Venezuela Environment - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

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; threat to the rainforest ecosystem from irresponsible mining operations

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 15.82 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 164.18 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 68.66 megatons (2020 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 5.123 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial: 793.3 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 16.71 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

1.325 trillion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Climate

tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands

Land use

agricultural land: 24.5% (2018 est.)

arable land: 3.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.8% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 20.6% (2018 est.)

forest: 52.1% (2018 est.)

other: 23.4% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 88.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.16% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A

vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria

Note: as of 1 March 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that travelers avoid all nonessential travel to Venezuela; the country is experiencing outbreaks of infectious diseases, and adequate health care is currently not available in most of the country

Food insecurity

widespread lack of access: due to severe economic crisis - the total number of refugees and migrants from the country is estimated at 5.4 million, with the largest populations located in Colombia, Peru, and Chile; humanitarian needs for refugees and migrants are significant; the national economy, highly dependent on oil production and exports, is forecast to contract in 2021 for the eighth consecutive year; with the persistent negative effects of the COVID‑19 pandemic that have compounded the already severe macro‑economic crisis, the access to food of the most vulnerable households is expected to deteriorate throughout 2021 due to widespread losses of income‑generating activities and soaring food prices (2021)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 9,779,093 tons (2010 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Venezuela on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Venezuela 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Venezuela 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.