VENEZUELA                                                                       
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 912,050 km2; land area: 882,050 km2                                 
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of California               
                                                                                
Land boundaries: 4,993 km total; Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050                
km, Guyana 743 km                                                               
                                                                                
Coastline: 2,800 km                                                             
                                                                                
Maritime claims:                                                                
                                                                                
Contiguous zone: 15 nm;                                                         
                                                                                
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;                   
                                                                                
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;                                                
                                                                                
Territorial sea: 12 nm                                                          
                                                                                
Disputes: claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo river;                     
maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela                
                                                                                
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands                       
                                                                                
Terrain: Andes mountains and Maracaibo lowlands in northwest;                   
central plains (llanos); Guyana highlands in southeast                          
                                                                                
Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite,             
other minerals, hydropower, diamonds                                            
                                                                                
Land use: arable land 3%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures              
20%; forest and woodland 39%; other 37%; includes irrigated NEGL%               
                                                                                
Environment: subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic                 
droughts; increasing industrial pollution in Caracas and Maracaibo              
                                                                                
Note: on major sea and air routes linking North and South America               
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 20,189,361 (July 1991), growth rate 2.4% (1991)                     
                                                                                
Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Net migration rate: 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)                           
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 26 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 71 years male, 78 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 3.4 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--Venezuelan(s); adjective--Venezuelan                         
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: mestizo 67%, white 21%, black 10%, Indian 2%                  
                                                                                
Religion: nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%                           
                                                                                
Language: Spanish (official); Indian dialects spoken by about                   
200,000 Amerindians in the remote interior                                      
                                                                                
Literacy: 88% (male 87%, female 90%) age 15 and over can                        
read and write (1981 est.)                                                      
                                                                                
Labor force: 5,800,000; services 56%, industry 28%, agriculture 16%             
(1985)                                                                          
                                                                                
Organized labor: 32% of labor force                                             
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: Republic of Venezuela                                           
                                                                                
Type: republic                                                                  
                                                                                
Capital: Caracas                                                                
                                                                                
Administrative divisions: 20 states (estados, singular--estado),                
2 territories* (territorios, singular--territorio), 1 federal district**        
(distrito federal), and 1 federal dependence*** (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, Yaracuy, Zulia; note--the federal         
dependence consists of 11 federally controlled island groups with a total       
of 72 individual islands                                                        
                                                                                
Independence: 5 July 1811 (from Spain)                                          
                                                                                
Constitution: 23 January 1961                                                   
                                                                                
Legal system: based on Napoleonic code; judicial review of                      
legislative acts in Cassation Court only; has not accepted compulsory ICJ       
jurisdiction                                                                    
                                                                                
National holiday: Independence Day, 5 July (1811)                               
                                                                                
Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)                     
                                                                                
Legislative branch: bicameral Congress of the Republic                          
(Congreso de la Republica) consists of an upper chamber or Senate               
(Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara de                  
Diputados)                                                                      
                                                                                
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (Corte Suprema de                     
Justica)                                                                        
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
                                                                                
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Carlos Andres                  
PEREZ (since 2 February 1989)                                                   
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders:                                                  
Social Christian Party (COPEI), Eduardo FERNANDEZ, secretary general;           
Democratic Action (AD), Gonzalo BARRIOS, president, and Humberto CELLI,         
secretary general;                                                              
Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), Argelia LAYA, president, and                   
Freddy MUNOZ, secretary general                                                 
                                                                                
Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18, though poorly                     
enforced                                                                        
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
President--last held 4 December 1988 (next to be held                           
December 1993);                                                                 
results--Carlos Andres PEREZ (AD) 54.6%,                                        
Eduardo FERNANDEZ (COPEI) 41.7%, other 3.7%;                                    
                                                                                
Senate--last held 4 December 1988                                               
(next to be held December 1993);                                                
results--percent of vote by party NA;                                           
seats--(49 total) AD 23, COPEI 22, other 4;                                     
note--3 former presidents (1 from AD, 2 from COPEI) hold lifetime               
senate seats;                                                                   
                                                                                
Chamber of Deputies--last held 4 December 1988                                  
(next to be held December 1993);                                                
results--AD 43.7%, COPEI 31.4%, MAS 10.3%, other 14.6%;                         
seats--(201 total) AD 97, COPEI 67, MAS 18, other 19                            
                                                                                
Communists: 10,000 members (est.)                                               
                                                                                
Other political or pressure groups: FEDECAMARAS, a conservative                 
business group; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers, the Democratic             
Action-dominated labor organization                                             
                                                                                
Member of: AG, CDB, CG, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-11, G-19, G-24, G-77,                
GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,             
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM, OAS,            
OPANAL, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU,             
WHO,                                                                            
WIPO, WMO, WTO                                                                  
                                                                                
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Simon Alberto CONSALVI                    
Bottaro; Chancery at 2445 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008;         
telephone (202) 797-3800; there are Venezuelan Consulates General in            
Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York,              
Philadelphia, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico);                        
                                                                                
