LOCATION:

Location:
  
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana

AREA:

total: 912,050 sq km
land: 882,050 sq km
water: 30,000 sq km
Area - comparative:
  
slightly more than twice the size of California

POPULATION:

Population:
   
25,375,281

 (July 2005 est.)

AGE STRUCTURE:

Age structure:
  
0-14 years: 29.9%
 (male 3,909,876/female 3,667,958)

15-64 years: 65%
(male 8,287,255/female 8,209,599)
 
65 years and over: 5.1%
(male 590,236/female 710,357)

(2005 est.)

MEDIAN AGE:

Median age:
  
total: 25.6 years
male: 24.98 years
female: 26.24 years

 (2005 est.)

POPULATION GROWTH:

Population growth rate:
  
1.4%

(2005 est.)

INFANT MORTALITY RATE:

Infant mortality rate:
   
total: 22.2 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.31 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 18.85 deaths/1,000 live births

(2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS-ADULT PREVALENCE RATE:

HIV/AIDS Prevalence: 0.1 %

(World Fact Book estimates 0.7%)

HIV/AIDS- PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS :

Ages 15-49:

100,000

low estimate:
47,000

high estimate:
160,000

HIV/AIDS-DEATH

Adults and Children deaths:

4,100

low estimate:
1,900

high estimate:
8,000

ETHNIC GROUPS:

Ethnic groups:
  
Spanish, Italian,
Portuguese, Arab,
German, African,
indigenous people

RELIGIONS:

Religions:
  
nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%,
other 2%

LANGUAGES:

English (official), local dialects 

LITERACY:

Literacy:
  
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 93.4%
male: 93.8%
female: 93.1%

(2003 est.)

GOVERNMENT TYPE:

Government type:
  
federal republic

CAPITAL:

Capital:
  
Caracas

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:

Administrative divisions:
  
23 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 federal district* (distrito federal), 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

INDEPENDENCE:

Independence:
  
5 July 1811 (from Spain)

ECONOMY:

Economy - overview:
  
Venezuela continues to be highly dependent on the petroleum sector, accounting for roughly one-third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and over half of government operating revenues. A disastrous two-month national oil strike from December 2002 to February 2003, temporarily halted economic activity. The economy remained in depression in 2003, declining by 9.2% after an 8.9% fall in 2002. Despite continued domestic instability, output recovered strongly in 2004, aided by high oil prices. Both inflation and unemployment remain fundamental problems. hich accounts for slightly more than one-third of tourist arrivals.

GDP:

GDP:
   
purchasing power parity - $145.2 billion

(2004 est.)

POPULATION BELOW POVERT LINE:

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
   
22.4%

(2004 est.)

UNEMPLOYMENT:

Unemployment rate:17.1%

(2004 est.)

EXCHANGE RATES:

Exchange rates:
  
bolivares per US dollar -
1,891.33 (2004),
 1,607.79 (2003),
1,160.95 (2002),
723.666 (2001),
 679.96 (2000)

ILLICIT DRUGS:

Illicit drugs:
  
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