Population:
30,912,302 (July 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Nationality:
noun: Venezuelan(s)
adjective: Venezuelan

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

Languages:
Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects

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

Demographic profile:
Social investment in Venezuela during the CHAVEZ administration reduced poverty from nearly 50% in 1999 to about 27% in 2011, increased school enrollment, substantially decreased infant and child mortality, and improved access to potable water and sanitation through social investment. "Missions" dedicated to education, nutrition, healthcare, and sanitation were funded through petroleum revenues. The sustainability of this progress remains questionable, however, as the continuation of these social programs depends on the prosperity of Venezuela's oil industry. In the long-term, education and health care spending may increase economic growth and reduce income inequality, but rising costs and the staffing of new health care jobs with foreigners are slowing development. While CHAVEZ was in power, more than one million predominantly middle- and upper-class Venezuelans are estimated to have emigrated. The brain drain is attributed to a repressive political system, lack of economic opportunities, steep inflation, a high crime rate, and corruption. Thousands of oil engineers emigrated to Canada, Colombia, and the United States following CHAVEZ's firing of over 20,000 employees of the state-owned petroleum company during a 2002-03 oil strike. Additionally, thousands of Venezuelans of European descent have taken up residence in their ancestral homelands. Nevertheless, Venezuela has attracted hundreds of thousands of immigrants from South America and southern Europe because of its lenient migration policy and the availability of education and health care. Venezuela also has been a fairly accommodating host to more than 200,000 Colombian refugees. However, since 2014, falling oil prices have driven a major economic crisis that has pushed Venezuelans from all walks of life to migrate or to seek asylum abroad to escape severe shortages of food, water, and medicine; soaring inflation; unemployment; and violence. Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have migrated, often illegally, to Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Panama, Chile, Guyana, the Dominican Republic, or taken perilous journeys by raft to Aruba and Curacao. Asylum applications have increased significantly in the US and Brazil in 2016. Although several receiving countries are making efforts to increase immigration restriction and to deport illegal Venezuelan migrants, Venezuelans continue to migrate to avoid economic collapse at home.

Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.68% (male 4,385,415/female 4,170,160)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 17.27% (male 2,709,359/female 2,629,097)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 40.4% (male 6,182,604/female 6,304,876)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 7.84% (male 1,162,400/female 1,260,451)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 6.82% (male 952,627/female 1,155,313) (2016 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 52.4%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 42.8%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 9.5%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 10.5% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 28 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 27.3 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 28.7 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 132

Population growth rate:
1.28% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 90
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
19.2 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
5.2 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 185
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
-1.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 149
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Population distribution:
most of the population is concentrated in the northern and western highlands along an eastern spur at the northern end of the Andes, an area that includes the capital of Caracas

Urbanization:
urban population: 89% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 1.54% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
CARACAS (capital) 2.916 million; Maracaibo 2.196 million; Valencia 1.734 million; Maracay 1.166 million; Barquisimeto 1.039 million (2015)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Maternal mortality rate:
95 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 12.5 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 13.1 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 11.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 116

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.8 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 72.7 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 78.9 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 96

Total fertility rate:
2.35 children born/woman (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 84
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
5.3% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 151
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
0.9 beds/1,000 population (2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 95% of population rural: 77.9% of population total: 93.1% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 5% of population rural: 22.1% of population total: 6.9% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - Unimproved - total country ranks ]

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 97.5% of population rural: 69.9% of population total: 94.4% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 2.5% of population rural: 30.1% of population total: 5.6% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.55% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 61
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
107,300 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
3,300 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 33
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria
note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
24.3% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 26
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
2.9% (2009)
country comparison to the world: 115
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
6.9% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 22
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.3%
[see also: Literacy - total country ranks ]
male: 96.4%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 96.2% (2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 14 years
[see also: School life expectancy - total country ranks ]
male: NA
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
[see also: School life expectancy - male country ranks ]
female: NA (2009)
[see also: School life expectancy - female country ranks ]

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 14.7%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: NA
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
[see also: School life expectancy - male country ranks ]
female: NA (2014 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 70