Venezuela

• tropical;
• hot, humid;
• more moderate in highlands

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

• 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

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.031 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.803 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

noun:

Venezuelan(s)

adjective:

Venezuelan

conventional long form:

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

conventional short form:

Venezuela

local long form:

Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela

local short form:

Venezuela

name:

Caracas

geographic coordinates:

10 30 N, 66 56 W

time difference:

UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 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**, Distrito Federal*, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Vargas, Yaracuy, Zulia

note: the federal dependency consists of 11 federally controlled island groups with a total of 72 individual islands

chief of state:

• President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999);
• Vice President Jorge RODRIGUEZ Gomez (since 3 January 2007);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Jorge RODRIGUEZ Gomez (since 3 January 2007)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections:

president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 3 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2012)

note: in 1999, a National Constituent Assembly drafted a new constitution that increased the presidential term to six years; an election was subsequently held on 30 July 2000 under the terms of this constitution

election results:

Hugo CHAVEZ Frias reelected president; percent of vote - Hugo CHAVEZ Frias 62.9%, Manuel ROSALES 36.9%

• A New Time or UNT [Manuel ROSALES];
• Christian Democrats or COPEI [Cesar PEREZ Vivas];
• Democratic Action or AD [Henry RAMOS Allup];
• Fatherland for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNOZ];
• Fifth Republic Movement or MVR [Hugo CHAVEZ];
• Justice First [Julio BORGES];
• Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Hector MUJICA];
• Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique SALAS Romer];
• We Can or PODEMOS [Ismael GARCIA]

• FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group;
• VECINOS groups;
• Venezuelan Confederation of Workers or CTV (labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Bernardo ALVAREZ Herrera

chancery:

1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 342-2214

FAX:

[1] (202) 342-6820

consulate(s) general:

Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico)

chief of mission:

Ambassador William R. BROWNFIELD

embassy:

Calle F con Calle Suapure, Urbanizacion Colinas de Valle Arriba, Caracas 1080

mailing address:

P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A; APO AA 34037

telephone:

[58] (212) 975-9234, 975-6411

FAX:

[58] (212) 975-8991

agriculture:

13%

industry:

23%

services:

64% (1997 est.)

lowest 10%:

0.7%

highest 10%:

35.2% (2003)

• 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

general assessment:

modern and expanding

domestic:

• domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations;
• recent substantial improvement in telephone service in rural areas;
• substantial increase in digitalization of exchanges and trunk lines;
• installation of a national interurban fiber-optic network capable of digital multimedia services

international:

• country code - 58;
• 3 submarine coaxial cables;
• satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 PanAmSat;
• participating with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in the construction of an international fiber-optic network

• extra heavy crude oil 992 km;
• gas 5,369 km;
• oil 7,607 km;
• refined products 1,681 km;
• unknown (oil/water) 141 km (2006)

total:

682 km

standard gauge:

682 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)

total:

96,155 km

paved:

32,308 km

unpaved:

63,847 km (1999)

total:

59 ships (1000 GRT or over) 808,721 GRT/1,285,783 DWT

by type:

bulk carrier 7, cargo 14, chemical tanker 3, container 1, liquefied gas 6, passenger/cargo 10, petroleum tanker 17, refrigerated cargo 1

foreign-owned:

12 (Denmark 3, Greece 3, Mexico 3, Panama 1, Russia 1, Spain 1)

registered in other countries:

11 (Bahamas 1, Panama 10) (2007)

• 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service;
• conscript service obligation - 30 months;
• all citizens of military service age (between 18 and 50 years old) are obligated to register for military service (2007)

males age 18-49:

6,236,012

females age 18-49:

6,137,622 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

4,907,947

females age 18-49:

5,151,843 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

252,396

females age 18-49:

237,300 (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

current situation:

• Venezuela is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor;
• women and children from Colombia, China, Peru, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic are trafficked to and through Venezuela and subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor;
• Venezuelans are trafficked internally and to Western Europe, particularly Spain and the Netherlands, and to countries in the Caribbean region for commercial sexual exploitation;
• Venezuela is a transit country for illegal migrants from other countries in the region and for Asian nationals, some of whom are believed to be trafficking victims

tier rating:

Tier 3 - Venezuela does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so

• 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