:Venezuela Economy
Fiscal year: calendar year
:Venezuela Communications
Railroads:
542 km total; 363 km 1.435-meter standard gauge all single track, government
owned; 179 km 1.435-meter gauge, privately owned
Highways:
77,785 km total; 22,780 km paved, 24,720 km gravel, 14,450 km earth roads,
and 15,835 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways:
7,100 km; Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels
Pipelines:
crude oil 6,370 km; petroleum products 480 km; natural gas 4,010 km
Ports:
Amuay Bay, Bajo Grande, El Tablazo, La Guaira, Puerto Cabello, Puerto Ordaz
Merchant marine:
57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 790,108 GRT/1,257,637 DWT; includes 1
short-sea passenger, 1 passenger cargo, 22 cargo, 1 container, 2
roll-on/roll-off, 17 petroleum tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 8
bulk, 1 vehicle carrier, 1 combination bulk
Civil air:
56 major transport aircraft
Airports:
308 total, 287 usable; 135 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways
over 3,659 m; 14 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 88 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
modern and expanding; 1,440,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 181 AM, no
FM, 59 TV, 26 shortwave; 3 submarine coaxial cables; satellite ground
stations - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 3 domestic
:Venezuela Defense Forces
Branches:
Ground Forces (Army), Naval Forces (including Navy, Marines, Coast Guard),
Air Forces, Armed Forces of Cooperation (National Guard)
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 5,365,880; 3,884,558 fit for military service; 210,737 reach
military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $1.95 billion, 4% of GDP (1991)
:Vietnam Geography
Total area:
329,560 km2
Land area:
325,360
Comparative area:
slightly larger than New Mexico
Land boundaries:
3,818 km total; Cambodia 982 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 1,555 km
Coastline:
3,444 km; excludes islands
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone:
24 nm
Continental shelf:
edge of continental margin or 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
maritime boundary with Cambodia not defined; involved in a complex dispute
over the Spratly Islands with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and
possibly Brunei; unresolved maritime boundary with Thailand; maritime
boundary dispute with China in the Gulf of Tonkin; Paracel Islands occupied
by China but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan
Climate:
tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (mid-May to
mid-September) and warm, dry season (mid-October to mid-March)
Terrain:
low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in
far north and northwest
Natural resources:
phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil deposits,
forests
Land use:
arable land 22%; permanent crops 2%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and
woodland 40%; other 35%; includes irrigated 5%
Environment:
occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding
:Vietnam People
Population:
68,964,018 (July 1992), growth rate 2.0% (1992)
Birth rate:
29 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
8 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
47 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
63 years male, 67 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
3.6 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Vietnamese (singular and plural); adjective - Vietnamese
Ethnic divisions:
predominantly Vietnamese 85-90%; Chinese 3%; ethnic minorities include
Muong, Thai, Meo, Khmer, Man, Cham; other mountain tribes
Religions:
Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, Roman Catholic, indigenous beliefs, Islamic,
Protestant
Languages:
Vietnamese (official), French, Chinese, English, Khmer, tribal languages
(Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Literacy:
88% (male 92%, female 84%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
32.7 million; agricultural 65%, industrial and service 35% (1990 est.)
Organized labor:
reportedly over 90% of wage and salary earners are members of the Vietnam
Federation of Trade Unions (VFTU)