Venezuela

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

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

total:

8.37 cu km/yr (6%/7%/47%)

per capita:

313 cu m/yr (2000)

• 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:

1.03 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.8 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne disease:

dengue fever and malaria (2009)

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-4.5 (half an 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);
• Executive Vice President Ramon Alonzo CARRIZALEZ Rengifo (since 4 January 2008);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Executive Vice President Ramon Alonzo CARRIZALEZ Rengifo (since 4 January 2008)

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];
• Communist Party of Venezuela or PCV [Jeronimo CARRERA];
• Democratic Action or AD [Henry RAMOS Allup];
• Fatherland for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNOZ];
• Justice First [Julio BORGES];
• Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Hector MUJICA];
• United Socialist Party of Venezuela or PSUV [Hugo CHAVEZ];
• 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 Patrick DUDDY

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) 975-6411, 907-8400 (after hours)

FAX:

[58] (212) 907-8199

agriculture:

13%

industry:

23%

services:

64% (1997 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.7%

highest 10%:

32.7% (2006)

• 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;
• combined fixed and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership 125 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 58;
• submarine cable systems provide connectivity to the Caribbean, Central and South America, and US;
• 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 (2007)

• extra heavy crude 980 km;
• gas 5,036 km;
• oil 6,695 km;
• refined products 1,484 km;
• unknown 141 km (2008)

total:

806 km

country comparison to the world: 101

standard gauge:

806 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)

total:

96,155 km

country comparison to the world: 47

paved:

32,308 km

unpaved:

63,847 km (2002)

• 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

National Bolivarian Armed Forces (Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana, FANB): National Bolivarian Army (Ejercito Nacional Bolivariano, ENB), Bolivarian National Navy (Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana (FANB); includes Naval Infantry, Coast Guard, Naval Aviation), Bolivarian National Military Aviation (Aviacion Militar Nacional Bolivariana, AMNB), Bolivarian National Guard (Guardia Nacional Bolivaria, GNB) (2009)

• 18-30 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service;
• 30-month conscript service obligation;
• all citizens 18-50 years old are obligated to register for military service (2008)

males age 16-49:

6,647,124

females age 16-49:

6,801,133 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

5,391,582

females age 16-49:

5,873,563 (2009 est.)

male:

276,051

female:

274,162 (2009 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 men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor;
• Venezuelan women and girls are trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation, lured from the nation's interior to urban and tourist areas;
• child prostitution in urban areas and child sex tourism in resort destinations appear to be growing;
• Venezuelan women and girls are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to Western Europe, Mexico, and Caribbean destinations

tier rating:

Tier 2 Watch List - Venezuela is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List, up from Tier 3, as it showed greater resolve to address trafficking through law enforcement measures and prevention efforts in 2007, although stringent punishment of offenders and victim assistance remain lacking (2008)

• 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