Government type: federal republic

President:  Hugo Chavez

Foreign Minister:  Luis Alfonso Davila

Defense Minister:  Jose Vicente Rangel

Capital: Caracas

Population:  23,916,810

Population growth rate: 1.56%

Total fertility rate: 2.46 children born per woman

Ethnic groups: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people

Languages: Spanish (official), many indigenous dialects

Religions: Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2%

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds

Environmental issues: pollution, deforestation, soil degradation, threats to rain forest ecosystem from intrusive mining

Currency: bolivar

Industries include: oil, iron ore mining, construction materials, food processing, textiles, steel, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly

Exports: oil, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, local agricultural products

Export partners: US and Puerto Rico 57%, Colombia, Brazil, Japan, Germany, Netherlands, Italy

Imports: $14.7 billion

Imports: raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials

Import partners: US 53%, Japan, Colombia, Italy, Germany, France, Brazil, Canada

Military availability: males age 15-49:  6,524,809

Military spending in dollars: $934 million

International disputes :claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo river,  boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela

Illicit drugs: limited producer of opium for international sale, large supplier of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana via Colombia (to mostly US and Europe), drug-related activities by Colombians at border