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@Venezuela
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Geography
Location: Northern 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, Central America and the Caribbean
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:
contiguous zone: 15 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
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: 4%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 20%
forests and woodland: 34%
other: 41% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,900 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: subject to floods, rockslides, mud slides;
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
Environment--international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping
Geography--note: on major sea and air routes linking North and
South America
People
Population: 23,203,466 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 33% (male 3,988,499; female 3,741,568)
15-64 years: 62% (male 7,231,546; female 7,184,769)
65 years and over: 5% (male 484,071; female 573,013) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.71% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 22.25 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 4.93 deaths/1,000 populatio
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