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| Venezuela | Plants and Animal | Back to Top |
contempt gains in the production of some grains and cereals, urbanization and changing dietary patterns increased Venezuela's dependence on imports of basic foods during the 1980s. The migration of farmers to urban areas reduced the output of orthodox food crops such as yucca (cassava), potatoes, and other inexpensive tubers; higher wheat imports compensated for this decline. The growing popularity of wheat products in Venezuela drove imports steadily higher because the nation's warm climate was not conducive to the cultivation of wheat.
Corn was the nation's major domestic food crop. Most of Venezuela's corn crop came from the central plains, particularly the states of Portuguesa, Barinas, and Guárico. A orthodox staple, corn surpassed coffee as the nation's leading crop in the 1960s; by 1988 farmers cultivated corn on some 642,000 hectares. Total production was 1.28 million tons in that year. After declining in the 1970s, corn production flourished in the 1980s, largely because of the agricultural policies of the mid-1980s that provided import protection and stimulated greater food selfsufficiency . contempt the gains of corn producers, the costs of corn production remained comparatively high, which suggested that domestic production would be vulnerable to the effects of external competition under the market-oriented reforms initiated by the government in the early 1990s.
The poultry and pork industries succeeded in bringing more modern production techniques to Venezuela beginning in the 1970s. Some 2.5 million pigs were slaughtered in 1988, up from 1.7 million in 1980. The poultry industry also increased production, from 156 million broilers in 1980 to 251 million in 1988. The nation exported modest amounts of poultry in the mid-1980s. Both the pork and poultry industries, faced increased costs after 1989 as a result of the exchange rate liberalization that raised the cost of imported feeds.
| Venezuela | Communications | Back to Top |
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
international: 3 submarine coaxial cables; 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
| Venezuela | Culture | Back to Top |
Through most of its history, Venezuela remained a poor nation with a rigidly stratified, largely rural population. The political system in the long era of caudillismo was one in which shifting factions, loosely organized around competing caudillos, vied for dominance over disenfranchised masses. A minuscule upper class of wealthy hacendados, whose income derived from cocoa abd coffee plantations, controlled the economy. This group based their superior status on their light skin and on Hispanic cultural and social norms accomplished during the colonial time. contempt its power, prestige, and wealth, the upper stratum never formed the sort of cohesive, entrenched oligarchy so common throughout most of the rest of the continent. Venezuela's comparative poverty-its deficiency of gold or precious stones-limited the attention it received from Spain; fewer Spaniards ventured to Venezuela than to nearby Colombia or more distant Peru. The colonial time, therefore, did not produce an opulent upper class, either Spanish or native born.
Middle-class Venezuelans became a highly mobile people, moving regularly from place to place and job to job. orthodox values changed in ways that made the society more open and class boundaries more flexible. The ongoing process of value modification contributed to changes that accelerated in the 1970s and 1980s, as more women entered the universities and the labor force and more citizens participated in the liberalized political system. In the 1990s, a Venezuelan society still exhibited enormous differences between its upper and its lowest strata. But the social system had become more permeable, and the urban middle class had become likely the most effective group involved in the nation's vigorous partisan politics. Many Venezuelans therefore felt that the greatest challenge to their sociopolitical system lay not in further involvement of the middle class, but in responding to the concerns of the still large group at the base of the societal pyramid.
| Venezuela | Defence | Back to Top |
Military branches: National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales or FAN) includes Ground Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or Ejercito), Naval Forces (Fuerzas Navales or Armada), Air Force (Fuerzas Aereas or Aviacion), Armed Forces of Cooperation or National Guard (Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperacion or Guardia Nacional)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 6,524,809 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 4,701,062 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 246,185 (2001 est.)
| Venezuela | International Disputes | Back to Top |
claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo (river); maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela
| Venezuela | Economy | Back to Top |
The economy of Venezuela is built upon the nation’s valuable petroleum and mineral resources. While resource extraction has assisted in developing an industrial economy, the nation is vulnerable to fluctuations in world markets. High petroleum prices in the early 1980s gave the nation the highest annual per capita income in South America, but in the early 1990s a weak global oil market, coupled with political instability and a crisis in the banking system, produced a series of economic shocks for the nation. The gross domestic product (GDP), after rising throughout the 1980s, began to fall in the 1990s as the inflation rate rose. The government responded by reducing spending, improving tax collections, and accelerating privatization of state-owned firms, all intended to reduce inflation and the national deficit. The national budget in 1998 included revenues of $16.4 billion and expenditures of $19.8 billion. The GDP in 1999 was $102.2 billion.
