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NAVIGATION
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela
Gran Colombia (with Colombia and Ecuador)
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
conventional short form: Venezuela local short form: Venezuela local long form: Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela |
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Government type:
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federal republic |
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Capital:
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Caracas |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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5 July 1811 (from Spain) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 5 July (1811) |
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Constitution:
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30 December 1999 |
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Legal system:
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based on organic laws as of July 1999; open, adversarial court system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Hugo CHAVEZ Frias (since 3 February 1999); Vice President Jose Vicente RANGEL (since 28 April 2002); 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 Jose Vicente RANGEL (since 28 April 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president election results: Hugo CHAVEZ Frias reelected president; percent of vote - 60% elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 30 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2006) |
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Legislative branch:
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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)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - pro-government 108 (MVR 92, MAS 6, indigenous 3, other 7), opposition 57 (AD 33, COPEI 6, Justice First 5, other 13) elections: last held 30 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Tribunal of Justice or Tribuna Suprema de Justicia (magistrates are elected by the National Assembly for a single 12-year term) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Democratic Action or AD [Claudio FERMIN]; Fifth Republic Movement or MVR [Garcia PONCE]; Homeland for All or PPT [Jose ALBORNIZ]; Justice First [Julio BORGES]; Movement Toward Socialism or MAS [Hector MUJICA]; National Convergence or Convergencia [Juan Jose CALDERA]; Radical Cause or La Causa R [Antonio HERRERA]; Social Christian Party or COPEI [Oswaldo ALVAREZ Paz]; Venezuela Project or PV [Henrique SALAS Romer] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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FEDECAMARAS, a conservative business group; VECINOS groups; Venezuelan Confederation of Workers or CTV (labor organization dominated by the Democratic Action) |
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International organization participation:
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CAN, Caricom (observer), CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Luis HERERRA Marcano
chancery: 1099 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and San Juan (Puerto Rico) FAX: [1] (202) 342-6820 telephone: [1] (202) 342-2214 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Charles S. SHAPIRO
embassy: Calle F con Calle Suapure, Urbanizacion Colinas de Valle Arriba, Caracas 1080 mailing address: P. O. Box 62291, Caracas 1060-A; APO AA 34037 telephone: [58] (212) 975-9234, 975-6411 FAX: [58] (212) 975-8991 |
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Flag description:
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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
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Economy - overview:
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Venezuela continues to be highly dependent on the petroleum sector, which accounts for roughly one-third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and more than half of government operating revenues. Despite higher oil prices at the end of 2002 and into 2003, domestic political instability, culminating in a two-month national oil strike from December 2002 to February 2003, temporarily halted economic activity. The economy is likely to remain in a recession in 2003, after sinking an estimated 8.9 percent in 2002. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $132.8 billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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-8.9% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $5,500 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 5%
industry: 50% services: 45% (2001) |
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Population below poverty line:
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47% (1998 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 0.8%
highest 10%: 36.5% (1998) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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49.5 (1998) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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31.2% (2002) |
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Labor force:
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9.9 million (1999) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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services 64%, industry 23%, agriculture 13% (1997 est.) |
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Unemployment rate:
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17% (2002 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $21.5 billion
expenditures: $27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
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Industries:
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petroleum, iron ore mining, construction materials, food processing, textiles, steel, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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-5.4% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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87.6 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 31.7%
hydro: 68.3% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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81.47 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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3.08 million bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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505,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA (2001) |
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Oil - imports:
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NA (2001) |
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Oil - proved reserves:
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63.95 billion bbl (January 2002 est.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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4.202 trillion cu m (January 2002 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish |
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Exports:
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$28.6 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
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Exports - commodities:
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petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures |
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Exports - partners:
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US 60%, Brazil 5.5%, Colombia 3.5%, Italy 3.5%, Spain 3.4% (2000) |
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Imports:
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$18.8 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
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Imports - commodities:
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raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials |
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Imports - partners:
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US 35.8%, Colombia 6.8%, Brazil 4.5%, Germany 3.9%, Italy 3.9% (2000) |
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Debt - external:
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$38.2 billion (2000) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$74 million (2000) |
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Currency:
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bolivar (VEB) |
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Currency code:
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VEB |
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Exchange rates:
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bolivares per US dollar - 1,160.44 (2002), 723.666 (2001), 679.96 (2000), 605.717 (1999), 547.556 (1998) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |