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 Venezuela| Facts & Figures |
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| President:
Hugo Chavez (1999) Land area: 340,560 sq mi
(882,050 sq km); total area: 352,144 sq mi (912,050 sq
km) Population (2009 est.): 26,814,843
(growth rate: 1.5%); birth rate: 20.6/1000; infant mortality rate:
21.5/1000; life expectancy: 73.6; density per sq mile: 77 Capital (2003 est.): Caracas, 3,517,300 (metro. area), 1,741,400 (city proper) Largest cities: Maracaibo, 1,889,000
(metro. area), 1,854,300 (city proper); Valencia, 1,515,400;
Barquisimeto, 948,900 Monetary unit:
Bolivar More Facts & Figures |
GeographyVenezuela, a
third larger than Texas, occupies most of the northern coast of South
America on the Caribbean Sea. It is bordered by Colombia to the west, Guyana
to the east, and Brazil to the south. Mountain systems break Venezuela into
four distinct areas: (1) the Maracaibo lowlands; (2) the mountainous region
in the north and northwest; (3) the Orinoco basin, with the llanos (vast
grass-covered plains) on its northern border and great forest areas in the
south and southeast; and (4) the Guiana Highlands, south of the Orinoco,
accounting for nearly half the national territory.
GovernmentFederal republic.
HistoryWhen Columbus explored Venezuela on his third
voyage in 1498, the area was inhabited by Arawak, Carib, and Chibcha
Indians. A subsequent Spanish explorer gave the country its name, meaning
“Little Venice.” Caracas was founded in 1567. Simón
Bolívar, who led the liberation from Spain of much of the continent,
was born in Caracas in 1783. With Bolívar taking part, Venezuela was
one of the first South American colonies to revolt in 1810, winning
independence in 1821. Federated at first with Colombia and Ecuador as the
Republic of Greater Colombia, Venezuela became a republic in 1830. A period
of unstable dictatorships followed. Antonio Guzman Blanco governed from 1870
to 1888, developing an infrastructure, expanding agriculture, and welcoming
foreign investment.
Gen. Juan Vicente Gómez was dictator from
1908 to 1935, when Venezuela became a major oil exporter. A military junta
ruled after his death. Leftist Dr. Rómulo Betancourt and the
Democratic Action Party won a majority of seats in a constituent assembly to
draft a new constitution in 1946. A well-known writer, Rómulo
Gallegos, candidate of Betancourt's party, became Venezuela's first
democratically elected president in 1947. Within eight months, Gallegos was
overthrown by a military-backed coup led by Marcos Peréz
Jiménez, who was ousted himself in 1958. Since 1959, Venezuela has
been one of the most stable democracies in Latin America. Betancourt served
from 1959–1964, while Rafael Caldera Rodríguez, president from
1969 to 1974, legalized the Communist Party and established diplomatic
relations with Moscow.
Venezuela benefited from the oil boom of the
early 1970s. In 1974, President Carlos Andrés Pérez took
office, and in 1976 Venezuela nationalized foreign-owned oil and steel
companies, offering compensation. Luis Herrera Campíns became
president in 1978. Declining world oil prices sent Venezuela's economy into
a tailspin, increasing the country's foreign debt. Pérez was
reelected to a nonconsecutive term in 1988 and launched an unpopular
austerity program. Military officers staged two unsuccessful coup attempts
in 1992, while the following year Congress impeached Pérez on
corruption charges. President Rafael Caldera Rodríguez was elected in
Dec. 1993 to face the 1994 collapse of half of the country's banking sector,
falling oil prices, foreign debt repayment, and inflation. In 1997, the
government announced an expansion of gold and diamond mining to reduce
reliance on oil.
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