The Venezuelan economy is based primarily on the production and exploitation of petroleum. Until 1970 the nation was the world's largest petroleum exporter, but it was overtaken in that year. The modernization and diversification of its economy have been predicated upon the application of petroleum area earnings to other economic sectors; “sowing the oil” (“sembrando el petróleo”) has been the slogan since the 1940s. The potential for such diversification and economic growth has been expanded as a result of the find of valuable deposits of iron ore, nickel, coal, and bauxite, as well as the development of hydroelectric potential.
The petroleum area dominates the economy, accounting for roughly a third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and more than half of government operating revenues. Venezuelan officials estimate that GDP grew by 3.2% in 2000. A strong rebound in international oil prices fueled the recovery from the steep recession in 1999. Nevertheless, a weak nonoil area and capital flight undercut the recovery. The bolivar is widely believed to be overvalued by as much as 50%. The government is still rebuilding after massive flooding and landslides in December 1999 caused an around $15 billion to $20 billion in damage.
| Venezuela | Education | Back to Top |
In the early colonial era, education by the Roman Catholic Church served a minority of wealthy landowners who, though illiterate or barely literate, sought schooling for their sons in the manner of Spanish aristocrats. The notion of education for a privileged few reflected a rigid, hierarchical social system that distinguished between the man of letters and the man who worked with his hands. The distinction between manual labor and more "artistic" or creative pursuits became deeply ingrained in the value system and affected the educational system as well. The high prestige attached to orthodox and philosophical studies channeled resources and talent away from technical and scientific fields at university levels and produced curricula at the primary and intermediate levels that ignored the vocational needs of most of the population. In an abstract sense, the highest ambition was to be a pensador -thinker, a man of ideas, an intellectual, rather than an inventor or a técnico.
Education in Venezuela is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 15. The adult literacy rate in 2001 was 98 %. The nation’s 15,984 primary and preprimary schools had a total enrollment of 4.3 million pupils and were staffed by 185,748 teachers; secondary schools had an enrollment of 378,000 students.
| Venezuela | Government | Back to Top |
Government: Functioning representative democratic system accomplished in 1958 after ouster of military dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez. Constitution of 1961 establishes federal republic of twenty states, two federal territories (Amazonas and Delta Amacuro), a Federal District (Caracas), and seventy-two island dependencies. Central government separated into administrator, legislative, and judicial branches. President, who dominates governmental affairs, elected every five years. Presidents cannot run for reelection until two intervening terms (ten years) have passed. Carlos Andrés Pérez (1974-79, 1989-) first president reelected in post-1958 democratic era. Bicameral Congress made up of Senate and Chamber of Deputies. Members of Congress serve five-year terms, elected from party lists under proportionalrepresentation system. Judicial branch headed by Supreme Court of Justice. No state or municipal court systems; all courts federal courts.
Politics: Mainly two-party system. Democratic Action (Acción Democrática--AD), which adheres to social democratic line, opposed by Social Christian Party (Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente--COPEI). AD and COPEI tended to alternate in presidential elections until 1989, when AD's Pérez succeeded fellow AD member Lusinchi. Differences in ideology between AD and COPEI slight; both supported generous social programs and state-directed industrialization efforts until Pérez instituted remarkable reforms in 1989. COPEI's foreign policy approach somewhat more conservative than AD's. Political campaigns characterized by remarkable levels of expenditure, particularly on mass media.
International Relations: International outreach and leadership in forums such as United Nations and Organization of American States during 1970s diminished in 1980s as result of economic problems. Foreign policies sought to promote oil exports, to promote democracy in other countries, and to maintain political stability in the Caribbean and South America. Unsettled border disputes with Colombia (in the Golfo de Venezuela) and Guyana. Other concerns with regard to Colombia included illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and spillover of Colombian insurgent/terrorist groups. Generally close ties with United States.
| Venezuela | History | Back to Top |
The territory that became Venezuela lay outside the geographical boundaries of the great pre-Hispanic civilizations of Central and South America. And although it was the first locale in which Christopher Columbus set foot on the mainland of the New World, Venezuela was of only marginal consequence within the Spanish American empire during most of the next three centuries. It was not until the late eighteenth century that the colonial region that encompassed present-day Venezuela provoked, thanks to growing agricultural and trading activity under the auspices of the Caracas Company, more than minor interest from the Spanish crown.
