Venezuela

Statistics

Capital: Caracas Largest City: Caracas Official Language: Spanish Government: Federal Republic President: Hugo Chavez Fras Declared Independence: July 5, 1811 Independence Recognized: June 24, 1821 Area: 353,841 sq mi Percent of Area is Water: 0.3% Population (2006): 25,730,435 Population Density: 73/sq mi GDP (2005): $164.1 billion GDP Per Capita: $6,354 Currency: Venezuelan bolivar Time Zone: UTC-4 Internet TLD: .ve Calling Code: +58 Major Universities:

Geography

At the northern-end of South America, Venezuela borders Brazil, Guyana, and Colombia. Just north of the land are the islands of Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles, and Trinidad and Tobago. Venezuela holds a variety of landscapes: the Andes in the Northeast, the llanos - the plains in the center of the country - plus the Guiana Highlands, where lies Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall, and the northern edge of the Amazonia. The country can also be divided into nine geographical areas, some classified by natural regions and some political. They include, Andes Range, the Lake Maracaibo region, the Coro System, the Central Range, the Eastern Range, the Llanos Region, the South Orinoco Region, the Insular Region, and the Deltaic System. With only a small fraction of the land holding water, the only major bodies of water are the Orinioco River, and smaller, the Caroni and Apure rivers.

The climate of Venezuela is largely tropical - not to mention hot and humid - but more moderate in the highlands. Venezuela is considered one of the seventeen megadiverse countries due its great number of animal and vegetable species that live there.

Culture

culture largely derived from the indigenous populations and Spanish and African influence, there are much to be said about Venezuelan art, literature, music, and architecture. In art, Venezuela has moved from religious themes to the Modernism of the 20th century, and likewise the literature has evolved into its own: from political literature during the Independence War to Romanticism, the first important genre in the region. Musically, however, is where Venezuela is its own. A national instrument, the cuatro, is found in many regional styles that grew from the llanos area, including the Gaita musical style.

History

One of the first Spanish settlements of South America, in 1552, most of the territory became part of New Granada. It wasn't until 1811 that Venezuela was able to declare independence from Spain. Under Simon Bolivar, General Jose Antonio Paez and General Grand Marshall Antonio Jose de Sucre they were able to become independent from Spain altogether. It wasn't until the 1958 was Venezuela able to come stable politically and ended up a democratic nation.

Economy

Venezuela's economy largely surrounds its large quantities of petroleum exports: roughly one third of the nation's GDP, about 80% of export earning, and over half of government revenues. Its other major source is agriculture. Major money-producing crops include coffee and cocoa; until the 1960s and 1970s raised Venezuela's economy up with its petroleum coffee was its major export. They now export less than 1% of the world's coffee; most are drunk by Venezuelans themselves. Cocoa has long been relegated to other nations, and Venezuela hardly touches them anymore.

In worldwide economics, Venezuela is one of the five founding members of OPEC - an iniviative of Venezuelan Juan Pablo Perez Alfonzo - and since December of 2005, Venezuela has also been a member of Mercosur.

Study Abroad

• Study Abroad in Venezuela
• Learn To Speak Spanish In Venezuela
• SUNY Cortland in Merida Venezuela