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Shortages occur in regulated products, such as milk, various types of meat, coffee, rice, oil, flour, butter, and other goods including basic necessities like toilet paper, personal hygiene products, and even medicine. As a result of the shortages, Venezuelans must search for food, wait in lines for hours and sometimes do without certain products. |
A drought, combined with a lack of planning and maintenance, has caused a hydroelectricity shortage. To deal with lack of power supply, in April 2016 the Maduro government announced rolling blackouts and reduced the government workweek to only Monday and Tuesday. A multi-university study found that, in 2016 alone, about 75% of Venezuelans lost weight due to hunger, with the average losing about 8.6 kg (19 lbs) due to the lack of food. In March 2017, Venezuela began having shortages of gasoline in some regions. |
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves, and the eighth largest natural gas reserves in the world. Compared to 2009, another 40.4% in crude oil reserves were proven in 2010, allowing Venezuela to surpass Saudi Arabia as the country with the largest reserves of this type. Venezuela's main petroleum deposits are located around and beneath Lake Maracaibo, the Gulf of Venezuela (both in Zulia), and in the Orinoco River basin (eastern Venezuela), where Venezuela's largest reserve is located. |
Besides having the largest conventional oil reserves and the second-largest natural gas reserves in the Western Hemisphere, Venezuela has non-conventional oil deposits, in the form of extra-heavy crude oil, bitumen and tar sands, approximately equal to the world's reserves of conventional oil. The electricity sector in Venezuela is one of the few to rely primarily on hydropower, and includes the Guri Dam, one of the largest in the world. |
In the first half of the 20th century, U.S. oil companies were heavily involved in Venezuela, initially interested only in purchasing concessions. In 1943, a new government introduced a 50/50 split in profits between the government and the oil industry. In 1960, with a newly installed democratic government, Hydrocarbons Minister Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso led the creation of OPEC, the consortium of oil-producing countries aiming to support the price of oil. |
In 1973, Venezuela voted to nationalize its oil industry outright, effective 1 January 1976, with Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) taking over and presiding over a number of holding companies; in subsequent years, Venezuela built a vast refining and marketing system in the U.S. and Europe. In the 1990s, PDVSA became more independent from the government and presided over an apertura (opening) in which it invited in foreign investment. Under Hugo Chávez a 2001 law placed limits on foreign investment. PDVSA played a key role in the December 2002 – February 2003 national strike. As a result of the strike, around 40% of the company's workforce, around 18,000 workers, were dismissed. |
Transport |
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Venezuela's airports include the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, near Caracas and La Chinita International Airport near Maracaibo. Major seaports are at La Guaira, Maracaibo and Puerto Cabello. In the south and east, the Amazon rainforest region has limited cross-border transport. In the west, there is a mountainous border of over 2,213 kilometres (1,375 mi) shared with Colombia. The Orinoco River is navigable by oceangoing vessels up to 400 kilometres (250 mi) inland and connects the major industrial city of Ciudad Guayana to the Atlantic Ocean. |
Venezuela has a limited national railway system, which has no active rail connections to other countries. The government of Hugo Chávez tried to invest in expanding it, but Venezuela's rail project is on hold due to Venezuela not being able to pay the $7.5 billion and owing China Railway nearly $500 million. |
Several major cities have metro systems. The Caracas Metro has been operating since 1983. The Maracaibo Metro and Valencia Metro were opened more recently. Venezuela has a road network of nearly 100,000 kilometres (62,000 mi), placing Venezuela around 45th in the world. Around a third of roads are paved. |
Utilities |
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The electricity sector in Venezuela is heavily dependent on hydroelectricity, with this energy source accounting for 64% of the country's electricity generation in 2021. The country relies on six hydroelectric plants, with Central Hidroeléctrica Guri providing the majority of this capacity. In 2021, natural gas and petroleum contributed 25% and 11% to electricity generation, respectively. Managed by CORPOELEC, the sector has declined due to outdated infrastructure and insufficient investment, reducing generation from 120 billion kWh in 2013 to 95 billion kWh in 2021. Despite a 99% electrification rate in 2019, frequent power outages have worsened, peaking with a nationwide blackout in 2019 and increasing by 22% from 2021 to 2022. Fuel shortages have also hampered power plant operations. |
Demographics |