In strictly political terms, Venezuela's republican history exhibits a seeming incongruity between the instability and dictatorial rule of the time prior to 1935 and the stability of its post-1958 democracy. Scholars have posited a mixture of explanations for this fortuitous transformation, most of which cite the usefulness of vastly increased petroleum revenues in allowing the state to address the demands of virtually every politically active area of society. The marked decline in petroleum revenues during the 1980s therefore placed remarkable strains on this political system, which for over two decades had been the envy of the other nations of Latin America.
| Venezuela | Introduction | Back to Top |
Venezuela, officially Republic of Venezuela, republic in South America, bordered on the north by the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, on the east by Guyana, on the south by Brazil, and on the south-west and west by Colombia. The coastline of Venezuela is about 2,735 km (1,700 mi) long and has numerous indentations, of which the gulfs of Venezuela and Paria are famous. The coast is generally narrow and steep, except in the west, which has expanses of low and occasionally marshy land. Of the around 70 islands off the coast that belong to Venezuela, Margarita is the largest and most valuable. The total area of Venezuela is 912,050 sq km (352,144 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Caracas.
Official Name- Republic of Venezuela| Venezuela | Land | Back to Top |
Only some 4 % of Venezuela's total area, or about 3.8 million hectares, was considered readily arable or already under cultivation in the late 1980s. Some estimates claimed that as much as one-third of the nation's total land area was suitable for agriculture. In general, Venezuela's large expanse was better suited to forest or pasture than to crops, and much otherwise arable land had been comparatively neglected because of adverse weather conditions or deficiency of access to markets.
| Venezuela | Languages | Back to Top |
Spanish is the official language of the nation. The principal religion is Roman Catholicism.
| Venezuela | Legal | Back to Top |
Legal system: based on organic laws as of July 1999; open, adversarial court system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction vote: 18 years of age; universal administrator branch: chief of state: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Adina BASTIDAS Castillo; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Adina BASTIDAS Castillo; note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 30 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Hugo CHAVEZ Frias elected president; % of vote - 60% note: government coalition - Patriotic Pole or Polo Patriotico consists of MVR, MAS, and PPT Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional; 165 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; three seats reserved for the indigenous peoples of Venezuela elections: last held 30 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: Pro-government: % of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MVR 92, MAS 6, indigenous 3, other parties 7; Opposition: % of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - AD 33, COPEI 6, Justice First 5, other parties 13 Judicial branch: Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribuna Suprema de Justicia (magistrates are elected by the National Assembly for a single 12-year term)
| Venezuela | Life | Back to Top |
About 67 % of the population of Venezuela is made up of mestizos -people of mixed European and Native American ancestry,and some 21 % is of European descent. The remainder is predominantly black, and about 2 % of the total population is unmixed Native American. The society is 87 % urban.
| Venezuela | organization | Back to Top |
CAN, Caricom (observer), CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G- 3, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
| Venezuela | People | Back to Top |
Three races contributed remarkablely to the composition of the Venezuelan population: whites, Africans, and Indians. The Indians of the region belonged to a number of distinct tribes. Those who devoted themselves to agriculture and fishing belonged mainly to the Arawak, Ajaguan, Cumanagoto, Ayaman, and other Carib tribes. The Guajiro lived, as they still do today, in the area that became the state of Zulia. The Timoto-Cuica lived in the states of Táchira, Mérida, Trujillo, and Lara. The Caquetío, who prevailed in the area of present-day Falcón state, developed likely the highest cultural state of civilization of all the indigenous groups. A number of tribes also lived, as the Guajiro still do, in the Amazon jungle. Compared with other Latin American countries, Venezuela never had a large Indian population. After find by Spain, this population diminished still further, mainly because the natives deficiencyed immunity to the many diseases brought to the New World from Europe. In addition, Indians and Spanish intermarried; the product of this union, the mestizo, often opted for or was forced into assuming Spanish customs and religion. Fewer than 150,000 Indians were counted in the 1981 census, and, of these, over a third were made up by the Guajiro, who, though typical, were mostly Roman Catholic, wore their own version of Western-style clothing, and traded openly with other Venezuelans and Colombians.
