Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia).

For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959.

Hugo Chavez, president since 1999, has promoted a controversial policy of "democratic socialism," which purports to alleviate social ills while at the same time attacking globalization and undermining regional stability.

Current concerns include: a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, drug-related violence along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 26,023,528 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 31.6% (male 4,169,979/female 4,046,170) 15-64 years: 63.4% (male 8,120,661/female 8,369,065) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 586,863/female 730,790) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 24.9 years male: 24.3 years female: 25.5 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 1.486% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 21.22 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 5.08 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: -1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.803 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 22.52 deaths/1,000 live births male: 26.14 deaths/1,000 live births female: 18.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.28 years male: 70.24 years female: 76.48 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 2.55 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.7%; note - no country specific models provided (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 110,000 (1999 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4,100 (2003 est.)

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Nationality: noun: Venezuelan(s) adjective: Venezuelan

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Ethnic groups: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people

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Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2%

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Languages: Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 93.3% female: 92.7% (2001 census)

Venezuela remains highly dependent on oil revenues, which account for roughly 90% of export earnings, more than 50% of the federal budget revenues, and around 30% of GDP. Tax collection - Venezuela's primary source of non-oil revenue - is expected to surpass $23 billion in 2006, exceeding the yearend collection goal by more than 20%. A nationwide strike between December 2002 and February 2003 had far-reaching economic consequences - real GDP declined by around 9% in 2002 and 8% in 2003 - but economic output since then has recovered strongly. Fueled by higher oil prices, record government spending helped to boost GDP growth in 2004 and 2005 to approximately 18% and 11%, respectively. Economic growth in 2006 reached about 9%. This spending, combined with recent minimum wage hikes and improved access to domestic credit, has fueled a consumption boom - car sales in 2006 increased by around 70% - but has come at the cost of higher inflation. Despite government attempts to withdraw liquidity from the economy, Venezuela's money supply set a record in June 2006, approximately 70% higher than the previous year. Imports have also jumped significantly.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $186.3 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $149.9 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 10.3% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $7,200 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.7% industry: 41% services: 55.3% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 12.5 million (November 2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 13% industry: 23% services: 64% (1997 est.)

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Unemployment rate: 8.9% (October 2006 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 37.9% (end 2005 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 0.8% highest 10%: 36.5% (1998)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 49.1 (1998)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15.8% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 19.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $52.24 billion expenditures: $52.9 billion; including capital expenditures of $2.6 billion (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 28.4% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish

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Industries: petroleum, construction materials, food processing, textiles; iron ore mining, steel, aluminum; motor vehicle assembly

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Industrial production growth rate: 7% (2006 est.)

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Electricity - production: 93.03 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 86.52 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 3.081 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 560,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: 2.293 million bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 75.27 billion bbl (2006 est.)

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Natural gas - production: 27.2 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 27.2 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - proved reserves: 4.276 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

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Current account balance: $31.82 billion (2006 est.)

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Exports: $69.23 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures

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Exports - partners: US 45.8%, Netherlands Antilles 7.5%, China 3.2% (2006)

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Imports: $28.81 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials

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Imports - partners: US 30.2%, Colombia 10%, Brazil 8.2%, Mexico 6.3%, China 5.7% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $35.95 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $35.63 billion (2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $74 million (2000)

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Currency (code): bolivar (VEB)

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Exchange rates: bolivares per US dollar - 2,147 (2006), 2,089.8 (2005), 1,891.3 (2004), 1,607 (2003), 1,161 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year