Venezuela

Full name of country: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Region: South America

Official language: Spanish

Population: 31,250,306 (2024 est.)

Nationality: Venezuelan(s) (noun), Venezuelan (adjective)

Land area: 882,050 sq km (340,561 sq miles)

Water area: 30,000 sq km (11,583 sq miles)

Capital: Caracas

National anthem: "Gloria al bravo pueblo" (Glory to the Brave People), by Vicente Salias/Juan Jose Landaeta

National holiday: Independence Day, July 5 (1811)

Population growth: 2.34% (2024 est.)

Time zone: UTC –4.5

Flag: Venezuela’s flag is tricolored and consists of three equal horizontal bands: yellow (on top), blue, and then red. On the hoist (left side) of the yellow band is the Venezuelan coat of arms, while eight arching stars are centered in the middle blue band. Seven of the stars represent the seven provinces, while the eighth star, introduced in 2006, honors Simón Bolívar, the country’s former political leader during independence.

Independence: July 5, 1811 (from Spain)

Government type: federal presidential republic

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legal system: civil law system based on the Spanish civil code

Venezuela's long-form name is the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. It is situated in the northern portion of South America, along the Caribbean coast. Its neighbors are Colombia to the west, Brazil to the south and southeast, and Guyana to the east. The island nations of Aruba and Trinidad and Tobago lie off the Venezuelan coast, as do several other small Caribbean island nations and states.

Venezuela achieved independence from Spain, along with Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador, in 1811. It separated from the Republic of Gran Colombia in 1830. Venezuela has become an important economic and political leader among its Latin American and Caribbean neighbors.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: The Venezuelan population includes people of Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, and indigenous ethnicities. The majority religion in Venezuela, as in most of Latin America, is Roman Catholicism; 96 percent of the population is "nominally" Catholic, whether or not they practice. The remainder of the population professes several Protestant faiths, which are rapidly converting Roman Catholics to their ranks throughout Latin America, or follows other religions.

The capital of Venezuela is Caracas, with an estimated population of 2.972 million people. Other large cities in Venezuela include Maracaibo (2.368 million), Valencia (1.983 million), Barquisimeto (1.254 million), and Maracay (1.243 million) (2023 estimates).

About 88.4 percent of Venezuelans live in urban areas in the northern coastal portions of the country. The oil boom of the twentieth century drove many rural Venezuelans into the cities, in part because a succession of governments focused spending on urban areas rather than rural ones. Only a very small proportion of the population lives in the southern half of the country below the Orinoco River. The disparity between wealthy and poor in Venezuela is great.

In 2022, the United Nations' Human Development Index ranked Venezuela 119 out of 193 countries and territories.

Indigenous People: The Indigenous populations of Venezuela include the Wayuu, or Guajiro, people, who live near the Colombian border; the Yanomami people, who can be found along the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers; the Piaroa people, who live mostly in Amazonas State, to the east of the Orinoco River; and the Warao people, who live in northeastern Venzuela and western Guyana. Some of these people remain isolated from the rest of Venezuelan society, and this fact affects their sociopolitical standing in the country.

Many Indigenous peoples have struggled against encroachments on their native territories by industrialization and suffer from high levels of disease and poverty. Since the late 1990s, the government of Venezuela has made some advances toward greater constitutional rights and privileges for Indigenous peoples.

Education: Education is free for Venezuelans and compulsory through the ninth grade. In 2017, the government spent about 1.3 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on education. This has helped contribute to the country's high literacy rate, which was 97.5 percent in 2021.

In the late 1970s, the Venezuelan government appointed a minister for the development of human intelligence to teach and study thinking skills; the result has been increased proficiency among students at all grade levels.

