1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
Administrative divisions
21 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 territory* (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 11 federally controlled island groups with a total of 72 individual islands
Agriculture
accounts for 6% of GDP and 16% of labor force; products - corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee, beef, pork, milk, eggs, fish; not self-sufficient in food other than meat
Airports
total: 425 usable: 392 with permanent-surface runways: 139 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 15 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 92
Area
total area: 912,050 sq km land area: 882,050 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of California
Birth rate
25.74 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Branches
National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales, FAN) includes - Ground Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or Ejercito), Naval Forces (Fuerzas Navales or Armada), Air Forces (Fuerzas Aereas or Aviacion), Armed Forces of Cooperation or National Guard (Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperation or Guardia Nacional)
Budget
revenues: $9.8 billion expenditures: $11.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $103 million (1993 est.)
Capital
Caracas
Chamber of Deputies (Camara de Diputados)
elections last held 5 December 1993 (next to be held December 1998); results - AD 27.9%, COPEI 26.9%, MAS 12.4%, National Convergence 12.9%, Causa R 19.9%; seats - (201 total) AD 55, COPEI 53, MAS 24, National Convergence 26, Causa R 40, other 3
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Coastline
2,800 km
Constitution
23 January 1961
Currency
1 bolivar (Bs) = 100 centimos
Death rate
4.63 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $1.95 billion, 4% of GDP (1991)
Digraph
VE
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Pedro Luis ECHEVERRIA chancery: 1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: (202) 342-2214 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico)
Economic aid
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-86), $488 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $10 million
Electricity
capacity: 21,130,000 kW production: 58.541 billion kWh consumption per capita: 2,830 kWh (1992)
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 international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping
Ethnic divisions
mestizo 67%, white 21%, black 10%, Indian 2%
Exchange rates
bolivares (Bs) per US$1 - 107.260 (January 1994), 90.826 (1993), 68.38 (1992), 56.82 (1991), 46.90 (1990), 34.68 (1989)
Executive branch
chief of state and head of government: President Rafael CALDERA Rodriquez (since 2 February 1994); election last held 5 December 1993 (next to be held 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
Exports
$14.2 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: petroleum 77%, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures partners: US and Puerto Rico 42%, Japan, Netherlands, Italy
External debt
$28.5 billion (1993)
FAX
[58] (2) 285-0336 consulate(s): Maracaibo (closed March 1994)
Fiscal year
calendar year
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
Highways
total: 81,000 km paved: 31,200 km unpaved: gravel 24,800 km; earth and unimproved earth 25,000 km
Illicit drugs
illicit producer of cannabis and coca leaf for the international drug trade on a small scale; however, large quantities of cocaine transit the country from Colombia; important money-laundering hub
Imports
$11 billion (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials partners: US 50%, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Canada
Independence
5 July 1811 (from Spain)
Industrial production
growth rate 6.1% (1992 est.); accounts for 40% of GDP, including petroleum
Industries
petroleum, iron-ore mining, construction materials, food processing, textiles, steel, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly
Infant mortality rate
27.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
46% (1993 est.)
Inland waterways
7,100 km; Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels
International disputes
claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo River; maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela
Irrigated land
2,640 sq km (1989 est.)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia) Gonzalo RODRIGUEZ Corro, President
Labor force
5.8 million by occupation: services 56%, industry 28%, agriculture 16% (1985)
Land boundaries
total 4,993 km, Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km
Land use
arable land: 3% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 20% forest and woodland: 39% other: 37%
Languages
Spanish (official), Indian dialects spoken by about 200,000 Amerindians in the remote interior
Legal system
based on Napoleonic code; judicial review of legislative acts in Cassation Court only; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
bicameral Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la Republica)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 73 years male: 70.12 years female: 76.03 years (1994 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) total population: 88% male: 87% female: 90%
Location
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea between Colombia and Guyana
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 5,341,855; fit for military service 3,875,523; reach military age (18) annually 224,550 (1994 est.)
Map references
South America, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
contiguous zone: 15 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Member of
AG, BCIE, CARICOM (observer), CDB, CG, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, MINURSO, NAM, OAS, ONUSAL, OPANAL, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNPROFOR, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Merchant marine
47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 741,688 GRT/1,204,233 DWT, bulk 4, cargo 16, combination bulk 1, container 1, liquefied gas 2, oil tanker 17, passenger cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 4, short-sea passenger 1
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Venezuela conventional short form: Venezuela local long form: Republica de Venezuela local short form: Venezuela
National holiday
Independence Day, 5 July (1811)
National product
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $161 billion (1993 est.)
National product per capita
$8,000 (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate
-1% (1993 est.)
Nationality
noun: Venezuelan(s) adjective: Venezuelan
Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds
Net migration rate
0.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Note
on major sea and air routes linking North and South America
Other political or pressure groups
FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers (CTV, labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action); VECINOS groups
Overview
Petroleum is the backbone of the economy, accounting for 23% of GDP, 61% of central government ordinary revenues, and 77% of export earnings in 1993. Former President PEREZ introduced an economic readjustment program when he assumed office in February 1989. Lower tariffs and the removal of price controls, a free market exchange rate, and market-linked interest rates threw the economy into confusion, causing an 8% decline in GDP in 1989. The economy recovered part way in 1990 and grew by 9.7% in 1991 and 6.8% in 1992; economic activity fell by 1% in 1993, primarily because of business concerns over political instability.
Pipelines
crude oil 6,370 km; petroleum products 480 km; natural gas 4,010 km
Political parties and leaders
National Convergence (Convergencia), Jose Miguel UZCATEGUI, director; Social Christian Party (COPEI), Hilarion CARDOZO, president, and Jose CURIEL, secretary general; Democratic Action (AD), Pedro PARIS Montesinos, president, and Luis ALFARO Ucero, secretary general; Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), Argelia LAYA, president, and Freddy MUNOZ, secretary general; Radical Cause (La Causa R), Pablo MEDINA, secretary general
Population
20,562,405 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
2.16% (1994 est.)
Ports
Amuay Bay, Bajo Grande, El Tablazo, La Guaira, Puerto Cabello, Puerto Ordaz
Railroads
542 km total; 363 km 1.435-meter standard gauge all single track, government owned; 179 km 1.435-meter gauge, privately owned
Religions
nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%
Senate (Senado)
elections last held 5 December 1993 (next to be held December 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (52 total) AD 18, COPEI 15, Causa R 9, MAS 5, National Convergence 5; note - 3 former presidents (2 from AD, 1 from COPEI) hold lifetime senate seats
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Telecommunications
modern and expanding; 1,440,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 181 AM, no FM, 59 TV, 26 shortwave; 3 submarine coaxial cables; satellite ground stations - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 3 domestic
Terrain
Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast
Total fertility rate
3.05 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Type
republic
Unemployment rate
8.2% (1993 est.)
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, or APO AA 34037 telephone: [58] (2) 285-2222