Country · Americas
Venezuela
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Venezuela is a country in South America. About 28.9 million people live there, in an area of 916 445 square kilometres. Its capital city is Caracas.
Picture credit: Davevzla (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wilfredor (CC0) · Wilfredor (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Olga Berrios (CC BY 2.0) · Wilfredor (CC0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Venezuela?
Venezuela lies in South America, on the continent of Americas.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 891 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 2 800 km long.
It shares a border with 3 countries: Brazil, Colombia and Guyana.
How big is Venezuela?
Venezuela covers 916 445 square kilometres.
That is about 8.9 times the size of Iceland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 32nd largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 31.5 people on every square kilometre.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Venezuela?
About 28.9 million people live in Venezuela.
That is the 48th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Spanish.
They pay with the Venezuelan bolívar soberano (Bs.S.).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 73 years.
The land of Venezuela
The land of Venezuela sits on average 450 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 2 800 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 140 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Venezuela different?
A dish the country is known for: Pabellón criollo.
Websites from here often end in .ve.
Venezuela and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 4 live in Venezuela.
It takes up about 0.69 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Americas the country ranks 9th of 35 by size, and 8th by population.
Venezuela and its neighbours
Brazil, its largest neighbour, is about 9.3 times bigger.
Brazil has more people: 209.5 million against 28.9 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 16 live wild in Venezuela: Jaguar, Brown-throated sloth, Lined seahorse, Goliath birdeater, Capybara, Red-bellied piranha and more. The highest mountain in the country is Pico Bolívar, at 4 978 metres. The longest river in the country is the Orinoco. The largest lake in the country is Lake Valencia.
Jaguar
Brown-throated sloth
Lined seahorse
Goliath birdeater
Capybara
Red-bellied piranha
Electric eel
Green anaconda
Giant anteater
Lowland tapir
Andean condor
Blue marlin
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
How big is Venezuela compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 10 times as big as Venezuela: 9 372 610 km² against 916 445 km². See both on one map
- Venezuela is about 3.8 times as big as the United Kingdom: 916 445 km² against 242 900 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Venezuela?
The capital of Venezuela is Caracas. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Venezuela?
About 28.9 million people live in Venezuela, which makes it the 48th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Venezuela?
How big is Venezuela?
Venezuela covers 916 445 square kilometres, making it the 32nd largest country in the world. That is about 8.9 times the size of Iceland.
What is the highest mountain in Venezuela?
The highest mountain in Venezuela is Pico Bolívar, 4 978 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Venezuela?
The longest river in Venezuela is the Orinoco, about 2 140 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Venezuela?
The largest lake in Venezuela is Lake Valencia. It covers about 350 km².
Which continent is Venezuela in?
Venezuela is in Americas, in the part called South America.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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