Among the major universities in Venezuela are the Universidad Simón Bolívar (Simón Bolívar University) in Caracas, the Universidad de Los Andes (University of the Andes) in Mérida, the Universidad Central de Venezuela (Central University of Venezuela) in Caracas and Maracay, Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Andrés Bello Catholic University) in Caracas, the Universidad de Carabobo (University of Carabobo) in Valencia, and the Universidad Nacional Experimental Politécnica Antonio José de Sucre (Antonio José de Sucre National Experimental Polytechnic University)in Barquisimeto. Since the late 1990s, efforts have been underway to centralize the country's universities into a system that is based on the Cuban system.

Health Care: The health care system in Venezuela was reformed in the late 1990s; as a result, universal health care is now a constitutional right of all Venezuelans. After reforms were enacted, the level of health care participation among poorer communities rose noticeably from earlier decades. However, by 2013, the system was beginning to fall apart due to an economic crisis, leading to a shortage in medical supplies and many ill citizens unable to get treatment.

While the life expectancy of Venezuelans was around 45 years in the mid-twentieth century, it has reached an average of 74.5 years—71.5 for men and 77.7 for women (2024 estimate). Venezuela has a decentralized health care system, which may have contributed to marked improvements in health care statistics for rural and urban populations alike.

Food: Meat and fruit are two of the most important components of the Venezuelan diet. Popular Venezuelan foods include hallaca, which is a mixture made of corn meal, meat, capers, raisins and other ingredients steamed in a banana leaf; corn pancakes, called cachapa; arepas, which are grilled corn cakes stuffed with coconut, meat, cheese, or other ingredients; plantain chips; chupo criollos (chicken and vegetable soup with cheese); and pabellon, which combines, meat, rice, and plantains.

Arts & Entertainment: Venezuelan art is heavily influenced by the Spanish, Amerindian, and African cultures that dominate the country's ethnography. Important Venezuelan cultural figures include artists Jesús Rafael Soto and Marisol Escobar; writers Rómulo Gallegos, Rafael Cadenas, and Arturo Uslar Pietri; and actors and singers José Luis Rodríguez and María Conchita Alonso.

Perhaps the most important cultural figure in Venezuela, and one of the most important throughout all of Latin America, is Simón Bolívar, the revolutionary commander and writer whose name is associated with liberation efforts throughout South America.

Folk music is popular among Venezuelans, particularly the llanera style, which has been assimilated into popular music. Venezuela is also home to a type of calypso music.

Many Venezuelans adore soccer, boxing, wrestling, and swimming, but baseball is the most popular sport. Several Major League Baseball (MLB) players have come from Venezuela, including Miguel Cabrera, Bobby Abreu, and Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio.

Popular festivals include Carnival (which is not as important in major urban areas of Venezuela as it is in some neighboring countries); La Paradura del Niño (the child's parade), a religious processional ceremony that takes place among Andean peoples; and Los Diablos Danzantes de Yare (the dancing devils of Yare), a religious festival in San Francisco de Yare, in the state of Miranda, that features devil imagery and drum music.

Holidays: Holidays in Venezuela include Día del Trabajador (Labor Day), on May 1; Día de San Juan Bautista (Day of Saint John the Baptist) and the anniversary the Battle of Carabobo during the Venezuelan War of Independence, celebrated together on June 24; Cinco de Julio, celebrating Venezuela's independence from Spain in 1816, on July 5; Natalicio del Libertador (Birth of the Liberator), celebrating the birthday of Simón Bolívar, on July 24; and Día de la Resistencia Indígena (Day of Indigenous Resistance)—previously Día de la Raza (Day of the Race), commemorating Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, but changed in 2002 to commemorate instead the indigenous peoples' resistance to European imperialism—on October 12.

Environment and Geography

Topography: Venezuela consists of the Guiana Highlands in the southern region, which contain hilly or mountainous areas with plateaus; the large Orinoco Plains, known as Llanos; tropical grasslands in the center of the country; the flat Maracaibo Lowlands in the northwest; and a mountainous region which forms the border with Colombia and stretches along the Caribbean coast.

The northern mountains contain the northeastern-most point of the Andes mountain chain. The coastal area is high and rugged in the east, while the west has large areas of lowlands, some of which are swampy.

