Venezuela

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

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

agricultural land:

24.5%;

• arable land 3.1%;
• permanent crops 0.8%;
• permanent pasture 20.6%

forest:

52.1%

other:

23.4% (2011 est.)

total:

9.06 cu km/yr (23%/4%/74%)

per capita:

358.6 cu m/yr (2008)

• 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

noun:

Venezuelan(s)

adjective:

Venezuelan

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.91 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.79 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever and malaria (2013)

total number:

404,092

percentage:

8% (2000 est.)

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 29 N, 66 52 W

time difference:

UTC-4.5 (a half 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 (Federal Dependencies)**, Distrito Capital (Capital District)*, 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

• many previous;
• latest adopted 15 December 1999, effective 30 December 1999;
• amended 2009 (2013)

chief of state:

• President Nicolas MADURO Moros (since 19 April 2013);
• Executive Vice President Jorge Alberto ARREAZA Montserrat (since 19 April 2013);
• note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President Nicolas MADURO Moros (since 19 April 2013); Executive Vice President Jorge Alberto ARREAZA Montserrat (since 19 April 2013)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 6-year term (no term limits);
• election last held on 14 April 2013 - a special election held following the death of President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias on 5 March 2013 (next election expected in late 2018 or early 2019 pending official convocation by the country's electoral body)

election results:

Nicolas MADURO Moros elected president; percent of vote - Nicolas MADURO Moros (PSUV) 50.6%, Henrique CAPRILES Radonski (PJ) 49.1%, other 0.3%

highest court(s):

Supreme Tribunal of Justice (consists of 32 judges organized into 6 divisions - constitutional, political administrative, electoral, civil appeals, criminal appeals, and social (mainly agrarian and labor issues)

judge selection and term of office:

• judges proposed by the Committee of Judicial Postulation (an independent body of organizations dealing with legal issues and of the organs of citizen power) and appointed by the National Assembly;
• judges serve non-renewable 12-year terms

subordinate courts:

• Superior or Appeals Courts (Tribunales Superiores);
• District Tribunals (Tribunales de Distrito);
• Courts of First Instance (Tribunales de Primera Instancia);
• Parish Courts (Tribunales de Parroquia);
• Justices of the Peace (Justicia de Paz) Network

• A New Time or UNT [Enrique MARQUEZ]
• Brave People's Alliance or ABP [Richard BLANCO]
• Christian Democrats or COPEI [Roberto ENRIQUEZ]
• Coalition of opposition parties -- The Democratic Unity Table or MUD [Jesus "Chuo" TORREALBA]
• Communist Party of Venezuela or PCV [Oscar FIGUERA]
• Democratic Action or AD [Henry RAMOS ALLUP]
• Fatherland for All or PPT [Rafael UZCATEGUI]
• For Social Democracy or PODEMOS [Didalco Antonio BOLIVAR GRATEROL]
• Justice First or PJ [Julio BORGES]
• Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Segundo MELENDEZ]
• Popular Will or VP [Leopoldo LOPEZ]
• Progressive Wave or AP [Henri FALCON]
• The Radical Cause or La Causa R [Americo DE GRAZIA]
• United Socialist Party of Venezuela or PSUV [Nicolas MADURO]
• Venezuelan Progressive Movement or MPV [Simon CALZADILLA]
• Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique Fernando SALAS FEO]

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Maximilien SANCHEZ Arvelaiz (since July 2014)

chancery:

1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 342-2214

FAX:

[1] (202) 342-6820

consulate(s) general:

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Lee MCCLENNY (July 2014)

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

• 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, then 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 historic province of Guayana

name:

"Gloria al bravo pueblo" (Glory to the Brave People)

lyrics/music:

Vicente SALIAS/Juan Jose LANDAETA

note: adopted 1881; lyrics written in 1810, the music some years later; both SALIAS and LANDAETA were executed in 1814 during Venezuela's struggle for independence

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

agriculture:

7.3%

industry:

21.8%

services:

70.9% (4th quarter, 2011 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.7%

highest 10%:

32.7% (2006)

general assessment:

modern and expanding

domestic:

• 2 domestic satellite systems 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-line and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership 130 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 58;
• submarine cable systems provide connectivity to Cuba and 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 (2013)

• government supervises a mixture of state-run and private broadcast media;
• 13 public service networks, 61 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 roughly 65 news stations and another 30 stations targeted at specific audiences;
• state-sponsored community broadcasters include 235 radio stations and 44 TV stations;
• the number of private broadcast radio stations has been declining, but many still remain in operation (2014)

• extra heavy crude 981 km;
• gas 5,941 km;
• oil 7,588 km;
• refined products 1,778 km (2013)

total:

447 km

standard gauge:

447 km 1.435-m gauge (41.4 km electrified) (2014)

country comparison to the world: 98

total:

53

by type:

bulk carrier 4, cargo 12, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 5, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 14, petroleum tanker 16

foreign-owned:

9 (Denmark 1, Estonia 1, Germany 1, Greece 4, Mexico 1, Spain 1)

registered in other countries:

14 (Panama 13, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 69

major seaport(s):

La Guaira, Maracaibo, Puerto Cabello, Punta Cardon

oil terminals:

Jose terminal

• 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

• 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 (2012)

males age 16-49:

7,013,854

females age 16-49:

7,165,661 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

5,614,743

females age 16-49:

6,074,834 (2010 est.)

male:

277,210

female:

273,353 (2010 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 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;
• US, France, and the Netherlands recognize Venezuela's granting full effect to Aves Island, thereby claiming a Venezuelan Economic Exclusion Zone/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

refugees (country of origin):

173,519 (Colombia) (2014)

stateless persons:

11,000 (2014)

current situation:

• Venezuela is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor;
• Venezuelan women and girls are trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation, often lured from the nation's interior to urban and tourist areas with false job offers;
• women from Colombia, Peru, Haiti, China, and South Africa are also reported to have been sexually exploited in Venezuela;
• some Venezuelan women are transported to Caribbean islands, particularly Aruba, Curacao, and Trinidad and Tobago, where they are subjected to forced prostitution;
• some Venezuelan children are forced to beg on the streets or to work as domestic servants, while Ecuadorian children, often from indigenous communities, are subjected to forced labor

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;
• the government did not publically document progress on human trafficking investigations, prosecutions, and convictions or victim identification and assistance in 2013, making it difficult to assess the scope or efficacy of these efforts;
• victim services appeared to remain inadequate, and the extent of efforts to investigate internal forced labor or to help children in prostitution was unclear;
• authorities provided limited funding to some NGOs providing victim services;
• public service announcements and an awareness campaign on human trafficking continued;
• anti-trafficking legislation drafted in 2010 remained unapproved (2014)

• 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