_#_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)
_%_
_@_Vietnam
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 329,560 km2; land area: 325,360
_#_Comparative area: slightly larger than New Mexico
_#_Land boundaries: 3,818 km total; Cambodia 982 km, China 1,281 km,
Laos 1,555 km
_#_Coastline: 3,444 km (excluding islands)
_#_Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;