Venezuela

Geography

Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colom­bia and Guyana. Area: 912,050 sq. km. Principal cities: Caracas, Maracaibo, Valencia, and Barquisimeto. Tourist attractions: Archipielago Los Roques, Cueva del Guacharo, and Salto Angel. Time zone: GMT -4 hours.

People

Population: 26,023,528 Quly 2007 est.). Population growth rate:
1.486% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 0.98 male(s)/female (2007 est.). Religions: Nominally Roman Catholic, Protestant, others. Languages: Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects. Literacy rate: Total 93.4%, Male 93.8%, Female 93.1% (2003 est.). Infant mortality rate: 22.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.). Life expectancy: Total 73.28 years, Male 70.24 years, Female 76.48 years (2007 est.).

Government

Capital: Caracas. National anthem: Gloria al Bravo Pueblo. Government type: Federal republic. Independence: 5 July 1811 (from Spain). Legal system: Open, adversarial court system. Executive branch: Chief of state: President Hugo Chavez Frias (since 3 February 1999). The president is both the chief of state and head of govern­ment. Legislative branch: Venezuela has a unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional. Judicial branch: Supreme tribunal of justice or Tribuna Suprema de Justicia.

Economy

Currency: Bolivar. Currency conversion: Bolivar per Indian rupee— 53.1773 (June 2007 est.). GDP: Purchasing power parity—$186.3 billion (2006 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 10.31% (2006 est.). GDP—per capita: Purchasing power parity— $7,200 (2006 est.). Inflation rate: 15.8% (2008 est.). Exports: $69.23 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). Imports: $28.81 billion f.o.b. (2006 est). Ex­ternal debt: $35.63 billion (2006 est.).

Transport and Communications

Railways: 682 km. Roads: 96,155 km. Airports: Simon Bolivar and La Chinita International Airports. Tele­phones: 3.605 million .(2005). Mobile cellular: 12.496 million (2005). Internet users: 1,274,400 (2002). Internet country code: .ve. ISD code: 58.