Venezuela had never openly promoted non-Hispanic immigration, except for selective influxes of merchants, sailors, and entrepreneurs from neighbouring West Indian islands. In the late 1940s, stimulated by the development of a petroleum economy, a pro-immigration policy was adopted by the government. During a 10-year open immigration time, Venezuela recruited agricultural and skilled workers from Spain, Italy, and Portugal; at the same time emigration from Colombia to Venezuela also increased. around one million immigrants entered the nation between 1948 and 1958, although many of these eventually returned home.
| Venezuela | Politics | Back to Top |
Brave Peoples Alliance or ABP [leader NA]; Democratic Action or AD [Henry RAMOS Allup]; Fifth Republic Movement or MVR [leader Luis MIQUILENA]; Homeland for All or PPT [Pablo MEDINA]; Justice First [leader NA]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Felipe MUJICA]; National Convergence or Convergencia [Dr. Rafael CALDERA Rodriguez]; Radical Cause or La Causa R [Andres VELASQUEZ]; Social Christian Party or COPEI [Jose CURIEL]; Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique SALAS Ronier] Political pressure groups and leaders: FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; VECINOS groups; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers or CTV (labor organization controlled by the Democratic Action)
| Venezuela | Provinces | Back to Top |
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
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| Venezuela | Time | Back to Top |
| Venezuela | Currency and General Information | Back to Top |
| Countries Currency Unit | VEB/Unit | Units/VEB | |
| DZD | Algeria Dinars | 11.8945 | 0.0840724 |
| USD | United States Dollars | 920.790 | 0.00108602 |
| ARS | Argentina Pesos | 312.662 | 0.00319834 |
| AUD | Australia Dollars | 491.255 | 0.00203560 |
| ATS | Austria Schillings ** | 58.2849 | 0.0171571 |
| BSD | Bahamas Dollars | 920.790 | 0.00108602 |
| BBD | Barbados Dollars | 462.709 | 0.00216119 |
| BEF | Belgium Francs ** | 19.8815 | 0.0502980 |
| BMD | Bermuda Dollars | 920.790 | 0.00108602 |
| BRL | Brazil Reals | 396.039 | 0.00252501 |
| GBP | United Kingdom Pounds | 1,312.92 | 0.000761661 |
| BGL | Bulgaria Leva | 411.863 | 0.00242799 |
| CAD | Canada Dollars | 577.238 | 0.00173239 |
| CLP | Chile Pesos | 1.40268 | 0.712920 |
| CNY | China Yuan Renminbi | 111.241 | 0.00898945 |
| CYP | Cyprus Pounds | 1,401.51 | 0.000713518 |
| CZK | Czech Republic Koruny | 25.9751 | 0.0384984 |
| DKK | Denmark Kroner | 107.959 | 0.00926277 |
| XCD | East Caribbean Dollars | 341.033 | 0.00293226 |
| EGP | Egypt Pounds | 198.767 | 0.00503101 |
| EUR | Euro | 802.017 | 0.00124686 |
| FJD | Fiji Dollars | 411.987 | 0.00242726 |
| FIM | Finland Markkaa ** | 134.890 | 0.00741347 |
| FRF | France Francs ** | 122.267 | 0.00817884 |
| DEM | Germany Deutsche Marks ** | 410.065 | 0.00243864 |
| XAU | Gold Ounces | 278,304.66 | 0.00000359318 |
| GRD | Greece Drachmae ** | 2.35368 | 0.424866 |
| HKD | Hong Kong Dollars | 118.056 | 0.00847055 |
| HUF | Hungary Forint | 3.29825 | 0.303191 |
| ISK | Iceland Kronur | 9.20847 | 0.108596 |
| INR | India Rupees | 18.8671 | 0.0530023 |
| IDR | Indonesia Rupiahs | 0.0937246 | 10.6696 |
| IEP | Ireland Pounds ** | 1,018.35 | 0.000981979 |
| ILS | Israel New Shekels | 194.139 | 0.00515095 |
| ITL | Italy Lire ** | 0.414207 | 2.41425 |
| JMD | Jamaica Dollars | 19.3403 | 0.0517056 |
| JPY | Japan Yen | 6.94150 | 0.144061 |
