Venezuela
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Venezuela is a country in northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean in the north, Colombia in the west, Guyana in the southeast, and Brazil to the south.
Its major environmental issues include sewage pollution of Lago de Valencia; oil and urban pollution of Lago de Maracaibo; deforestation; soil degradation; urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean coast; and the threat to the rainforest ecosystem from irresponsible mining operations.
Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Hugo Chavez, president since 1999, seeks to implement his "21st Century Socialism," which purports to alleviate social ills while at the same time attacking globalization and undermining regional stability. Current concerns include: a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, drug-related violence along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples.
Geography
Geographic Coordinates: 8 00 N, 66 00 W
Area: 912,050 sq km (882,050 sq km of land, 30,000 sq km of water)
arable land: 2.85%
permanent crops: 0.88%
other: 96.27% (2005)
Land Boundaries: 4,993 km. Border countries are Brazil (2,200 km), Colombia (2,050 km), and Guyana (743 km).
Coastline: 2,800 km
Maritime Claims: Territorial sea to 12 nautical miles, contiguous zone to 15 nautical miles, exclusive economic zone to 200 nautical miles, and continental shelf to 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation.
Natural Hazards: Subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts
Terrain: Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast. Highest point is Pico Bolivar (La Columna) at 5,007 m.
Climate: Tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands.
Capital: Caracas
Ecology and Biodiversity
The richest and most diverse region on Earth, the Tropical Andes starts in western Venezuela. The Orinoco Delta swamp forests are located along the coastal floodplains of the Orinoco Delta in northwestern Venezuela. Occuring in patches around the Orinoco Delta are the Orinoco wetlands. Along Venezuela's coast is one of the most pristine and structurally complex mangrove forests ecoregions in the Americas, the Coastal Venezuelan mangroves. The Guianan mangroves, another structurally complex mangrove ecosystem, pass along the country's southeastern coastline. Venezuela is also home to a number of diverse terrestrial ecoregions:
- Araya and Paria xeric scrub
- Apure-Villavicencio dry forests
- Catatumbo moist forests
- Cordillera La Costa montane forests
- Cordillera Oriental montane forests
- Guajira-Barranquilla xeric scrub
- Guayanan Highlands moist forests
- Guyanan savanna
- Guianan moist forests
- Japurá-Solimoes-Negro moist forests
- La Costa xeric shrublands
- Lara-Falcón dry forests
- Llanos
- Maracaibo dry forests
- Negro-Branco moist forests
- Paraguana xeric scrub
- Rio Negro campinarana
- Tepuis
- Venezuelan Andes montane forests
International Environmental Agreements
Venezuela is party to Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, and Wetlands.
Protected Areas
The immense Canaima National Park on the southeastern Venezuelan border with Guyana and Brazil is a spectacular plateau landscape studded with table mountains. Streams cascade from the cliff tops, one of them being the world’s highest waterfall. The flora and fauna of the summits is of great richness and high endemism which form a unique archipelago of isolated but related ecosystems.
People and Society
Population: 26,814,843 (July 2009 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 30.5% (male 4,157,194/female 4,022,595)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 8,480,872/female 8,754,620)
65 years and over: 5.2% (male 620,657/female 778,905) (2009 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 1.508% (2009 est.)
Birthrate: 20.92 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 5.1 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 73.61 years (2009 est.)
Total Fertility Rate: 2.48 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Languages: Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
Literacy: 93% (2001 census)
Energy
High world oil prices have helped fuel Venezuela’s recovery, as the petroleum industry is the mainstay of the country’s economy. The oil sector accounts for more than three-quarters of total Venezuelan export revenues, about half of total government revenues, and about one-third of total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt in Venezuela is one of the world’s largest accumulations of natural bitumen and heavy oil. The Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt (or Faja del Orinoco) is located in the southern part of the Eastern Venezuelan Basin, to the north of the Orinoco River. It covers an area of 54,000 km2 in the Monagas, Anzoategui, and Guarico states. As of January 2008 Venezuela reported 87.04 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and 4.708 trillion cubic meters of proven natural gas reserves.
See Energy profile of Venezuela
International Conflict
Venezuela claims all of the area west of the Essequibo River in Guyana, preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary. Guyana has expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into their waters. Venezuela also has a dispute with Colombia over maritime boundary and Venezuelan-administered Los Monjes islands near the Gulf of Venezuela. Colombian-organized illegal narcotics and paramilitary activities penetrate Venezuela's shared border region and in 2006, an estimated 139,000 Colombians sought protection in 150 communities along the border in Venezuela. The United States, France, and the Netherlands recognize Venezuela's granting full effect to Aves Island, thereby claiming a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea; Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines protest Venezuela's full effect claim.
Economy
GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $357.9 billion (2008 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 4.9% (2008 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $13,500 (2008 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 35.3%
services: 61.1% (2008 est.)
Industries: petroleum, construction materials, food processing, textiles; iron ore mining, steel, aluminum; motor vehicle assembly
Natural Resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds
Currency: Bolivar
Further Reading
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