1995 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1995 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 912,050 sq km land area: 882,050 sq km comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of California
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
Coastline
2,800 km
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 - 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
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.)
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%
Location
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana
Map references
South America
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
Natural resources
petroleum, 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); Guiana Highlands in southeast
People and Society
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.)
Birth rate
25.11 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate
4.57 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Ethnic divisions
mestizo 67%, white 21%, black 10%, Amerindian 2%
Infant mortality rate
26.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Labor force
7.6 million by occupation: services 63%, industry 25%, agriculture 12% (1993)
Languages
Spanish (official), native dialects spoken by about 200,000 Amerindians in the remote interior
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 73.31 years male: 70.48 years female: 76.29 years (1995 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 90% male: 91% female: 89%
Nationality
noun: Venezuelan(s) adjective: Venezuelan
Net migration rate
0.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Population
21,004,773 (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate
2.1% (1995 est.)
Religions
nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%
Total fertility rate
2.97 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Government
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
Capital
Caracas
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
Constitution
23 January 1961
Digraph
VE
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)
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
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
Independence
5 July 1811 (from Spain)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de Justicia) Roberto YEPES, President
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)
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
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)
Other political or pressure groups
FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers (CTV, labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action); VECINOS groups
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
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
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Type
republic
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
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
Budget
revenues: $10.3 billion expenditures: $14.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $103 million (1994 est.)
Currency
1 bolivar (Bs) = 100 centimos
Economic aid
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-86), $488 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $10 million
Electricity
capacity: 18,740,000 kW production: 72 billion kWh consumption per capita: 3,311 kWh (1993)
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)
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
External debt
$40.1 billion (1994)
Fiscal year
calendar year
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
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
Industrial production
growth rate -1.4% (1993 est.); accounts for 41% of GDP
Industries
petroleum, iron-ore mining, construction materials, food processing, textiles, steel, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
71% (1994 est.)
National product
GDP - purchasing power parity - $178.3 billion (1994 est.)
National product per capita
$8,670 (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate
-3.3% (1994 est.)
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.
Unemployment rate
9% (1994 est.)
Communications
Radio
broadcast stations: AM 181, FM 0, shortwave 26 radios: NA
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
Television
broadcast stations: 59 televisions: NA
Transportation
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
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
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
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
Railroads
total: 542 km (363 km single track; 179 km privately owned) standard gauge: 542 km 1.435-m gauge
Military and Security
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)
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $1.95 billion, 4% of GDP (1991) ________________________________________________________________________ VIETNAM
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.)