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NAVIGATION
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela
Gran Colombia (with Colombia and Ecuador)
COMMUNICATIONS
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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2.6 million (however, 3,500,000 have been installed) (1998) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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2 million (1998) |
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Telephone system:
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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 |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 201, FM NA (20 in Caracas), shortwave 11 (1998) |
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Radios:
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10.75 million (1997) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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66 (plus 45 repeaters) (1997) |
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Televisions:
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4.1 million (1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.ve |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
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16 (2000) |
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Internet users:
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1.3 million (2002) |
TRANSPORTATION
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Railways:
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total: 682 km
standard gauge: 682 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
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Highways:
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total: 96,155 km
paved: 32,308 km unpaved: 63,847 km (1997 est.) |
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Waterways:
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7,100 km
note: Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels |
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Pipelines:
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crude oil 6,370 km; petroleum products 480 km; natural gas 4,010 km |
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Ports and harbors:
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Amuay, Bajo Grande, El Tablazo, La Guaira, La Salina, Maracaibo, Matanzas, Palua, Puerto Cabello, Puerto la Cruz, Puerto Ordaz, Puerto Sucre, Punta Cardon |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 714,073 GRT/1,256,667 DWT
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 1, Greece 1, Italy 1, UK 1, US 2 (2002 est.) ships by type: bulk 6, cargo 8, chemical tanker 1, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 15, roll on/roll off 10, short-sea passenger 1 |
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Airports:
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373 (2002) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 127
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 914 to 1,523 m: 61 under 914 m: 18 (2002) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 32 |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 246
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 97 under 914 m: 139 (2002) |
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Heliports:
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1 (2002) |
MILITARY
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Military branches:
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National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales or FAN) includes Ground Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or Ejercito), Naval Forces (Fuerzas Navales or Armada - including marines and Coast Guard), Air Force (Fuerzas Aereas or Aviacion), Armed Forces of Cooperation or National Guard (Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperacion or Guardia Nacional) |
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Military manpower - military age:
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18 years of age (2003 est.) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age 15-49: 6,767,862 (2003 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age 15-49: 4,870,751 (2003 est.) |
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Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
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males: 249,319 (2003 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$934 million (FY99) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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0.9% (FY99) |
TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES
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Disputes - international:
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claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo River; maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea; US, France and the Netherlands recognize Venezuela's claim to give full effect to Aves Island, which creates a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines protest the claim and other states' recognition of it |
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Illicit drugs:
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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 |