NATIONAL LEADER
Monico Soublet
CHURCH STATISTICS
9 churches; 3 missions; Bible Institute: I.C.I.
Work was organized in 1974. |
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NEEDS
www.pfwb.org/worldwitness/projects.htm#Venezuela
PEOPLES
Venezuelans come from the integration of indigenous peoples, Afro-Caribbeans and European settlers. Today, indigenous peoples and Afro-Caribbeans each account for less than 7 percent of the population. In recent times, Venezuela has received more immigrants than any other South American country.
Article: The Warao Indians - By Dock Hobbs, WW Director
-From The Messenger Jan/Feb 2007 Issue
RELIGIONS
Mainly Catholic- 92.7 percent.
LANGUAGES
Spanish, official and predominant; 31 native languages are spoken.
POLITICAL PARTIES
Patriotic Pole, led by Hugo Chávez; Democratic Action (AD), member of the Socialist International; the Social Christian Party (COPEI), a member of the Christian Democrat International; the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), founded in 1970; Radical Cause; Convergence, created in 1993 by Christian Democratic splinter groups; the People's Electoral Movement (MEP); the Venezuelan Communist Party (PCV); the New Democratic Generation, linked to the Liberal International; Intergration, Representation, New Hope (IRENE), founded in 1997 by independent mayor of Chacao, Irene Saez.
OFFICIAL NAME
República Bolivariana de Venezuela.
ADMINISTRATION
21 states with partial autonomy (including the Federal District), 2 Federal territories.
CAPITAL
Caracas
OTHER CITIES
Maracaibo 1,249,670 people; Valencia 1,034,033; Barquisimeto 692,600; Guyana City 523,580 (1990).
GOVERNMENT
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, President since February 1999. Presidential system, Congress with Chamber of Deputies and Senate (201 and 49 members respectively).
NATIONAL HOLIDAY
July 5, Independence Day (1811).
ENVIRONMENT
The country comprises three main regions. In the north and west, the Andes and other mountain chains, and high mountains to the south. The central Orinoco Plains are a livestock farming area. In the southeast, highlands of ancient rock and sandstone extend to the borders with Brazil and Guyana, forming Venezuelan Guyana. It is a sparsely inhabited area with thick forests, savannas, rivers, and some peculiar features: the "tepuyes" or plateau mountains, and the rare Sarisarinama depths. Most of the population lives in the hilly north. The oil-rich Maracaibo lowlands and Gulf of Paria are on the coast. The country produces oil, iron ore, manganese, bauxite, tungsten and chrome, gold and diamonds. Among the country's most important environmental problems are deforestation and the degradation of the soil. In addition, the lack of sewage treatment facilities in the main urban and industrial centers has increased pollution in the country's rivers and the Caribbean Sea.