US--Ambassador Michael Martin SKOL; Embassy at Avenida Francisco                
de Miranda and Avenida Principal de la Floresta, Caracas (mailing address       
is P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A, or APO Miami 34037);                        
telephone  58  (2) 285-3111 or 2222; there is a US Consulate in Maracaibo       
                                                                                
Flag: 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        
seven white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band                        
                                                                                
ECONOMY                                                                         
Overview: Petroleum is the cornerstone of the economy and accounted             
for 21% of GDP, 60% of central government revenues, and 81% of export           
earnings in 1989. President Perez introduced an economic readjustment           
program when he assumed office in February 1989. Lower tariffs and              
price supports, a free market exchange rate, and market-linked interest         
rates have thrown the economy into confusion, causing about an 8%               
decline in GDP in 1989, but the economy recovered part way in 1990.             
                                                                                
GDP: $42.4 billion, per capita $2,150; real growth rate 4.4%                    
(1990 est.)                                                                     
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 40.7% (1990)                                  
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: 10.4% (1990)                                                 
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $8.4 billion; expenditures $8.6 billion,                       
including capital expenditures of $5.9 billion (1989)                           
                                                                                
Exports: $12.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);                                     
                                                                                
commodities--petroleum 81%, bauxite and aluminum, iron ore,                     
agricultural products, basic manufactures;                                      
                                                                                
partners--US 50.7%, Europe 13.7%, Japan 4.0% (1989)                             
                                                                                
Imports: $8.7 billion (f.o.b., 1989);                                           
                                                                                
commodities--foodstuffs, chemicals, manufactures, machinery and                 
transport equipment;                                                            
partners--US 44%, FRG 8.0%, Japan 4%, Italy 7%, Canada 2% (1989)                
                                                                                
External debt: $33.2 billion (1990)                                             
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate - 11% (1989 est.); accounts for              
one-fourth of GDP, including petroleum                                          
                                                                                
Electricity: 19,733,000 kW capacity; 54,660 million kWh produced,               
2,780 kWh per capita (1990)                                                     
                                                                                
Industries: petroleum, iron-ore mining, construction materials,                 
food processing, textiles, steel, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly              
                                                                                
Agriculture: accounts for 6% of GDP and 16% of labor force;                     
products--corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee,          
beef, pork, milk, eggs, fish; not self-sufficient in food other than meat       
                                                                                
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis and coca leaf                       
for the international drug trade on a small scale; however, large               
quantities of cocaine do transit the country                                    
                                                                                
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-86), $488                   
million; Communist countries (1970-89), $10 million                             
                                                                                
Currency: bolivar (plural--bolivares);                                          
1 bolivar (Bs) = 100 centimos                                                   
                                                                                
Exchange rates: bolivares (Bs) per US$1--51.331 (January 1991),                 
46.900 (1990), 34.6815 (1989), 14.5000 (fixed rate 1987-88), 8.0833             
(1986), 7.5000 (1985)                                                           
                                                                                
Fiscal year: calendar year                                                      
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Railroads: 542 km total; 363 km 1.435-meter standard gauge all                  
single track, government owned; 179 km 1.435-meter gauge, privately owned       
                                                                                
Highways: 77,785 km total; 22,780 km paved, 24,720 km gravel,                   
14,450 km earth roads, and 15,835 km unimproved earth                           
                                                                                
Inland waterways: 7,100 km; Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo                   
accept oceangoing vessels                                                       
                                                                                
Pipelines: 6,370 km crude oil; 480 km refined products;                         
4,010 km natural gas                                                            
                                                                                
Ports: Amuay Bay, Bajo Grande, El Tablazo, La Guaira, Puerto                    
Cabello, Puerto Ordaz                                                           
                                                                                
Merchant marine: 58 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 811,650                  
GRT/1,294,077 DWT; includes 1 short-sea passenger, 1 passenger cargo,           
22 cargo, 1 container, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 17 petroleum, oils, and        
lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 9 bulk,            
1 vehicle carrier, 1 combination bulk                                           
                                                                                
Civil air: 58 major transport aircraft                                          
                                                                                
Airports: 296 total, 277 usable; 137 with permanent-surface                     
runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 13 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;         
88 with runways 1,220-2,439 m                                                   
                                                                                
Telecommunications: modern and expanding; 1,440,000 telephones;                 
stations--181 AM, no FM, 59 TV, 26 shortwave; 3 submarine coaxial cables;       
satellite communications ground stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 3       
domestic                                                                        
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: Ground Forces (Army), Naval Forces (including Navy,                   
Marines, Coast Guard), Air Forces, Armed Forces of Cooperation (National        
Guard)                                                                          
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 5,220,183; 3,782,548 fit for                
military service; 216,132 reach military age (18) annually                      
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $1.9 billion, 4.3% of GDP (1991)                          
                                                                                
