Venezuela

According to the most popular and accepted explanation, in 1499, an expedition led by Alonso de Ojeda visited the Venezuelan coast. The stilt houses in the area of Lake Maracaibo reminded the Italian navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, of the city of Venice, Italy, so he named the region Veneziola, or "Little Venice". The Spanish version of Veneziola is Venezuela.

Martín Fernández de Enciso, a member of the Vespucci and Ojeda crew, gives a different account. In his work Summa de geografía, he states that the crew found Indigenous peoples who called themselves the Veneciuela. Thus, the name "Venezuela" may have evolved from the native word.

Previously, the official name was Estado de Venezuela (1830–1856), República de Venezuela (1856–1864), Estados Unidos de Venezuela (1864–1953), and again República de Venezuela (1953–1999).

=== Pre-Columbian history ===

Evidence exists of human habitation in the area now known as Venezuela from about 15,000 years ago. Tools have been found on the high riverine terraces of the Rio Pedregal in western Venezuela. Late Pleistocene hunting artifacts, including spear tips, have been found at a similar series of sites in northwestern Venezuela; according to radiocarbon dating, these date from 13,000 to 7,000 BC.

It is estimated that one million people lived in the region before Spanish conquest. In addition to Indigenous peoples known today, the population included groups such as the Kalina (Caribs), Auaké, Caquetio, Mariche, and Timoto–Cuicas. The Timoto–Cuica culture was the most complex society, with planned permanent villages surrounded by irrigated, terraced fields. Houses were made of stone and wood with thatched roofs. They were peaceful and depended on growing crops. Regional crops included potatoes and ullucos. They left behind art, particularly anthropomorphic ceramics, but no major monuments. They spun vegetable fibers to weave into textiles and mats for housing. They are credited with having invented the arepa, a staple in Venezuelan cuisine.

After the conquest, the population dropped markedly, mainly through the spread of infectious diseases from Europe. Two main north–south axes of pre-Columbian population were present, who cultivated maize in the west and manioc in the east. Large parts of the llanos were cultivated through a combination of slash and burn and permanent settled agriculture.

In 1498, during his third voyage to the Americas, Christopher Columbus sailed near the Orinoco Delta and landed in the Gulf of Paria. Amazed by the great offshore current of freshwater which deflected his course eastward, Columbus expressed in a letter to Isabella and Ferdinand that he must have reached Heaven on Earth (terrestrial paradise):

Great signs are these of the Terrestrial Paradise... for I have never read or heard of such a large quantity of fresh water being inside and in such close proximity to salt water; the very mild temperateness also corroborates this; and if the water of which I speak does not proceed from Paradise then it is an even greater marvel, because I do not believe such a large and deep river has ever been known to exist in this world.

Spain's colonization of mainland Venezuela started in 1522, establishing its first permanent South American settlement in the present-day city of Cumaná.

In the 16th century, the king of Spain granted a concession to the German Welser family. Klein-Venedig became the most extensive initiative in the German colonization of the Americas from 1528 to 1546. The Welsers were bankers to the Habsburgs and financiers of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who was king of Spain and had borrowed heavily from them to pay bribes for his imperial election. In 1528, Charles V granted the Welsers the right to explore, rule and colonize the territory, as well as to seek the mythical golden town of El Dorado.

The first expedition was led by Ambrosius Ehinger, who established Maracaibo in 1529. After the deaths of first Ehinger in 1533 then Nikolaus Federmann, and Georg von Speyer in 1540, Philipp von Hutten persisted in exploring the interior. In absence of von Hutten from the capital of the province, the crown of Spain claimed the right to appoint a governor. On Hutten's return to the capital Santa Ana de Coro in 1546, the Spanish governor Juan de Carvajal had Hutten and Bartholomeus VI. Welser executed. Subsequently, Charles V revoked the Welser family concession. The Welsers transported German miners to the colony, in addition to 4,000 African slaves to plant sugar cane plantations. Many German colonists died through wars with the Indigenous inhabitants or from tropical diseases.

16th century native caciques (leaders) Guaicaipuro and Tamanaco attempted to resist Spanish incursions, but the newcomers ultimately subdued them. In the 16th century Indigenous peoples such as the Mariche people converted to Roman Catholicism. Some resisting tribes or leaders are commemorated in place names, including Caracas, Chacao and Los Teques. The early colonial settlements focused on the northern coast, but in the mid-18th century, the Spanish pushed farther inland along the Orinoco River. Here, the Ye'kuana organized resistance in 1775–76.

Spain's eastern Venezuelan settlements were incorporated into New Andalusia Province. Administered by the Royal Audiencia of Santo Domingo from the early 16th century, most of Venezuela became part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada in the early 18th century and was then reorganized as an autonomous Captaincy General starting in 1777. Caracas, founded in the central coastal region in 1567, was well-placed to become a key location, being near the coastal port of La Guaira and in a valley, in a mountain range, providing defensive strength against pirates and a more fertile and healthy climate.

