Location: Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea between Colombia and Guyana

Map references: South America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 912,050 sq km
land area: 882,050 sq km
comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of California

Land boundaries: total 4,993 km, Brazil 2,200 km, Colombia 2,050 km, Guyana 743 km

Coastline: 2,800 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 15 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo River; maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Terrain: Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast

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

Land use:
arable land: 3%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 20%
forest and woodland: 39%
other: 37%

Irrigated land: 2,640 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:
current issues: sewage pollution of Lago de Valencia; oil and urban pollution of Lago de Maracaibo; deforestation; soil degradation; urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean coast
natural hazards: subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping

Note: on major sea and air routes linking North and South America

NOTE: The information regarding Venezuela on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Venezuela Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Venezuela Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.