Venezuela: Facts & Stats

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 25, 2025

News •

A Venezuelan family's Christmas: From the American dream to poverty • Dec. 25, 2025, 5:57 PM ET (AP)

US stocks drift to more records on a holiday-shortened day of trading • Dec. 24, 2025, 3:22 PM ET (AP)

Venezuela seeks to criminalize oil tanker seizures as Trump puts pressure on Maduro • Dec. 23, 2025, 8:23 PM ET (AP)

US strikes another alleged drug-smuggling boat in eastern Pacific • Dec. 23, 2025, 3:01 AM ET (AP)

Trump warns Maduro against playing 'tough' as US escalates pressure campaign on Venezuela • Dec. 22, 2025, 11:14 PM ET (AP)

Facts

Also Known As	República Bolivariana de Venezuela • Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Head Of State And Government	President: Nicolás Maduro²
Capital	Caracas
Population	(2025 est.) 34,464,000
Currency Exchange Rate	1 USD equals 3640472.695 Venezuelan bolivar
Form Of Government	federal multiparty republic with a unicameral legislature (National Assembly [167¹])
Official Language	Spanish³
Official Religion	none
Official Name	República Bolivariana de Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela)
Total Area (Sq Km)	916,445
Total Area (Sq Mi)	353,839
Monetary Unit	bolívar soberano⁴ (plural bolívares soberanos; Bs S)
Population Rank	(2023) 43
Population Projection 2030	36,011,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2025) 97.4
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2025) 37.6
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2024) 88.5% • Rural: (2024) 11.5%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2022) 70.1 years • Female: (2022) 76.6 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: not available • Female: not available
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2014) 392,925
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2014) 12,990
¹Includes three seats reserved for indigenous residents.²On January 23, 2019, Juan Guaidó, head of the National Assembly, declared himself Venezuela’s acting president, claiming that the constitution justified his action because the allegedly fraudulent election of Nicolás Maduro in May 2018 had left the country without a president. Maduro refused to relinquish the office. In December 2022 the National Assembly voted to remove Guaidó from office. He was replaced by a three-member leadership team led by Dinorah Figueroa.³Indigenous Indian languages are also official.⁴The bolívar was redenominated on August 20, 2018; as of this date 100,000 bolívares fuertes (VEF) = 1 (new) bolívar or bolívar soberano (Bs S).