1984 Edition

Agriculture

main crops — cereals, fruits, sugar, coffee, rice

Airfields

266 total, 262 usable; 114 with permanent-surface runways; 6 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 82 with runways 1,2202,439 m

Branches

executive (President), bicameral legislature (National Congress — Senate, Chamber of Deputies), judiciary

Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air Forces, Armed Forces of Cooperation (National Guard), Marines, Coast Guard

Budget

revised 1983— revenues $18.6 billion; expenditures, $18.4 billion, capital $110 billion

Capital

Caracas

Civil air

62 major transport aircraft

Communists

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

Crudesteel

1.9million metric tons produced (1982)

Elections

every five years by secret ballot; last held December 1983; next national election for President and bicameral legislature to be held December 1988 Political parties and leaders: Social Christian Party (COPEI), Rafael Caldera, Luis Herrera Campins, Democratic Action (AD), Jaime Lusinchi, Carlos Andres Perez, Movement Toward Socialism (MAS),Teodoro Petkoff, Pompeyo Marquez

Electric power

12,680,000 kW capacity (1983); 36.0 billion kWh produced (1983), 2,000 kWh per capita

Exports

$15.0 billion (f.o.b., 1983 prelim.); petroleum (95%), iron ore

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications

Fishing

catch 1 78,000 met ric tons ( 1 980); exports $1.6 million (1979), imports $19.7 million (1980)

GDP

$69.3 billion (in 1982 dollars), $4,716 per capita (1982); 56.5% private consumption, 13.6% public consumption, 24.5% gross investment (1981); real growth rate 0.4% (1982)

Government leader

Jaime LUSINCHI, President

Highways

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

Imports

$8.0 billion (f.o.b., 1983 prelim.)

Inland waterways

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

Legal system

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

Major industries

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

Major trade partners

imports — 44% US, 7.4% Japan, 4.7% Italy, 4.5% FRG; exports— 25% US, 9.5% Canada (1981)

Member of

Andean Pact, AIOEC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDE — Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, LAIA, NAMUCAR (Caribbean Multinational Shipping Line — Naviera Multinacional del Caribe), OAS, OPEC, PAHO, SELA, WFTU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO Economy

Military budget

proposed for fiscal year ending 31 December 1983, $1,091 million; about 6.2% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 4,496,000; 3,415,000 fit for military service; 193,000 reach military age (18) annually

Monetary conversion rate

5.15 boli vares= US$1 (February 1984)

National holiday

Independence Day, 5 July

Official name

Republic of Venezuela

Organized labor

27% of labor force Government

Other political or pressure groups

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

Pipelines

6,370km crudeoil; 480km refined products; 2,480 km natural gas

Political subdivisions

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

Ports

6 major, 17 minor

Railroads

173 km 1.435-meter standard gauge all single track, government owned

Suffrage

universal and compulsory over age 18, though rarely enforced

Telecommunications

modern expanding telecom system; 2 satellite ground stations; 1,165,000 telephones (8.5 per 100 popl.); 168 AM, 25 FM, and 57 TV stations; 3 submarine coaxial cables; 1 Atlantic Ocean satellite station with 2 antennas Defense Forces

Type

republic

Voting strengh

(1983 election) 56.8% AD, 34.5% COPEI, 4.17% MAS, 4.53 others