History of Latin America - Venezuela

FLAG When the explorer Alonso de Ojeda first saw the Indian villages built on stilts along the swampy shores of Lake Maracaibo in 1499, he named the site Venezuela (Little Venice). Today the country is known for its crude oil production 4 percent of the world's output. This is greater than that of any other Third World country outside the Middle East.
Venezuela is a coastal, mountain, and plains republic. Its 1,748-mile (2,813-kilometer) Caribbean coastline provides tourist beaches and connects the country to its island neighbors. Some of these Trinidad and Tobago, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Puerto Rico were the focus of economic assistance from Venezuela for industrial development projects in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Andes originate in northeastern Venezuela and stretch 750 miles (1,210 kilometers) westward to Colombia, where they turn southward and increase in length and width in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. They reach 16,427 feet (5,007 meters) in Pico Bolivar in the western Andes.
The Andean states of Venezuela account for some two thirds of the population, reflecting the original Spanish colonists' preference for the temperate uplands. Venezuela is a member of the Andean Pact, within which it supports its less economically advanced Andean neighbors.
Venezuela has vast tropical plateaus and plains, stretching southward to occupy more than half the national territory. This region is sparsely populated. The territory of Amazonas has a population density that is one seventh that of Alaska.
Venezuela's 18.3 million people (1987 estimate) make it the sixth largest Latin American country in population. With an area of 352,144 square miles (912,050 square kilometers), its population density is 51.9 per square mile (20.0 per square kilometer). Its rate of natural increase (excess of births over deaths) was 2.7 percent in 1986, the highest of any Latin American country its size.

Venezuela Fact Summary


Official Name. Republic of Venezuela.
Capital. Caracas.
NATURAL FEATURES
Principal Physical Features. Andes Mountains, Guiana Plateau, Orinoco Llanos, Maracaibo Basin.
Mountain Ranges. Andes, Cordillera de Merida.
Highest Peak. Bolivar, 16,427 feet (5,007 meters).
Major Rivers. Apure, Arauca, Brazo Casiquiare, Negro, Orinoco, Tigre, Ventuari.
Largest Lake. Maracaibo.
PEOPLE
Population (1989 estimate). 19,246,000; 54.7 persons per square mile (21.1 persons per square kilometer); 83.6 percent urban, 16.4 percent rural.
Major Cities (1989 estimate). Caracas (1,275,591), Maracaibo (1,179,384), Valencia (922,138), Barquisimeto (702,764), Maracay (524,952), Petare (519,866).
Major Religion. Roman Catholicism.
Major Language. Spanish (official).
Literacy. 89.6 percent.
Leading Universities. Central University of Venezuela, Open University, Simon Bolivar University, Caracas; University of Carabobo; University of Zulia, Maracaibo.
GOVERNMENT
Form of Government. Republic.
Head of State and Government. President.
Legislature. Congress; consists of Senate with 49 members and Chamber of Deputies with 201 members; popularly elected; five-year terms.
Voting Qualification. Age 18.
Political Divisions. 20 states and 4 federally controlled areas.
ECONOMY
Chief Agricultural Products. Crops sugarcane, corn (maize), tropical fruits, rice, sesame seed, coffee, dairy products, sorghum, cacao, roundwood. Livestock cattle.
Chief Mined Products. Crude petroleum, iron ore, aluminum ore, gold, diamonds.
Chief Manufactured Products. Base metals, chemicals, food products, beverages, nonmetallic minerals, textiles, metal products, tobacco, electrical machinery and equipment.
Chief Exports. Petroleum, base metals.
Chief Imports. Agricultural equipment, industrial machinery, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products.
Monetary Unit. 1 bolivar = 100 centimos.

This article was contributed by Richard C. Jones, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Texas at San Antonio.