Venezuela Country Overview
Venezuela, country located at the northern end of South America. Venezuela is bounded by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the southwest and west. Venezuela, located in northern South America, has a population of 29.44 million with Caracas as its capital. Spanish is the official language, and the country is predominantly Roman Catholic. Venezuela faces significant political and economic challenges, including high security risks and widespread corruption.
General Information
Capital: Caracas
Language: Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
Religion: nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2%
Currency: Bolívar soberano and Petro
Cryptocurrency: The petro (₽), or petromoneda, launched in February 2018, is a cryptocurrency issued by the government of Venezuela backed by Venezuela’s reserves of oil, gasoline, gold, and diamonds.
GMT: (-) 4
About Venezuela
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is situated in northern South America, neighbouring Guyana, Brazil and Colombia. Venezuela has a population of 29.44 million, making it the 52nd most populous country in the world.
The capital, Caracas, contains 5 million citizens whilst Maracaibo, Valencia, Maracay and Barquisimeto all contain over a million inhabitants.
Spanish is the official language although the constitution also guarantees the official nature of indigenous languages. The nation is nominally Roman Catholic and the vast majority of religious practitioners follow the Roman Church.
Venezuela is a very high-risk country in terms of the political-economic situation and in relation to the business climate. The security risk is also high. Violent crime is common throughout Venezuela’s cities and border region, with lethal force frequently being used against those that resist.
Large political protests and demonstrations have also been met with lethal force by security services and pro-government militias.
Venezuela suffers from endemic corruption. It is ranked 177 of 180 in Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Index. Almost all sectors of the Venezuelan economy and state, including judiciary, suffer from corruption and government officials engage in corrupt practices with impunity.
Furthermore, Venezuela is a mono-economy with a heavy reliance on mineral resources. GDP currently stands at US$224.53 billion. Real GDP growth is forecast to remain negative for the near future. The official currency of Venezuela is the Bolivar.
Venezuela is officially a federal presidential republic and nominally democratic institutions exist but in reality, it is an authoritarian state.
President Nicolas Maduro is both the head of government and the wielder of executive power in practice. Legislative power rests with the elected National Assembly, which is currently controlled by the opposition.
In July 2017, however, the Constituent Assembly was formed from a contentious election in order to rewrite the Constitution and wield executive power until the Constitution is rewritten. Nevertheless, the entire Assembly is formed from Maduro’s allies and includes his wife and son.
The Constituent Assembly has extended their mandate and granted themselves wide-ranging powers to write and pass legislation, thus assuming the powers of the National Assembly which is no longer a relevant institution. As such, the Assembly is an extension of Maduro’s will, passing favourable legislation and rubber stamping Presidential decrees.
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