Official Name: República de Venezuela (Republic of Venezuela)

Area: South America

Size: 916,445 km²

Coastline: 2,800 km

Independence: from Spain July 5, 1811 

Form of Govt.: Federal multiparty republic

Head of Govt.: President

Capital: Caracas

Largest City: Caracas

Demographics (2005): 27,730,435.    30 /km²

Spanish, followed by Italian, Portuguese, Arab (esp. Lebanese and Syrian), German, French, African

GDP per Capita (2005): $6,900

Languages: Spanish

Geography: The country can be divided into four distinct geographical regions. (1.) The Andes and adjacent hill country in the northwest. (2.) The north coastal zone of the mountains bordering the Caribbean Sea and Lake Maracaibo, which is the largest lake in South America. (3.) The plains or Llanos which extend south and east from the mountains to the Orinoco River. (4.) The Guyana Highlands which is a vast area of high plateaus and plains that runs south and east of the Orinoco River. This region also contains the world's highest waterfall, the Angel Falls.

Climate: The country has four climatic zones. (1.) The Tierra Caliente comprising the coastal plains, valleys and central prairies with an elevation less than 800 metres and temperatures averaging 25 to 35 degrees. (2.) The Tierra Templada comprises the lower mountain slopes and plateaus between 800 meters and 2,000 metres with temperatures averaging 10 to 25 degrees. (3.) The Tierra Fria a sub-alpine zone of the mountains from 2,000 to 3,000 metres with average temperatures below 24 degrees (4.) The Paramos above the timberline temperature is seldom above 15 degrees. The wet season is from May to November with an average annual precipitation varying from 1,400 mm in the Andes to 280 mm on the coast. Average temperature are from 24 to 27 degrees all year.