Back to the Flags of South America page

Venezuela is a vast country in the north of South America.

Venezuela has a northern border on the Caribbean Sea.

The land has the Andes Mountains in the northwest, a central plain and the Amazon basin in the south.

The geographical coordinates for the centre of Venezuela, also known as lines of latitude and longtitude, are:-
Latitude - 8 00N
Longitude - 66 00W

The capital of Venezuela is Caracas.

Venezuela is a presidential republic with a president as head of state and head of government.

In elections everyone over the age of 18 can vote.

The currency in Venezuela is the bolivar.

Spanish is the official language. Check the weather in Caracas now.

This is the time in Caracas now

The Venezuelan flag is 3 equal horizontal stripes of yellow, at the top, blue and red. The Venezuelan coat of arms is on the flag pole side of the yellow stripe. There is an arc of 8 white stars in the centre of the blue band. The stars represent the provinces of Venezuela plus the historic province of Gauyana.

Hear the National Anthem


These are the anthem words

The words ×

These are the words to the Venezuelan National Anthem called Glory to the Brave People. It was adopted in 1881.
If anthem fails to play click here

CHORUS, which follows each verse:
Glory to the brave nation, Which shook off the yoke, Respecting law, Virtue and honour. 
Glory to the brave nation, Which shook off the yoke, Respecting law, Virtue and honour. 

Off with the chains! Off with the chains!” Cried the Lord, cried the Lord, 
And the poor man in his hovel, Implored freedom.
At this holy name, there trembled, The vile selfishness that had triumphed,
At this holy name, At this holy name, there trembled,
The vile selfishness that had triumphed, The vile selfishness that had triumphed,

Let’s cry out aloud, Let’s cry out aloud: Down with oppression! Down with oppression!
Faithful countrymen, your strength lies in your unity;
And from the heavens the supreme Creator, Breathed a sublime spirit into the nation.
And from the heavens And from the heavens, the supreme Creator
Breathed a sublime spirit into the nation.
Breathed a sublime spirit into the nation.

United by bonds United by bonds, Made by heaven, Made by heaven,
All America exists as a Nation;
And if tyranny, Raises its voice, Follow the example given by Caracas.
And if tyranny, And if tyranny, raises its voice,
Follow the example, Given by Caracas. Follow the example, Given by Caracas.

   Back to the top

The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media

The total land area of Venezuela is 882,050 sq kms which is the 6th largest in South America.

Venezuela has lakes, rivers and canals which total 30,000 sq kms.

Venezuela has boundaries with 3 countries

• Colombia 2,341 683 kms
• Brazil 2,137 605 kms
• Guyana 789 kms

Venezuela has a coastline of 2,800 kms which is the 5th longest in South America.

The highest point in Venezuela is Pico Bolivar at 4,978 metres.

The pie chart below shows how the land is split between agricultural land (crops and pastures), forests and other, which can be towns, villages, desert or frozen waste called tundra.

   Back to the top

The total population of Venezuela is 30.91 million people, making it the 8th largest country in South America by population.

Of this number 15.52 million are females and 15.39 million are males.

A person from Venezuela is called a Venezuelan.

To be a citizen of Venezuela you must be born in Venezuela or one of your parents must be a citizen of Venezuela. You have to live in Venezuela for 5 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.

The largest five cities in Venezuela, by population are:-

• Caracas 3,000,000 people
• Maracaibo 2,225,000
• Maracay 1,754,256
• Valencia 1,385,083
• Barquisimeto 809,490

For each country we will give you a diagram showing the population density. This is the average number of people for each square kilometre. Each little Owlbut is 1 person and the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.



89.0% of the people live in cities or towns.

   Back to the top

The birth rate in Venezuela is 19.2 births per 1,000 of population

The death rate in Venezuela is 5.2 deaths per 1,000 people.

Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.

There are 11.9 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 13.1 deaths of boys.

The median age for females is 28.7 and for males is 27.3. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number of people above the median age as below it.

We have no figures for the average age of a woman when she has her first child.

The elderly dependency ratio is 9.5. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).

The potential support ratio is 10.5. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.

   Back to the top

Venezuela spends 5.3% of its total income on health care.

We have no figures for the number of doctors per 1,000 people.

There are 0.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people.

25.6% of the population are estimated as obese.

95.0% of the urban population and 77.9% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or protected rainwater collection facility.

97.5% of the urban population and 69.9% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer. a pit latrine (that is a permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.

Venezuela releases 188.0 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels in the process of producing and consuming energy. This puts it as the 3rd highest in South America.

   Back to the top

Venezuela spends 6.9% of its total income on education.

Children usually start school at age 6 in Venezuela. Primary education is for six years until age 12 and secondary education must continue till 15 but can go on to 17. This may be followed by further education at a university or college.

We are awaitig information about the school year in Venezuela.

97.2% of femlaes and 97.0% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.

14.8% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work but we have no individual figures for females and males.

The total number of people available for work in Venezuela is 14.16 million.

They work in the following sectors.

• Agriculture includes farming, fishing and forestry work
• Industry includes mining, manufacturing, construction and energy workers
• Services is everything else

27.1% of the workforce are unemployed.

   Back to the top

There are 127 paved airports in Venezuela, which is the 3rd highest number in South America.


There are 447 kilometres of railways in Venezuela, the 9th longest in South America.


There are 96,189 kilometres of roads in Venezuela, which means Venezuela is in 3rd place for the most kilometres of roads in South America.

There are 6 major national newspapers in Venezuela.

There are 29.09 million mobile phone users.

27% of the people have a fixed landline.



18.11 million people have access to the internet at home via any device (computer or mobile).

   Back to the top