rthern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North
Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana

Geographic coordinates:
8 00 N, 66 00 W

Map references:
South America

Area:
total: 912,050 sq km
land: 882,050 sq km
water: 30,000 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of California

Land boundaries:
total: 4,993 km
border countries: Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km

Coastline:
2,800 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 15 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate:
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Terrain:
Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains
(llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Pico Bolivar (La Columna) 5,007 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals,
hydropower, diamonds

Land use:
arable land: 2.95%
permanent crops: 0.92%
other: 96.13% (2001)

Irrigated land:
540 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts

Environment - current issues:
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; threat
to the rainforest ecosystem from irresponsible mining operations

Environment - international agreements:
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, Wetlands
signed but not ratified:: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
on major sea and air routes linking North and South America; Angel
Falls in the Guiana Highlands is the world's highest waterfall

People Venezuela

Population:
25,375,281 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 29.9% (male 3,909,876/female 3,667,958)
15-64 years: 65% (male 8,287,255/female 8,209,599)
65 years and over: 5.1% (male 590,236/female 710,357) (2005 est.)

Median age:
total: 25.6 years
male: 24.98 years
female: 26.24 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: