Nationality:
noun: Venezuelan(s)
adjective:
Venezuelan
Ethnic groups:
Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people
Languages:
Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
Religions:
nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2%
Demographic profile:
Social investment in Venezuela during the CHAVEZ administration reduced poverty from nearly 50 % in 1999 to about 27 % in 2011, increased school enrollment, substantially decreased infant and child mortality, and improved access to potable water and sanitation through social investment. "Missions" dedicated to education, nutrition, healthcare, and sanitation were funded through petroleum revenues. The sustainability of this progress remains questionable, however, as the continuation of these social programs depends on the prosperity of Venezuela's oil industry. In the long-term, education and health care spending may increase economic growth and reduce income inequality, but rising costs and the staffing of new health care jobs with foreigners are slowing development.
Since CHAVEZ came to power in 1999, more than one million predominantly middle- and upper-class Venezuelans are estimated to have emigrated. The brain drain is attributed to a repressive political system, lack of economic opportunities, steep inflation, a high crime rate, and corruption. Thousands of oil engineers emigrated to Canada, Colombia, and the United States following Chavez's firing of over 20,000 employees of the state-owned petroleum company during a 2002-2003 oil strike. Additionally, thousands of Venezuelans of European descent have taken up residence in their ancestral homelands. Nevertheless, Venezuela continues to attract immigrants from South America and southern Europe because of its lenient migration policy and the availability of education and health care. Venezuela also has been a fairly accommodating host to more than 200,000 Colombian refugees.
Population: Age structure:
Dependency ratios:
Median age:
Population growth rate: Birth rate: Death rate: Net migration rate: Urbanization:
Major urban areas - population: Sex ratio:
Maternal mortality rate: Infant mortality rate:
Life expectancy at birth:
Total fertility rate: Health expenditures: Physicians density: Hospital bed density: Drinking water source:
Sanitation facility access:
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: HIV/AIDS - deaths: Major infectious diseases:
Obesity - adult prevalence rate: Children under the age of 5 years underweight: Education expenditures: Literacy:
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
Child labor - children ages 5-14:
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
28,868,486 (July 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46
[see also: Population country ranks ]
0-14 years:
28.2% (male 4,143,840/female 3,985,489)
15-24 years:
18.8% (male 2,723,856/female 2,697,672)
25-54 years:
39.6% (male 5,614,922/female 5,818,903)
55-64 years:
7.5% (male 1,030,898/female 1,137,894)
65 years and over:
5.8% (male 755,183/female 959,829) (2014 est.)
population pyramid: 
total dependency ratio:
52.9 %
youth dependency ratio:
43.2 %
elderly dependency ratio:
9.8 %
potential support ratio:
10.2 (2014 est.)
total:
26.9 years
male:
26.1 years
female:
27.6 years (2014 est.)
1.42% (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
19.42 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 90
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
5.27 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 181
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 83
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
urban population:
93.5% of total population (2011)
rate of urbanization:
1.7% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
CARACAS (capital) 3.242 million; Maracaibo 2.31 million; Valencia 1.866 million; Barquisimeto 1.245 million; Maracay 1.115 million; Ciudad Guayana 799,000 (2011)
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years:
1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years:
1.01 male(s)/female
25-54 years:
0.97 male(s)/female
55-64 years:
0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.79 male(s)/female
total population:
0.98 male(s)/female (2014 est.)
92 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 79
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
total:
19.33 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 93
male:
22.73 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
15.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)
total population:
74.39 years
country comparison to the world: 111
male:
71.26 years
female:
77.67 years (2014 est.)
2.35 children born/woman (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 90
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
5.2% of GDP (2011)
country comparison to the world: 138
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]
1.94 physicians/1,000 population (2001)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
0.9 beds/1,000 population (2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
improved:
urban: 94.3% of population
rural: 75.3% of population
total: 92.9% of population
unimproved:
urban: 5.7% of population
rural: 24.7% of population
total: 7.1% of population (2007 est.)
improved:
urban: 93.6% of population
rural: 56.9% of population
total: 90.9% of population
unimproved:
urban: 6.4% of population
rural: 43.1% of population
total: 9.1% of population (2007 est.)
0.6% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 65
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
107,900 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
3,800 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 46
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
degree of risk:
high
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A
vectorborne diseases:
dengue fever and malaria (2013)
30.3% (2008)
country comparison to the world: 26
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
2.9% (2009)
country comparison to the world: 114
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
6.9% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 22
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
95.5%
male:
95.7%
female:
95.4% (2009 est.)
total:
14 years
13 years
15 years (2008)
total number:
404,092
percentage:
8 % (2000 est.)
total:
17.1%
country comparison to the world: 75
male:
14.3%
female:
22.6% (2012)