| Location | Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana |
| Geographic coordinates | 8 00 N, 66 00 W |
| Map references | South America |
| Area | total: 912,050 sq km land: 882,050 sq km water: 30,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | almost six times the size of Georgia; slightly more than twice the size of California |
| Land boundaries | total: 5,267 km border countries (3): Brazil 2137 km, Colombia 2341 km, Guyana 789 km |
| Coastline | 2,800 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 15 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands |
| Terrain | Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Pico Bolivar 4,978 m lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m mean elevation: 450 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds |
| 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.) |
| Irrigated land | 10,550 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 1.325 trillion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts |
| Geography - note | note 1: the country lies on major sea and air routes linking North and South America note 2: Venezuela has some of the most unique geology in the world; tepuis are massive table-top mountains of the western Guiana Highlands that tend to be isolated and thus support unique endemic plant and animal species; their sheer cliffsides account for some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world including Angel Falls, the world's highest (979 m) that drops off Auyan Tepui |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