After unsuccessful uprisings, Venezuela under the leadership of Francisco de Miranda, a Venezuelan marshal who had fought in the American and French Revolutions, declared independence as the First Republic of Venezuela on 1811-07-11. This began the Venezuelan War of Independence. A devastating 1812 Caracas earthquake, together with the rebellion of the Venezuelan llaneros, helped bring down the republic. Simón Bolívar, leader of the independentist forces, launched his Admirable Campaign in 1813 from New Granada, retaking most of the territory and being proclaimed as El Libertador ("The Liberator"). A Second Republic of Venezuela was proclaimed on 7 August 1813, but lasted only a few months before being crushed by royalist caudillo José Tomás Boves and his personal army of llaneros.

The end of the French invasion of homeland Spain in 1814 allowed a large expeditionary force to come under general Pablo Morillo, with the goal to regain the lost territory in Venezuela and New Granada. As the war reached a stalemate on 1817, Bolívar reestablished the Third Republic of Venezuela on the territory still controlled by the patriots, mainly in the Guayana and Llanos regions. This republic was short-lived as only two years later, during the Congress of Angostura of 1819, the union of Venezuela with New Granada was decreed to form the Republic of Colombia.

The war continued until full victory and sovereignty was attained after the Battle of Carabobo on 24 June 1821. On 24 July 1823, José Prudencio Padilla and Rafael Urdaneta helped seal Venezuelan independence with their victory in the Battle of Lake Maracaibo. New Granada's congress gave Bolívar control of the Granadian army; leading it, he liberated several countries and founded the Republic of Colombia (Gran Colombia).

Sucre went on to liberate Ecuador and become the second president of Bolivia. Venezuela remained part of Gran Colombia until 1830, when a rebellion led by José Antonio Páez allowed the proclamation of a newly independent Venezuela, on 22 September; Páez became the first president of the State of Venezuela. Between one-quarter and one-third of Venezuela's population was lost during these two decades of war (including about half the Venezuelans of European descent), which by 1830 was estimated at 800,000. In the Flag of Venezuela, the yellow stands for land wealth, the blue for the sea that separates Venezuela from Spain, and the red for the blood shed by the heroes of independence.

Slavery in Venezuela was abolished in 1854. Much of Venezuela's 19th-century history was characterized by political turmoil and dictatorial rule, including the independence leader José Antonio Páez, who gained the presidency three times and served 11 years between 1830 and 1863. This culminated in the Federal War (1859–63). In the latter half of the century, Antonio Guzmán Blanco, another caudillo, served 13 nonconsecutive years, between 1870 and 1887, with three other presidents interspersed.

In 1895, a longstanding dispute with Great Britain about the Essequibo territory, which Britain claimed as part of British Guiana and Venezuela saw as Venezuelan territory, erupted into the Venezuela crisis of 1895. The dispute became a diplomatic crisis when Venezuela's lobbyist, William L. Scruggs, sought to argue that British behavior over the issue violated the United States' Monroe Doctrine of 1823, and used his influence in Washington, D.C., to pursue the matter. Then, U.S. president Grover Cleveland adopted a broad interpretation of the doctrine that declared an American interest in any matter within the hemisphere. Britain ultimately accepted arbitration, but in negotiations over its terms was able to persuade the U.S. on many details. A tribunal convened in Paris in 1898 to decide the issue and in 1899 awarded the bulk of the disputed territory to British Guiana.

In 1899, Cipriano Castro, assisted by his friend Juan Vicente Gómez, seized power in Caracas. Castro defaulted on Venezuela's considerable foreign debts and declined to pay compensation to foreigners caught up in Venezuela's civil wars. This led to the Venezuela crisis of 1902–1903, in which Britain, Germany and Italy imposed a naval blockade before international arbitration at the Permanent Court of Arbitration was agreed. In 1908, another dispute broke out with the Netherlands, which was resolved when Castro left for medical treatment in Germany and was promptly overthrown by Juan Vicente Gómez, who ruled until 1935.

The discovery of massive oil deposits in Lake Maracaibo during World War I proved pivotal for Venezuela and transformed its economy from a heavy dependence on agricultural exports. It prompted a boom that lasted into the 1980s; by 1935, Venezuela's per capita gross domestic product was Latin America's highest. Gómez benefited handsomely from this as corruption thrived, but at the same time the new source of income helped him centralize the state and develop its authority.

Gómez remained the most powerful man in Venezuela until his death in 1935. The gomecista dictatorship (1935–45) system largely continued under Eleazar López Contreras but was relaxed from 1941 under Isaías Medina Angarita. Angarita granted a range of reforms, including the legalization of all political parties. After World War II, immigration from southern Europe and poorer Latin American countries markedly diversified Venezuelan society.

In 1945, a civilian-military coup overthrew Angarita and ushered in a period of democratic rule (1945–48) under the mass membership party Democratic Action, initially under Rómulo Betancourt, until Rómulo Gallegos won the 1947 Venezuelan presidential election (the first free and fair elections in Venezuela). Gallegos governed until overthrown by a military junta led by Luis Felipe Llovera Páez, Marcos Pérez Jiménez, and Gallegos' Defense Minister, Carlos Delgado Chalbaud, in the 1948 Venezuelan coup d'état.

