Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Hugo CHAVEZ, president since 1999, seeks to implement his "21st Century Socialism," which purports to alleviate social ills while at the same time attacking capitalist globalization and existing democratic institutions. Current concerns include: a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, drug-related violence along the Colombian border, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples.

Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana

8 00 N, 66 00 W

South America

slightly more than twice the size of California

2,800 km

tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast

petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds

5,800 sq km (2008)

1,233.2 cu km (2000)

subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts

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; threat to the rainforest ecosystem from irresponsible mining operations

on major sea and air routes linking North and South America; Angel Falls in the Guiana Highlands is the world's highest waterfall

27,635,743 (July 2011 est.)

1.493% (2011 est.)

20.1 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

5.17 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

CARACAS (capital) 3.051 million; Maracaibo 2.153 million; Valencia 1.738 million; Barquisimeto 1.159 million; Maracay 1.04 million (2009)

2.42 children born/woman (2011 est.)

NA; NA note - no country specific models provided

NA

NA

urban: 94% of population

rural: 74% of population

total: 92% of population

urban: 6% of population

rural: 26% of population

total: 8% of population (2000)

urban: 93% of population

rural: 54% of population

total: 89% of population

urban: 7% of population

rural: 46% of population

total: 11% of population (2000)

Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people

nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2%

Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects

3.7% of GDP (2007)

federal republic

23 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 capital district* (distrito capital), and 1 federal dependency** (dependencia federal); Amazonas, Anzoategui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro, Dependencias Federales (Federal Dependencies)**, Distrito Capital (Capital District)*, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Vargas, Yaracuy, Zulia

5 July 1811 (from Spain)

Independence Day, 5 July (1811)

30 December 1999

civil law system based on the Spanish civil code

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (165 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; three seats reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela)

Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (32 magistrates are elected by the National Assembly for a single 12-year term)

A New Time or UNT [Omar BARBOZA]; Brave People's Alliance or ABP [Oscar PEREZ, currently in exile]; Christian Democrats or COPEI [Roberto ENRIQUEZ]; Communist Party of Venezuela or PCV [Oscar FIGUERA]; Democratic Action or AD [Henry RAMOS Allup]; Fatherland for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNOZ]; For Social Democracy or PODEMOS [Ismael GARCIA]; Justice First [Julio BORGES]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Nicolas SOSA]; The Radical Cause [Daniel SANTOLO]; United Socialist Party of Venezuela or PSUV [Hugo CHAVEZ]; Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique SALAS Romer]

FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; VECINOS groups; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers or CTV (labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action); various civil society groups and human rights organizations

Caricom (observer), CDB, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA, LAS (observer), Mercosur (associate), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, PetroCaribe, RG, UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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 eight white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band; the flag retains the three equal horizontal bands and three main colors of the banner of Gran Colombia, the South American republic that broke up in 1830; yellow is interpreted as standing for the riches of the land, blue for the courage of its people, and red for the blood shed in attaining independence; the seven stars on the original flag represented the seven provinces in Venezuela that united in the war of independence; in 2006, President Hugo CHAVEZ ordered an eighth star added to the star arc - a decision that sparked much controversy - to conform with the flag proclaimed by Simon Bolivar in 1827 and to represent the province of Guayana

Venezuela remains highly dependent on oil revenues, which account for roughly 95% of export earnings, about 55% of the federal budget revenues, and around 30% of GDP. A nationwide strike between December 2002 and February 2003 had far-reaching economic consequences - real GDP declined by around 9% in 2002 and 8% in 2003 - but economic output recovered strongly through 2008. Fueled by high oil prices, record government spending helped to boost GDP by about 10% in 2006, 8% in 2007, and nearly 5% in 2008, before a sharp drop in oil prices caused a contraction in 2009-10. This spending, combined with recent minimum wage hikes and improved access to domestic credit, created a consumption boom which came at the cost of higher inflation - roughly 32% in 2008, and slowing only slightly to 30% in 2010, despite the lengthy downturn. Imports also jumped significantly before the recession of 2009. President Hugo CHAVEZ's continued efforts to increase the government's control of the economy by nationalizing firms in the agribusiness, financial, construction, oil, and steel sectors have hurt the private investment environment, reduced productive capacity, and slowed non-petroleum exports. In the first half of 2010 Venezuela faced the prospect of lengthy nationwide blackouts when its main hydroelectric power plant - which provides more than 35% of the country's electricity - nearly shut down. In May, 2010, CHAVEZ closed the unofficial foreign exchange market - the "parallel" market - in an effort to stem inflation and slow the currency's depreciation. In June 2010, the government created the "Transaction System for Foreign Currency Denominated Securities" (SITME) to replace the "parallel" market. In December 2010, CHAVEZ eliminated the dual exchange rate system and unified the exchange rate at 4.3 bolivars per dollar. In January 2011, CHAVEZ announced the second devaluation of the bolivar within twelve months. In December 2010, the National Assembly passed a package of five organic laws designed to complete the transformation of the Venezuelan economy in line with CHAVEZ's vision of 21st century socialism. These laws likely will be implemented in 2011. Venezuela began 2011 wrestling with macroeconomic imbalances resulting from the government's unorthodox economic policies, a housing crisis, and a continuing electricity crisis.