The highest point in Venezuela is at Pico Bolivar (4,978 meters/16,332 feet), in the Cordillera de Merida range, south of Lago de Maracaibo in the northwest. The world's highest waterfall is Angel Falls (979 meters/3,212 feet) in the Guiana Highlands.

The Orinoco River traverses Venezuela and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. There are also two gulfs in Venezuela: the Gulf of Paria, near the mouth of the Orinoco, and the Gulf of Venezuela, in the far northwest. The tepuis, or high flat-topped mountains of the Guiana Highlands, are a distinct feature of the Venezuelan terrain.

Natural Resources: By far, petroleum is the most important natural resource for Venezuela. Other valuable resources include natural gas, iron ore, gold, steel, coal, bauxite, timber, hydropower, and diamonds.

Land protection is of utmost concern in Venezuela. Other environmental concerns are waste control in Lago de Valencia, deforestation, soil degradation in the Llanos, and industrial pollution, such as mining-related environmental degradation and oil spills.

Plants & Animals: Venezuela is ranked as one of the top countries in the world for biodiversity, boasting over twenty-one thousand species of plants, and hundreds of species of amphibians, reptiles and mammals.

Venezuelan flora includes large forests of palm, coral, and mango and brazilwood trees; carnivorous pitcher plants, some of which are endangered; long grass in the Llanos; and mangrove swamps in the Orinoco delta region. Bromeliads, fern, and orchids are also common.

Animals commonly found in Venezuela include spider monkeys, jaguars and ocelots, crocodiles, anacondas and boa constrictors, sloths, anteaters, and armadillos. Birds such as flamingos, herons, ibis, and oilbirds (or guacharos) are also common. Marine animals include sperm whales, dolphins, and manatees. Endangered or vulnerable animals in Venezuela include the giant otter and the giant armadillo, two species of mouse opossum, the variegated spider monkey, and the Venezuelan fish-eating rat.

Climate: Overall, the climate of Venezuela is subtropical, but it varies from region to region. The Llanos are tropical while the mountainous areas are temperate. The coastal regions are both tropical and humid.

Seasons in Venezuela are either wet or dry with moderate temperature fluctuation.

Economy

In 2018, Venezuela's GDP was estimated at US$269.068 billion, or US$7,704 per capita. Its labor force was estimated at 11.548 million people in 2023, with an unemployment rate of 5.53 percent, in 2023. The majority of the labor force is employed in the service sector, followed by industry and then agriculture. Despite its vital importance to the economy, the petroleum industry employs relatively few Venezuelans.

Industry: The world petroleum market is one of the most important factors affecting the economy of Venezuela. Because Venezuela contains some of the largest proven oil reserves in the world, its most important industry is the petroleum industry. Venezuela produced over 303.806 billion barrels of crude oil per day in 2023, much of which was exported, making it one of the largest oil exporters in the world. However, this represents a significant decline from its peak production in 1998, when it was producing 3.5 million barrels per day, and even a decline from the previous year's output of 2.37 million barrels per day.

Other major industries include steel and iron ore, cement and other construction materials, textiles, food and beverages, tires, and paper. Venezuela also assembles cars for its own automobile market, and for some outside markets.

Among its main exports are petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, and steel. Venezuela's main export partners are the United States, India, China, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Cuba. Its main import partners are the United States, China, Brazil, and Mexico.

Agriculture: Venezuela expends enormous resources on its petroleum and mineral markets, but very little on agriculture. Agriculture employs a relatively small part of the Venezuelan workforce. Among the country's most important crops are coffee, cocoa, corn, sorghum, sugarcane, fruits such as bananas and plantains, cassava, and rice. Beef and fish are also valuable agricultural products

Since the change from an agriculture-based economy to one that is reliant on oil, the government has had little success with agricultural reform programs. Such efforts have included limits on land ownership (one of the reasons for Venezuela's stunted agricultural activity in the first place is the vast amount of privately owned land that lies fallow, a source of trouble between wealthy landowners and reformist politicians) and the redistribution of government-owned land.

