stline: 2,800 km

_#_Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 15 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

_#_Disputes: claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo river;
maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela

_#_Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

_#_Terrain: Andes mountains and Maracaibo lowlands in northwest;
central plains (llanos); Guyana highlands in southeast

_#_Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite,
other minerals, hydropower, diamonds

_#_Land use: arable land 3%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures
20%; forest and woodland 39%; other 37%; includes irrigated NEGL%

_#_Environment: subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic
droughts; increasing industrial pollution in Caracas and Maracaibo

_#_Note: on major sea and air routes linking North and South America

_*_People
_#_Population: 20,189,361 (July 1991), growth rate 2.4% (1991)

_#_Birth rate: 28 births/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Death rate: 4 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Net migration rate: 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)

_#_Infant mortality rate: 26 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

_#_Life expectancy at birth: 71 years male, 78 years female (1991)

_#_Total fertility rate: 3.4 children born/woman (1991)

_#_Nationality: noun--Venezuelan(s); adjective--Venezuelan

_#_Ethnic divisions: mestizo 67%, white 21%, black 10%, Indian 2%

_#_Religion: nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%

_#_Language: Spanish (official); Indian dialects spoken by about
200,000 Amerindians in the remote interior

_#_Literacy: 88% (male 87%, female 90%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1981 est.)

_#_Labor force: 5,800,000; services 56%, industry 28%, agriculture 16%
(1985)

_#_Organized labor: 32% of labor force

_*_Government
_#_Long-form name: Republic of Venezuela

_#_Type: republic

_#_Capital: Caracas

_#_Administrative divisions: 20 states (estados, singular--estado),
2 territories* (territorios, singular--territorio), 1 federal district**
(distrito federal), and 1 federal dependence*** (dependencia federal);
Amazonas*, Anzoategui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Carabobo,
Cojedes, Delta Amacuro*, Dependencias Federales***, Distrito Federal**,
Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Espar