Venezuela is a South-American country, sharing borders with Colombia, Guyana & Brazil. Explore some fun and interesting facts about Venezuela.

Facts About Venezuela

Venezuela is a country situated in South America, found by European explorers in the 15th century. The precincts of the country include a continental mainland, apart from many islands situated in the Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coastline. It stands bordering Guyana in the east, Brazil in the south and Colombia in the west. Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St. Lucia, Barbados, Curaçao, Bonaire, Aruba, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Leeward Antilles fall towards the north of Venezuela, just off its coast. Most of the people in the country live in cities on the range near the Caribbean coast i.e. from Caracas to Barquisimeto. In case you want to know more about Venezuela, make use of the information given below.
Image: By Venex_jpb (http://www.flickr.com/photos/venex/2458819853/) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
 
Fun & Interesting Facts about Venezuela 
  • The official name of Venezuela is ‘Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela’.
  • Venezuela gained independence from Spain in July 1811. It became an independent republic in the year 1821.
  • Venezuela follows a federal republic form of government.
  • The capital of Venezuela is Caracas.
  • Spanish and its indigenous dialects form the main languages of Venezuela.
  • The currency of Venezuela is Bolivar.
  • Majority of the people in Venezuela follow Roman Catholicism.
  • Venezuela is considered to be amongst the 17 most biodiverse countries of the world.
  • Venezuela holds the distinction of being one of the most urbanized countries in Latin America.
  • The highest point in Venezuela is formed by Pico Bolivar, at 5,007 m.
  • Canaima National Park in Venezuela is one of the largest national parks in the world.
  • Lake Maracaibo of Venezuela is regarded as the largest lake in South America.
  • Kerepakupai-Meru, more popularly known as Angel Falls, makes up the world's highest free-falling waterfall.
  • Capybara, the largest rodent of the world, is found inhabiting the grassy plains (llanos) of Venezuela.
  • The first European to find the coast of Venezuela was Christopher Columbus.
  • The term Venezuela literally means ‘Little Venice’. The country was so named by its explorers, who saw houses built on stilts in a lake here, reminding them of Venice.
  • Venezuela became a member of the Republic of Gran Colombia after gaining independence from Spain. With the dissolution of Gran Colombia, in 1830, it became an independent country.
  • Slavery was abolished in Venezuela in 1854.
  • Venezuela was the largest oil exporter in the world in the early twentieth century.
  • Venezuela was one of the founding members of OPEC, along with Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
  • Venezuela is one of the oldest democracies in South America.
  • Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere and the second largest natural gas reserves.
  • The petroleum industry accounts for half of the revenue of the government of Venezuela.
  • The main industries of Venezuela are petroleum, iron ore mining, construction materials and food processing.

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