Demographics of Venezuela

The Venezuelan people comprise a rich combination of heritages. The historically present Amerindians, Spanish colonists and Africans were joined by Italians, Portuguese, Arabs, Germans, and others from neighbouring countries in South America during waves of immigration in the 20th century.

About 85% of the population live in urban areas in the northern portion of the country. While almost half of Venezuela’s land area lies south of the Orinoco river, this region contains only 5% of the population.

The national and official language is Spanish, but numerous indigenous languages also exist (Wayu, Pemon, Warao, etc), as do languages introduced by immigrants. 96% of the population is at least nominally Roman Catholic. Around 4% of the population adheres to other faiths.

The Demographics of Venezuela are the condition and overview of Venezuela’s peoples. Demographic topics include basic education, health, and population statistics as well as identified racial and religious affiliations.

Background and overview

Venezuela’s peoples are descended primarily from forebearers of Venezuelan indigenous, African, and European heritage. Although the Castillian dialect of the Spanish language is the official language, there are spoken numerous indigenous languages.

Some 85% of the Venezuelan population currently resides in the urban conglomerations (Caracas, Valencia (Venezuela), Maracaibo, et cetera) that are concentrated in Venezuela’s northern coastal mountain strip. Nearly half of Venezuela’s geographic area lies south of the Orinoco River; however, this region contains only 5% of the Venezuelan population.

Many of Venezuela’s basic statistics (literacy, educational levels, life expectancy, infant mortality, total fertility rate (TFR), et cetera, have seen dramatic and statistically significant improvements over the last five years under the current Hugo Chavez admnistration. The United Nations, World Health Organization, UNICEF, and others attribute this to the radical Bolivarian Missions that have been implemented under Chavez as components of the Bolivarian Revolution. These comprehensive and concrete programs are explicitly tailored and intended to improve the below statistics.

Population

Overview

The July 2005 CIA estimate puts Venezuela’s total population at 25,375,281 inhabitants. It should be noted that many Venezuelan government officials, statisticians, and activists consider this a gross underestimate. Notably, the 2005 INE estimate is 26,577,423 inhabitants.

Additionally, over the past five years, Venezuelan society’s general age structure has been trending towards the homologous structure found in Cuba, Western Europe, Japan, and other healthy and rapidly aging societies. Notably, there has been a significant increase in the proportion and gross numbers of elderly Venezuelans (aged 65 and up), as well as a corresponding drop in the total fertility rate.

Total population
The 2005 CIA estimate is 25,375,281 inhabitants in Venezuela.