The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is located on the northern coast of South America. The territory of the nation includes several small islands in the Caribbean Sea. Venezuela shares its border with Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the west. It is one of the most urbanized countries in Latin America. It has a mixed economy.  The city of Caracas is the capital of Venezuela.

HISTORY:- The Arawak, Carib, and Chibcha Indians inhabited the land before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498. Spain was first colonized the region in 1522. Venezuela was incorporated into the Viceroyalty of New Granada in the early 18th century. After a series of unsuccessful mutinies, Venezuela declared independence in 1811, under the leadership of Francisco de Miranda. The first Venezuelan republic in 1812 was resulted from a devastating earthquake and rebellion of the Venezuelan llaneros. The second Venezuelan republic was declared in 1913. The Battle of Carabobo of 1821 was won by Simón Bolívar and the Battle of Lake Maracaibo of 1823 was won by José Prudencio Padilla and Rafael Urdaneta. Venezuela remained a part of Gran Colombia until 1830 when Páez proclaimed the republic of Venezuela. Páez became the first president of the country. Following some unstable dictatorships, Antonio Guzman Blanco ascended the presidential office to bring back stability in the nation in 1870 and held the office until 1888. Constitution was written in 1946 and in the next year Rómulo Gallegos became first democratically elected president of Venezuela. Gallegos was overthrown by Marcos Peréz Jiménez. Rafael Caldera Rodríguez became president in 1974.

GEOGRAPHY:- Venezuela is located at 8 00 N, 66 00 W in Northern South America, spanning through 912,050 sq km area in which 882,050 sq km and 30,000 sq km areas are possessed by land masses and internal waters respectively. The coastline is 2,800 km long along with the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. The lowest point is Caribbean Sea (0 m) and the highest point is Pico Bolivar (La Columna) (5,007 m). The terrain of Venezuela varies from Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in the northwest to central plains (llanos) to Guiana Highlands in the southeast.

CLIMATE:- The climate of Venezuela is mostly tropical, hot, and humid, while highlands are more moderate.

GOVERNMENT:- Venezuela has a federal republic. The constitution was adopted on 30th December 1999. An open adversarial court system handles the legal affairs of the country. The three major branches of the government are:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state and head of government), the Executive Vice President, and the Council of Ministers. The president is elected by popular vote on a 6-year term. The council of ministers is appointed by the president.

Legislative branch comprises the unicameral National Assembly (167 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Supreme Tribunal of Justice.

United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Fifth Republic Movement or Movimiento V Republica (MVR), Democratic Action or Accion Democratica (AD), Christian Democrats or Comite Organizador Politico por Elecciones Independientes (COPEI), Homeland for All or Patria Para Todos (PPT), Movement to Socialism or Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), Radical Cause or La Causa R, First Justice or Primero Justicia, and the National Convergence or Convergencia are the principal political parties of Venezuela. Suffrage is universal at 18.

President  Hugo Chávez Frías

Vice president  Ramón Carrizales

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- Venezuela is composed of 23 states, 1 capital district, and 1 federal dependency.

CULTURE:- The Venezuelan culture is highly influenced by the Latin American culture. Baseball and football are the most popular sports of Venezuela.

ECONOMY:- The Venezuelan economy depends mostly on oil revenues, accounting for 90% of foreign earnings, over 50% of the federal budget revenues, and about 30% of GDP.

GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $334.6 billion; per capita $12,200.

Real growth rate: 8.4%.

Inflation: 18.7%.

Unemployment: 8.5%.

Arable land: 3%.

Agriculture: Corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish.

Labor force: 12.37 million; services 64%, industry 23%, agriculture 13% (1997 est.).

Industries: Petroleum, construction materials, food processing, textiles; iron ore mining, steel, aluminum; motor vehicle assembly.

Budget:  

Revenues: $65.83 billion

Expenditures: $58.9 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 19.3% of GDP (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $41.52 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds.

Exports: $69.23 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures.

Imports: $28.81 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials.

Major trading partners: U.S., Netherlands Antilles, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico (2004).

Monetary unit: Bolivar

LANGUAGE:- Spanish is the official language of Venezuela while numerous indigenous dialects are also widely used.

CITIES:- The city of Caracas is the capital as well as the largest city of Venezuela. Other large cities are Maracaibo, Valencia, Barquisimeto, Maracay, Merida, Ciudad Bolivar.

POPULATION:- The population is estimated 26,084,662 with a growth rate of 1.4%.

Density per sq mile: 77

Literacy rate: 93% (2003 est.)

RACE:- Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people reside in the land.

RELIGION:-

Roman Catholic 96%

Protestant 2%

Other 2%

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 20.92 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 5.1 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 22.02 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.45 years

Total fertility rate: 2.52 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4,100 (2003 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 325

UNICEF:- UNICEF-supported child protection system is almost complete in the country. UNICEF also supports the National Identity Programme for founding hospital units for birth registration. UNICEF promoted national and local initiatives for preschool and intercultural and bilingual schooling. UNICEF combats HIV in Venezuela. UNICEF provides humanitarian help in emergencies and disasters, supports the back-to-school programmes and psychosocial recovery programmes for conflict-affected children. UNICEF also supports social mobilization for tolerance and social harmony. The National Plan to Prevent Violence and Achieve Equality for Women is working in the country with the support and assistance of UNICEF.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 682 km (2002).

Highways: total: 96,155 km; paved: 32,308 km; unpaved: 63,847 km (1999 est.).

Waterways: 7,100 km; Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels. 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.

Airports: 390 (2007).

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