$345.2 billion (2010 est.)

$351.9 billion (2009 est.)

$363.9 billion (2008 est.)

$290.7 billion (2010 est.)

-1.9% (2010 est.)

-3.3% (2009 est.)

4.8% (2008 est.)

$12,700 (2010 est.)

$13,100 (2009 est.)

$13,800 (2008 est.)

13.3 million (2010 est.)

12.1% (2010 est.)

7.9% (2009 est.)

37.9% (2005 est.)

41 (2009)

49.5 (1998)

16.4% of GDP (2010 est.)

25.5% of GDP (2010 est.)

18% of GDP (2009 est.)

29.8% (2010 est.)

27.1% (2009 est.)

29.5% (31 December 2009)

33.5% (31 December 2008)

19.89% (31 December 2009 est.)

22.37% (31 December 2008 est.)

$69.36 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$93.19 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$78.11 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$107 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$54.22 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$75.87 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$NA (31 December 2010)

$8.251 billion

corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish

petroleum, construction materials, food processing, textiles; iron ore mining, steel, aluminum; motor vehicle assembly

-8% (2010 est.)

113.3 billion kWh (2007 est.)

83.02 billion kWh (2007 est.)

540 million kWh (2007 est.)

1.651 billion kWh (2007 est.)

2.472 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

740,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

2.182 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

97.77 billion bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

23.06 billion cu m (2009 est.)

24.86 billion cu m (2009 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

1.8 billion cu m (2009 est.)

4.983 trillion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

$22.07 billion (2010 est.)

$8.561 billion (2009 est.)

$64.87 billion (2010 est.)

$57.6 billion (2009 est.)

petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, minerals, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures

US 27.3%, Columbia 11.4%, China 12.8%, Brazil 8.8% (2009 est.)

$31.37 billion (2010 est.)

$38.44 billion (2009 est.)

agricultural products, raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials

US 20.6%, Columbia 17.8%, China 12.8%, Mexico 8.7%, Brazil 4.7% (2009 est.)

$29.49 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$35 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$55.61 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$53.58 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$37.71 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$41.21 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$20.97 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$17.67 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

bolivars (VEB) per US dollar -

4.3039 (2010)

2.147 (2009)

2.147 (2008)

2,147 (2007)

2,147 (2006)

6.867 million (2009)

28.124 million (2009)

government supervises a mixture of state-run and private broadcast media; 1 state-run television network, 4 privately-owned TV networks, a privately-owned news channel with limited national coverage, and a government-backed pan-American channel; state-run radio network includes 65 news stations and roughly another 30 stations targeted at specific audiences; state-sponsored community broadcasters include 244 radio stations and 36 television stations; the number of private broadcast radio stations has been declining, but a large number remain in operation (2010)

.ve

238,665 (2010)

8.918 million (2009)

409 (2010)

4 (2010)

extra heavy crude 980 km; gas 5,347 km; oil 6,694 km; refined products 1,620 km (2010)

7,100 km (the Orinoco River (400 km) and Lake de Maracaibo are navigable by oceangoing vessels) (2010)

La Guaira, Maracaibo, Puerto Cabello, Punta Cardon

the International Maritime Bureau reports the territorial and offshore waters in the Caribbean Sea as a significant risk for piracy and armed robbery against ships; numerous vessels, including commercial shipping and pleasure craft, have been attacked and hijacked both at anchor and while underway; crews have been robbed and stores or cargoes stolen

Bolivarian National Armed Forces (Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana, FANB): Bolivarian Army (Ejercito Bolivariano, EB), Bolivarian Navy (Armada Bolivariana, AB; includes Naval Infantry, Coast Guard, Naval Aviation), Bolivarian National Military Aviation (Aviacion Militar Nacional Bolivariana, AMNB), Bolivarian National Guard (Guardia Nacional Bolivaria, GNB), Bolivarian Militia (Milicia Bolivariana, MB) (2011)

18-30 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; 30-month conscript service obligation; Navy requires 6th-grade education for enlisted personnel; all citizens of military service age (18-60 years old) are obligated to register for military service (2011)

1.2% of GDP (2005 est.)

claims all of the area west of the Essequibo River in Guyana, preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into their waters; dispute with Colombia over maritime boundary and Venezuelan-administered Los Monjes islands near the Gulf of Venezuela; Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitary activities penetrate Venezuela's shared border region; in 2006, an estimated 139,000 Colombians sought protection in 150 communities along the border in Venezuela; US, France, and the Netherlands recognize Venezuela's granting full effect to Aves Island, thereby claiming a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines protest Venezuela's full effect claim

small-scale illicit producer of opium and coca for the processing of opiates and coca derivatives; however, large quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana transit the country from Colombia bound for US and Europe; significant narcotics-related money-laundering activity, especially along the border with Colombia and on Margarita Island; active eradication program primarily targeting opium; increasing signs of drug-related activities by Colombian insurgents on border