Tourism: Tourism in Venezuela has typically decreased during periods of economic and political instability, especially during the late 1990s and early twenty-first century. The country experienced an uptick in tourism in the early 2010s, despite unrest caused by a political crisis beginning in 2010, but in 2017 and 2020 tourism had again declined, affected in part by airlines suspending flights to Venezuela, citing safety concerns, and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, respectively. Popular destinations in Venezuela include the waterfalls and tepuis of Gran Sabana, beaches along the coastal north, the Andes region, and the Llanos.

Government

Unlike many other Latin American nations, Venezuela, a federal presidential republic, has remained free of dictatorships since the mid-twentieth century. The Movimiento V Republica (MVR; Fifth Republic Movement) party was founded in 1997 by then candidate Hugo Chávez, a popular but extremely controversial political figure who ascended to the presidency in 1999 and subsequently proved able to withstand international and domestic pressures at the turn of the twenty-first century. Chávez instituted what he called the "Bolivarian Revolution," an ongoing process of socialization, in Venezuela. In 2007, he dissolved the MVR and merged it, along with other parties that supported his Bolivarianism, into the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV; United Socialist Party of Venezuela) under his own leadership. Chávez increased government control over various industries and continued to stoke his supporters with his anti-American rhetoric. It has been reported that Chávez was even moved to prepare his military for what he saw as a potential invasion of Venezuela by US forces. His death in 2013 left the country in a state of growing political and economic turmoil.

Since 1999 the government of Venezuela has had, in addition to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, a fourth branch known as the "citizens branch." The executive branch consists of the president, who is both chief of state and head of government and is elected by popular vote to a six-year term with no term limits; and the cabinet, called the Council of Ministers, which is appointed by the president. The legislature is the Asamblea Nacional (National Assembly), a unicameral body with 277 seats, members of which serve five-year terms. The Tribunal Supremo de Justicia (Supreme Tribunal of Justice) leads the judiciary. The unique citizens branch consists of an attorney general, an ombudsman, and a comptroller general, all of whom are appointed by the National Assembly to seven-year terms.

Venezuela is divided for administrative purposes into twenty-three states (estados, one capital district (distrito capital), and one federal dependency (dependencia federal). The federal dependency comprises seventy-two islands divided into eleven different island groups.

Chávez's successor, President Nicolás Maduro, furthered complicated the political system of Venezuela. Following a presidential crisis that emerged in 2019 in which Maduro was sworn in as president despite the Venezuelan legislature declaring opposition leader and president of the National Assembly Juan Guaidó the winner, elections were held in 2020 for a new National Assembly. Largely condemned by Venezuelans and world powers alike, the elections were seen as fraudulent, and many considered the new National Assembly to be illegitimate.

In 2024, President Maduro is declared winner of a contested presidential election. The opposition says its candidate was the real winner.

Interesting Facts

• Venezuela has a higher percentage of protected land than any other nation in the Western Hemisphere.
• Seven Venezuelan women have been named Miss Universe since 1979.
• The name Venezuela comes from the Italian word "Veneziola," meaning "little Venice." The name was given based on the stilt houses surrounding Lake Maracaibo.
• The country has an everlasting lightning storm at the mouth of the Catatumbo River, featuring as many as 100,000 lightning strikes per night.

Bibliography

"Human Development Insights." Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Programme, 2022, hdr.undp.org/data-center/country-insights#/ranks. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.

"Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)." World Health Organization, 2022, www.who.int/countries/ven/en/. Accessed 22 Jun. 2022.

"Venezuela, RB." The World Bank, 2024, data.worldbank.org/country/venezuela. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.

"Venezuela." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 22 Dec. 2024., www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/venezuela/. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.

"Venezuela." BBC Country Profiles, 9 Sep. 2024, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-19649648. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.