Data at glance of Venezuela - average on period

History

Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830, the others being Ecuador and New Granada (Colombia). For most of the first half of the 20th century, military strongmen ruled Venezuela and promoted the oil industry while allowing some social reforms. Democratically elected governments largely held sway until 1999, but Hugo CHAVEZ, who was president from 1999 to 2013, exercised authoritarian control over other branches of government. This trend continued in 2018 when Nicolas MADURO claimed the presidency for his second term in an election boycotted by most opposition parties and widely viewed as fraudulent. The legislative elections in 2020 were also seen as fraudulent, and most opposition parties and many international actors consider the resulting National Assembly illegitimate. In 2021, many opposition parties broke a three-year election boycott and participated in mayoral and gubernatorial elections, despite flawed conditions. As a result, the opposition more than doubled its representation at the mayoral level and retained four of 23 governorships. The 2021 regional elections marked the first time since 2006 that the EU was allowed to send an electoral observation mission to Venezuela.MADURO has placed strong restrictions on free speech and the press. Since CHAVEZ, the ruling party has expanded the state's role in the economy through expropriations of major enterprises, strict currency exchange and price controls, and over-dependence on the petroleum industry for revenues. Years of economic mismanagement left Venezuela ill-prepared to weather the global drop in oil prices in 2014, sparking an economic decline that has resulted in reduced government social spending, shortages of basic goods, and high inflation. Worsened living conditions have prompted nearly 8 million Venezuelans to emigrate, mainly settling in nearby countries. The US imposed financial sanctions on MADURO and his representatives in 2017 and on sectors of the Venezuelan economy in 2018. Limited sanctions relief followed when the MADURO administration began making democratic and electoral concessions. The government's mismanagement and lack of investment in infrastructure has also weakened the country's energy sector. Caracas has relaxed some controls to mitigate the impact of its sustained economic crisis, such as allowing increased import flexibility for the private sector and the informal use of US dollars and other international currencies. Ongoing concerns include human rights abuses, rampant violent crime, political manipulation of the judicial and electoral systems, and corruption.

Environment

Area: 912,050 km2

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: unspecified Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, Indigenous

Languages: Spanish (official) 98.2%, indigenous 1.3%, Portuguese 0.1%, other 0.4% (2023 est.)major-language sample(s): La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Roman Catholic 48.1%, Protestant 31.6% (Evangelical 31.4%, Adventist 0.2%), Jehovah's Witness 1.4%, African American/umbanda 0.7%, other 0.1%, believer 3.5%, agnostic 0.1%, atheist, 0.4%, none 13.6%, unspecified 0.6% (2023 est.)

Government

Capital: Caracas

Government type: federal presidential republic

Executive branch

Chief of state: Notification Statement: the United States does not recognize Nicolas MADURO Moros as president of VenezuelaPresident Nicolas MADURO Moros (since 19 April 2013)

Head of government: President Nicolas MADURO Moros (since 19 April 2013)cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the presidentelection/appointment process: president directly elected by simple-majority popular vote for a 6-year term (no term limits)most recent election date: 28 July 2024election results: 2024: official results disputed; Nicolas MADURO Moros was declared the winner by the MADURO-controlled National Electoral Council; percent of vote - Nicolas MADURO Moros (PSUV) 52%, Edmundo GONZÁLEZ Urrutia (Independent) 43.2%, Luis Eduardo MARTÍNEZ (AD) 1.2%, other 3.6%2018: Nicolas MADURO Moros reelected president; percent of vote - Nicolas MADURO Moros (PSUV) 67.9%, Henri FALCON (AP) 20.9%, Javier BERTUCCI 10.8%expected date of next election: 2030note 1: the president is both chief of state and head of governmentnote 2: the United States recognizes that Edmundo GONZÁLEZ won the most votes in the 28 July 2024 presidential election because of overwhelming evidence, including more than 80% of the tally sheets received directly from polling stations that indicated GONZÁLEZ received the most votes by an insurmountable margin

Legislative branch

Description: legislature name: National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 277 (all directly elected)electoral system: mixed systemscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 5 yearsmost recent election date: 12/6/2020percentage of women in chamber: 32.1%expected date of next election: May 2025note: in 2020, the National Electoral Council increased the number of seats in the National Assembly from 167 to 277 for the December 2020 election