; 185,000 reach military age (18) annually

Pipelines

6,110 km crude oil; 400 km refined products; 2,495 km natural gas

Ports

6 major, 17 minor

Railroads

none

403 km standard gauge (1.435 m) all single track; 173 km government owned, 230 km privately owned

Telecommunications

2 AM stations and 2 FM stations; 2,000-line automatic telephone exchange DEFENSE FORCES Defense is responsibility of Italy

modern expanding telecom system; satellite ground station; 1,165,000 telephones (8.5 per 100 popl.); 215 AM, 50 FM, and 48 TV stations; 3 submarine coaxial cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station with 2 antennas DEFENSE FORCES