Venezuela: Introduction

The Catt-Trax2 Team — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 11:04:43 -0800

Report prepared by Meghan Stewart and Cassandra Kosterman, students in BCIT's Fish, Wildlife and Recreation Program.

Geography

Location: northern South America

Bordering Countries: Brazil, Colombia, and Guyana

Land Area total: 912,050 km² (land: 882,050 km² and water: 30,000 km²)

Canada has 9,984,670 km² so it would fit into Canada almost eleven times

Venezuela's capital city is Caracas.

Elevation Extremes

Lowest Point: Caribbean Sea at 0 m

Highest Point: Pico Bolivar (La Columna) at 5007 m

Natural Resources

Petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, and diamonds.

Land use

Arable land: 2.85%
Permanent crops: 0.88%
Other: 96.27% (2005)

People

Population: 25,730,435 (as of July 2006)

Density: Approximately twenty-eight people per km². Compare this to Canada where we have approximately three people per km².

Main languages spoken: Spanish (official) as well as numerous indigenous dialects.

Economy

Venezuela is very dependent on its petroleum industry. It accounts for about a third of the gross domestic product, about eighty percent of the country's export earnings, and more than half of the government's operating revenues. Venezuela is the fourth-largest supplier of crude oil to the U.S. The U.S. gets most of its oil from Venezuela. Both inflation and unemployment remain fundamental problems. Other exports are machinery, vehicles, aluminum, coffee, cocoa, rice, and cotton.

Canada's second largest South and Central American trading partner, after Brazil, is Venezuela and the trading is increasing every year. For example, Canada exports paper products to Venezuela and imports coffee and oil. The exchange of goods and services exceeded C$2.5 billion in 2005. Canada is Venezuela's ninth largest trading partner.