Venezuela

VenezuelaCapital – Caracas

Facts About Venezuela

• Population: 29,278,000 • Total Area: 353,841 sq. miles• Currency:  bolívar fuerte

(takes 6.3 to = 1 USD)

• At least one-fourth of Venezuela's contemporary population consists of immigrants, many of them illegal.

• Made up of four groups:– mestizos or pardos 67%– white (European descent, mainly Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese)2l %– black (African and Caribbean descent) 10%– Indian (Native Americans) 2%

• Tend to be regionally localized: – The cities are mainly inhabited by whites and pardos; – Indians occupy the remote Guianan and Amazonas interior– blacks live along the Caribbean coastline.

People in Venezuela

People in Venezuela• Today's citizen might be:

– a barefoot cowboy in the llanos – a store owner in Caracas– a high powered oil industry executive in Maracaibo – Yanomami Indian in the Amazon basin whose lifestyle has not changed much

from that of his ancestors a thousand years ago• Women are equal to men and are business executives, medical

doctors, judges, engineers, and architects. • In some professions such as lawyers, women actually outnumber men.• At least 85 percent of Venezuelan society own a TV set.

– Even shacks in the slums of Caracas have television antennae on their roofs.– Satellite dishes are on nearly every building even in the remote areas.

• Recently, Venezuela partnered with China to launch a communication satellite that will eventually provide internet service to the entire population at little or no cost.

Religion in Venezuela• Over 90% are Roman Catholic• About 8% are Protestant • Remaining percentage of the population practice another religion, or

are atheist • Small Muslim community and Jewish community

• Official language is Spanish.• English is quickly becoming second “official” language.• Indigenous languages on the verge of becoming extinct. There

are about 40 of them.• Italian, Chinese, Portuguese, Arabic are also commonly

spoken.

Language in Venezuela

Government in Venezuela• 23 states, a federal district, and a federal

dependency, which includes 11 island groups.• Federal Republic• 5 branches –

– Executive, legislative, judicial, electoral(runs elections), citizen (ensures laws are followed)

• President elected to a 6 year term – no term limits• National Assembly - 167-seats - unicameral - 5-year

terms.

Families in Venezuela• Men are expected to be the bread winners.• Women are expected to stay home and rear

children.• In bigger cities like Carcas, more women are going

to work.• Most members live in close proximity.• Average family size is 5+

Fast Facts About Venezuela• Most popular sport is baseball. It is the national sport.• The world’s highest waterfall is Angel Falls in Venezuela. It drops

3212 feet. (about 15 times taller than Niagara Falls)• Venezuela has won the Miss Universe title 6 times and the Miss

World 5 times. This is more than any other country in the world.• Venezuela holds the distinction of being one of the most urbanized

countries in Latin America.• School children in Venezuela can chose between morning classes

(7am—Noon) or afternoon classes (Noon – 5pm) . Older children can even chose night classes (5pm—10pm).

• Caracas, though a popular tourist destination, is also considered very dangerous.

• Venezuela is known for its oil production. It one of the founding members of OPEC and the only non-Muslim country that is a member.

Fast Facts About Venezuela

• If you are invited to dinner, it is poor manners to arrive on time. 15-30 minutes late is proper.

• Venezuelans eat a large breakfast, large dinner (lunch) and light supper.

• Everyone greets each other with a kiss.