World Factbook
Venezuela
República Bolivariana de Venezuela
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
97.2% (2017 est.)
female
97.3% (2017 est.)
total population
97.2% (2017 est.)
Languages
Languages
Spanish (official) 98.2%, indigenous 1.3%, Portuguese 0.1%, other 0.4% (2023 est.)
major-language sample(s)
La Libreta Informativa del Mundo, la fuente indispensable de información básica. (Spanish) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Roman Catholic 48.1%, Protestant 31.6% (Evangelical 31.4%, Adventist 0.2%), Jehovah's Witness 1.4%, African American/umbanda 0.7%, other 0.1%, believer 3.5%, agnostic 0.1%, atheist, 0.4%, none 13.6%, unspecified 0.6% (2023 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.99 male(s)/female
total population
0.99 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.84 male(s)/female
Birth rate
16.45 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
6.54 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
30.3 years
total
31.3 years (2025 est.)
female
31.7 years
Population
male
15,808,263
total
31,755,435 (2025 est.)
female
15,947,172
Nationality
noun
Venezuelan(s)
adjective
Venezuelan
Urbanization
urban population
88.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.16% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
25% (male 3,987,361/female 3,811,307)
15-64 years
65.9% (male 10,264,353/female 10,330,376)
65 years and over
9.1% (2024 est.) (male 1,303,737/female 1,553,172)
Ethnic groups
unspecified Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, Indigenous
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
51.8 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
37.5 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
7 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
14.3 (2025 est.)
Physician density
1.66 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
4% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
6% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
1 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.16 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: total
total: 93.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 6.7% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
0% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
10.3% national budget (2024 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
15.4 deaths/1,000 live births
total
13.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
12.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.88% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.05 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
most of the population is concentrated in the northern and western highlands along an eastern spur at the northern end of the Andes, an area that includes the capital of Caracas
Life expectancy at birth
male
71.5 years
female
77.7 years
total population
74.5 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
227 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: total
total: 98.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 1.6% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
1.54 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
2.51 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.92 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
2.972 million CARACAS (capital), 2.368 million Maracaibo, 1.983 million Valencia, 1.254 million Barquisimeto, 1.243 million Maracay, 964,000 Ciudad Guayana (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
25.6% (2016)