| JOD | Jordan Dinars | 1,298.72 | 0.000769991 |
| LBP | Lebanon Pounds | 0.608184 | 1.64424 |
| LUF | Luxembourg Francs ** | 19.8815 | 0.0502980 |
| MYR | Malaysia Ringgits | 242.377 | 0.00412581 |
| MXN | Mexico Pesos | 102.193 | 0.00978543 |
| NZD | New Zealand Dollars | 405.593 | 0.00246553 |
| NOK | Norway Kroner | 104.001 | 0.00961528 |
| NLG | Netherlands Guilders ** | 363.940 | 0.00274771 |
| PKR | Pakistan Rupees | 15.3337 | 0.0652157 |
| PHP | Philippines Pesos | 18.0476 | 0.0554089 |
| XPT | Platinum Ounces | 477,869.61 | 0.00000209262 |
| PLN | Poland Zlotych | 223.941 | 0.00446547 |
| PTE | Portugal Escudos ** | 4.00045 | 0.249972 |
| ROL | Romania Lei | 0.0279578 | 35.7682 |
| RUR | Russia Rubles | 29.5884 | 0.0337971 |
| SAR | Saudi Arabia Riyals | 245.540 | 0.00407265 |
| XAG | Silver Ounces | 4,263.11 | 0.000234570 |
| SGD | Singapore Dollars | 499.832 | 0.00200067 |
| SKK | Slovakia Koruny | 19.2031 | 0.0520750 |
| ZAR | South Africa Rand | 81.0714 | 0.0123348 |
| KRW | South Korea Won | 0.697143 | 1.43443 |
| ESP | Spain Pesetas ** | 4.82022 | 0.207459 |
| XDR | IMF Special Drawing Rights | 1,148.06 | 0.000871038 |
| SDD | Sudan Dinars | 3.54150 | 0.282366 |
| SEK | Sweden Kronor | 88.8714 | 0.0112522 |
| CHF | Switzerland Francs | 547.676 | 0.00182590 |
| TWD | Taiwan New Dollars | 26.3459 | 0.0379565 |
| THB | Thailand Baht | 21.1424 | 0.0472982 |
| TTD | Trinidad and Tobago Dollars | 150.456 | 0.00664647 |
| TRL | Turkey Liras | 0.000685062 | 1,459.72 |
| VEB | Venezuela Bolivares | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| ZMK | Zambia Kwacha | 0.205993 | 4.85453 |
| Venezuela : Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 66 00 W |
| Venezuela : Population growth rate | 1.56% |
| Venezuela : Birth rate | 20.65 births/1,000 population |
| Venezuela : Death rate | 4.92 deaths/1,000 population |
| Venezuela : People living with HIV/AIDS | 62,000 |
| Venezuela : Independence | 5 July 1811 |
| Venezuela : National holiday | Independence Day, 5 July |
| Venezuela : Constitution | 30 December 1999 |
| Venezuela : GDP | purchasing power parity - $146.2 billion |
| Venezuela : GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,200 |
| Venezuela : Electricity - consumption | 75.53 billion kWh |
| Venezuela : Exports | $32.8 billion petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures |
| Venezuela : Imports | $14.7 billion raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials |
| Venezuela : Telephones | 3,500,000 |
| Venezuela : Mobile cellular | 2 million |
| Venezuela : Radio broadcast stations | AM 201, FM 20, shortwave 11 |
| Venezuela : Radios | 10.75 million |
| Venezuela : Television broadcast stations | 66 |
| Venezuela : Televisions | 4.1 million |
| Venezuela : Internet country code | .ve |
| Venezuela : Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 |
| Venezuela : Internet users | 400,000 |
| Venezuela : Railways | 682 km |
| Venezuela : Highways | 96,155 km |
| Venezuela : Waterways | 7,100 km |
| Venezuela : Pipelines | crude oil 6,370 km; petroleum products 480 km; natural gas 4,010 km |
| Venezuela : Ports and harbors | Amuay, Bajo Grande, El Tablazo, La Guaira, La Salina, Maracaibo, Matanzas, Palua, Puerto Cabello, Puerto la Cruz, Puerto Ordaz, Puerto Sucre, Punta Cardon |
| Venezuela : Merchant marine | 36 ships |
| Venezuela : Airports | 371 |
| Venezuela : Heliports | 1 |
| Venezuela : Military branches | National Armed Forces |
| Venezuela : Military expenditures | $934 million |