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Venezuela is among the most urbanized countries in Latin America. About 93% of the population lives in urban areas in northern Venezuela, especially in the capital Caracas, which is the largest city. 73% of people live less than 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the coastline. Though almost half of Venezuela's land area lies south of the Orinoco, only 5% of Venezuelans live there. The largest and most important city south of the Orinoco is Ciudad Guayana, which is the sixth most populous conurbation. Other major cities include Barquisimeto, Valencia, Maracay, Maracaibo, Barcelona-Puerto La Cruz, Mérida and San Cristóbal. |
According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects the total population was 28,199,867 in 2021. A 2014 study by sociologists of the Central University of Venezuela found over 1.5 million Venezuelans, or about 4% to 6% of the country's population, have left Venezuela since 1999. |
Largest cities |
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Ethnicity |
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The people of Venezuela come from a variety of ancestries. It is estimated that the majority of the population is of pardo, or mixed, ethnic ancestry. In the 2011 census, which Venezuelans were asked to identify themselves according to their customs and ancestry, the term pardo was excluded from the answers. The majority claimed to be moreno or white—51.6% and 43.6%, respectively. Slightly more than half of the population claimed to be moreno, a term used throughout Ibero-America that in this case means "dark-skinned" or "brown-skinned", as opposed to having a lighter skin. |
Ethnic minorities in Venezuela consist of groups that descend mainly from African or Indigenous peoples. 2.8% identified themselves as "black" and 0.7% as afrodescendiente (Afro-descendant), 2.6% claimed to belong to Indigenous peoples, and 1.2% answered "other races". |
Among Indigenous people, 58% were Wayúu, 7% Warao, 5% Kariña, 4% Pemón, 3% Piaroa, 3% Jivi, 3% Añu, 3% Cumanágoto, 2% Yukpa, 2% Chaima and 1% Yanomami; the remaining 9% consisted of other Indigenous nations. |
According to an autosomal DNA study conducted in 2008 by the University of Brasília, the composition of Venezuela's population is 60.60% European, 23% Indigenous, and 16.30% African. |
During the colonial period and until after the Second World War, many of the European immigrants to Venezuela came from the Canary Islands and Spain with a relevant amount of Galicians and Asturians. These immigrants from Spain had a significant cultural impact on the cuisine and customs of Venezuela. These influences on Venezuela have led to the nation being called the 8th island of the Canaries. With the start of oil exploitation in the early 20th century, companies from the United States began establishing operations in Venezuela, bringing with them U.S. citizens. Later, during and after the war, new waves of immigrants from other parts of Europe, the Middle East, and China began; many were encouraged by government-established immigration programs and lenient immigration policies. During the 20th century, Venezuela, along with the rest of Latin America, received millions of immigrants from Europe. This was especially true post-World War II, as a consequence of war-ridden Europe. During the 1970s, while experiencing an oil-export boom, Venezuela received millions of immigrants from Ecuador, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic. Due to the belief that this immigration influx depressed wages, some Venezuelans opposed European immigration. The Venezuelan government, however, were actively recruiting immigrants from Eastern Europe to fill a need for engineers. Millions of Colombians, as well as Middle Eastern and Haitian populations would continue immigrating to Venezuela into the early 21st century. |
According to the World Refugee Survey 2008, published by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Venezuela hosted a population of refugee and asylum seekers from Colombia numbering 252,200 in 2007. 10,600 new asylum seekers entered Venezuela in 2007. In 2011, between 500,000 and one million illegal immigrants were estimated to be living in the country. |
In 2012, Venezuela's Indigenous population was estimated at 500 thousand people (2.8% of the total), distributed among 40 Indigenous peoples. There are three uncontacted tribes living in Venezuela. The Constitution recognizes the multi-ethnic, pluri-cultural, and multilingual character of Venezuela and includes a chapter devoted to Indigenous peoples' rights, which opened up spaces for their political inclusion at national and local level in 1999. |
Most Indigenous peoples are concentrated in eight states along Venezuela's borders with Brazil, Guyana, and Colombia. Major groups are the Wayuu in the west, the Warao in the east, the Yanomami installed in the south, and the Pemon, who are mostly in the southeast of Venezuela. |
Languages |
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Although most residents are monolingual Spanish speakers, many languages are spoken in Venezuela. In addition to Spanish, the Constitution recognizes more than thirty Indigenous languages, including Wayuu, Warao, Pemón, and many others for the official use of the Indigenous peoples, mostly with few speakers – less than 1% of the total population. Wayuu is the most spoken Indigenous language, with 170,000 speakers. |
