1989 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1989 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Coastline
2,800 km
Comparative area
slightly more than twice the size of California
Contiguous zone
15 nm
Continental shelf
200 meters or to depth of exploitation
Disputes
claims Essequibo area of Guyana; maritime boundary disputes with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela and with Trinidad and Tobago in the Gulf of Paria
Environment
subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts; increasing industrial pollution in Caracas and Maracaibo
Extended economic zone
200 nm
Land boundaries
4,993 km total; Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km
Land use
3% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 20% meadows and pastures; 39% forest and woodland; 37% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Natural resources
crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds
Note
on major sea and air routes linking North and South America
Terrain
Andes mountains and Maracaibo lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guyana highlands in southeast
Territorial sea
1 2 nm
Total area
912,050 km2; land area: 882,050 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
28 births/ 1 ,000 population (1990)
Death rate
4 deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
67% mestizo, 21% white, 10% black, 2% Indian
Infant mortality rate
27 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)
Labor force
5,800,000; 56% services, 28% industry, 16% agriculture (1985)
Language
Spanish (official); Indian dialects spoken by about 200,000 Amerindians in the remote interior
Life expectancy at birth
7 1 years male, 77 years female (1990)
Literacy
85.6%
Nationality
noun — Venezuelan(s); adjective— Venezuelan
Net migration rate
1 migrant/ 1,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
32% of labor force
Population
19,698,104 (July 1990), growth rate 2. 5% (1990)
Religion
96% nominally Roman Catholic, 2% Protestant
Total fertility rate
3.4 children born/ woman (1990)
Government
Administrative divisions
20 states (estados, singular — estado), 2 territories* (territories, singular — territorio), 1 federal district** (distrito federal), and 1 federal dependence*** (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 dependence consists of 1 1 federally controlled island groups with a total of 72 individual islands
Capital
Caracas
Communists
10,000 members (est.)
Constitution
23 January 1961
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Simon Alberto CONSALVI Bottaro; Chancery at 2445 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 797-3800; there are Venezuelan Consulates General in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico); US — Ambassador-designate Eric JAVITS; Embassy at Avenida Francisco de Miranda and Avenida Principal de la Floresta, Caracas (mailing address is P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A, or APO Miami 34037); telephone [58] (2) 284-6 1 1 1 or 7 1 1 1 ; there is a US Consulate in Maracaibo
Elections
President — last held 4 December 1988 (next to be held December 1993); results— Carlos Andres Perez (AD) 53%, Eduardo Fernandez (COPEI) 40%, others 7%; Senate — last held 4 December 1 988 (next to be held December 1993); results — percent of vote by party NA; seats — (49 total) AD 23, COPEI 22, others 4; Chamber of Deputies — last held 4 December 1 988 (next to be held December 1993); results— AD 43.7%, COPEI 31.4%, MAS 10.3%, others 14.6%; seats— (201 total) AD 97, COPEI 67, MAS 18, others
Executive branch
president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
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
Independence
5 July 1811 (from Spain)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justica)
Leaders
Chief of State and Head of Government— President Carlos Andres PEREZ (since 2 February 1989) Political parties and leaders: Social Christian Party (COPEI), Eduardo Fernandez, secretary general; Democratic Action (AD), Gonzalo Barrios, president, and Humberto Celli, secretary general; Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), Teodoro Petkoff, president, and Freddy Mufioz, secretary general
Legal system
based on Napoleonic code; judicial review of legislative acts in Cassation Court only; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
bicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
Long-form name
Republic of Venezuela
Member of
Andean Pact, AIOEC, FAO, G-77, Group of Eight, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, I DB— InterAmerican Development Bank, I FAD, IFC, I HO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPEC, PAHO, SELA, WFTU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, 5 July (1811)
Other political or pressure groups
FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers, the Democratic Actiondominated labor organization
Suffrage
universal and compulsory at age 1 8, though poorly enforced
Type
republic
Economy
Overview
Petroleum is the cornerstone of the economy and accounted for 17% of GDP, 52% of central government reve-