Country · Americas
Venezuela
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Venezuela is a country in South America. Its capital city is Caracas. About 28.9 million people live there, in an area of 916 445 square kilometres.
Picture credit: Davevzla (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wilfredor (CC BY-SA 3.0) · 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 out evenly, that is roughly 31.5 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 in 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 it is the 9th largest of 35 countries, and the 8th most populated.
That is emptier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
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, 4 live wild in Venezuela: Jaguar, Brown-throated sloth, Lined seahorse and Goliath birdeater. The longest river is the Amazon, running 6 400 km from source to mouth.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
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?
Venezuela borders Brazil, Colombia and Guyana — 3 neighbours in total.
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.
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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