Immigrants, in addition to Spanish, speak their own languages. Chinese (400,000), Portuguese (254,000), and Italian (200,000) are the most-spoken languages in Venezuela after the official language of Spanish. Arabic is spoken by Lebanese and Syrian colonies on Isla de Margarita, Maracaibo, Punto Fijo, Puerto la Cruz, El Tigre, Maracay, and Caracas. Portuguese is spoken by the Portuguese community in Santa Elena de Uairén and by much of the population, due to its proximity to Brazil. The German community speaks their native language, while the people of Colonia Tovar speak mostly an Alemannic dialect of German called alemán coloniero. |
English is the most widely used foreign language in demand and is spoken by many professionals, academics, and members of the upper and middle classes as a result of the oil exploration by foreign companies, and its acceptance as a lingua franca. Culturally, English is common in southern towns like El Callao, and the native English-speaking (English-creole speaking) influence is evident in folk and calypso songs from the region. |
Dialects of Eastern-Caribbean English-based creoles were brought to Venezuela by Trinidadian and other British West Indies immigrants. They are collectively referred to as Venezuelan English Creole. A variety of Antillean Creole is spoken by a small community in El Callao and Paria. Italian language teaching is delivered by private Venezuelan schools and institutions. Other languages spoken by large communities in the country are Basque and Galician, among others. |
Religion |
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In 2011, 88% of the population was Christian, primarily Roman Catholic (71%). The remaining 17% were Protestant, primarily Evangelicals. In Latin America, Protestants are usually called "evangélicos". 8% of Venezuelans are irreligious. Almost 3% of the population follow another religion. 1% of the population practice Santería. |
There are small but influential Muslim, Druze, Buddhist, and Jewish communities. The Muslim community of more than 100,000 is concentrated among persons of Lebanese and Syrian descent living in Nueva Esparta state, Punto Fijo and the Caracas area. Venezuela is home to the largest Druze communities outside the Middle East, estimated at around 60,000, and concentrated among persons of Lebanese and Syrian descent. Buddhism is practiced by over 52,000 people. The Buddhist community is made up mainly of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people. |
The Jewish community has shrunk in recent years from 22,000 in 1999 to less than 7,000 in 2015, due to rising economic pressures and allegedly, according to the US-based Anti-Defamation League, to antisemitism in Venezuela. |
Health |
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Venezuela has a national universal health care system. The current government has created a program to expand access to health care known as Misión Barrio Adentro, although its efficiency and work conditions have been criticized. As of December 2014 an estimated 80% of Barrio Adentro establishments in Venezuela are abandoned. |
Infant mortality in Venezuela was 19 deaths per 1,000 births for 2014, which was lower than the South American average. To compare: The U.S. figure was 6 deaths per 1,000 births in 2013. In 2006, child malnutrition was 17%. Delta Amacuro and Amazonas had the nation's highest rates. In 2018, 32% of Venezuelans lacked adequate sanitation, primarily those living in rural areas. In 2006, diseases ranging from diphtheria, plague, malaria, typhoid fever, yellow fever, cholera, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis D were present in the country. In 2021, obesity was prevalent in approximately 30% of the adult population. |
In 2004, Venezuela had 150 sewage treatment plants. 13% of the population lacked access to drinking water, but this number had been dropping. |
During the economic crisis observed under President Maduro's presidency, medical professionals were forced to perform outdated treatments on patients, and electricity blackouts also affect care. |
Education |
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In 2008, 95.2% of the adult population was literate. The net primary school enrollment rate was at 91% and the net secondary school enrollment rate was at 63% in 2005. Venezuela has a number of universities, of which the most prestigious are the Central University of Venezuela founded in 1721, the University of Zulia, the University of the Andes, Simón Bolívar University, and the University of the East. |
Currently, many Venezuelan graduates seek a future abroad because of the country's troubled economy and heavy crime rate. Over 1.35 million Venezuelan college graduates have left the country since the beginning of the Bolivarian Revolution. It is believed that nearly 12% of Venezuelans live abroad, with Ireland becoming a popular destination for students. According to Claudio Bifano, president of the Venezuelan Academy of Physical, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences, more than half of all medical graduates had left Venezuela in 2013. |
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