The most powerful man in the military junta (1948–58) was Pérez Jiménez; he was suspected of being behind the death of Chalbaud, who died in a bungled kidnapping in 1950. When the junta unexpectedly lost the 1952 presidential election, it ignored the results and Jiménez was installed as president. Jiménez was forced out on 23 January 1958. In an effort to consolidate a young democracy, the three major political parties (Acción Democrática (AD), COPEI and Unión Republicana Democrática (URD), with the notable exception of the Communist Party of Venezuela), signed the Puntofijo Pact power-sharing agreement. AD and COPEI dominated the political landscape for four decades.

During the presidencies of Rómulo Betancourt (1959–64) and Raúl Leoni (1964–69), substantial guerrilla movements occurred. Most laid down their arms under Rafael Caldera's first presidency (1969–74). Caldera had won the 1968 election for COPEI, the first time a party other than AD took the presidency through a democratic election. The new democratic order had its antagonists. Betancourt suffered an attack planned by the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo in 1960, and the leftists excluded from the pact initiated an insurgency by organizing themselves into the Armed Forces of National Liberation, sponsored by the Communist Party and Fidel Castro. In 1962 they tried to destabilize the military corps, with failed revolts. Betancourt promoted a foreign policy, the Betancourt Doctrine, in which he only recognized elected governments by popular vote.

The 1973 Venezuelan presidential election of Carlos Andrés Pérez coincided with an oil crisis, in which Venezuela's income exploded as oil prices soared; oil industries were nationalized in 1976. This led to massive increases in public spending but also increases in external debts, until the collapse of oil prices during the 1980s crippled the economy. As the government started to devalue the currency in 1983 to face its financial obligations, standards of living fell dramatically. Failed economic policies and increased corruption in the government led to rising poverty, crime, and political instability, worsening social indicators.

In the 1980s, the Presidential Commission for State Reform (COPRE) emerged as a mechanism of political innovation. Venezuela decentralized its political system and diversified its economy, reducing the size of the state. COPRE operated as an innovation mechanism, also by incorporating issues into the political agenda, that were excluded from public deliberation by the main actors of the democratic system. The most discussed topics were incorporated into the public agenda: decentralization, political participation, municipalization, judicial order reforms and the role of the state in a new economic strategy. The social reality made the changes difficult to apply.

Economic crises in the 1980s and 1990s led to a political crisis. Hundreds of people were killed by security forces and the military in the Caracazo riots of 1989, during the second presidential term of Carlos Andrés Pérez (1989–93) and after the implementation of economic austerity measures. Hugo Chávez, who in 1982 had promised to depose the bipartisanship governments, used the growing anger at economic austerity measures to justify a coup attempt in February 1992; a second coup d'état attempt occurred in November.

Pérez was impeached under embezzlement charges in 1993, leading to the interim presidency of Ramón José Velásquez (1993–94). Coup leader Hugo Chávez was pardoned in March 1994 by President Rafael Caldera (1994–99, during his second term), with a clean slate and his political rights reinstated, allowing Chávez to win and maintain the presidency continuously from 1999 until his death in 2013. Chávez won the elections of 1998, 2000, 2006, and 2012, as well as the presidential referendum of 2004.

Chávez was elected president in 1998 under a collapse in confidence in the existing parties, which also launched the Bolivarian Revolution, beginning with a 1999 constituent assembly to write a new constitution. The revolution refers to a left-wing populist social movement and political process led by Chávez, who founded the Fifth Republic Movement in 1997 and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela in 2007. The Bolivarian Revolution is named after Simón Bolívar.

Following Chávez's election, Venezuela developed into a dominant-party system, dominated by the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. Chávez was briefly ousted from power in a 2002 Venezuelan coup attempt following demonstrations by his opponents. Efforts by interim president Pedro Carmona to nullify the 1999 constitution and undo Chávez's reforms provoked popular outcry and caused support by the military for the coup to wane. Chávez returned after two days as a result of demonstrations by Chávez supporters and actions by the military. Chávez remained in power after a national strike lasted from December 2002 to February 2003, including a strike/lockout in the state oil company PDVSA. Following the failed coup attempt, Chávez sought to limit the influence of his political opponents by promoting state television and restricting the influence of privately owned media. Chávez survived further political tests, including a 2004 recall referendum. He was elected for another term in December 2006. The first US sanctions against Venezuelan officials were imposed in 2008.

Income inequality declined and Venezuelans' quality of life improved at the third fastest rate worldwide during Chávez's administration. From 2006 to 2011, Venezuela moved up seven spots on the Human Development Index, to 73 out of 187. The poverty rate declined from 48.6% to 29.5% from 2002 to 2011. The economy grew by 95% from 2003 to 2010. Social spending per person tripled, and access to healthcare and education improved. Chávez initiated Bolivarian missions, programs aimed at helping the poor. The missions increased health coverage, improved education and virtually eliminated illiteracy, but failed to meet their housing goals. During Mission Robinson, nearly 1.5 million adults learned to read.

From 2006 to 2013, PDVSA's external debt increased from $3 billion to $35 billion. The economy had become dependent on the exportation of oil, with crude accounting for 86% of exports, and a high price per barrel to support social programs. The reliance of Chávez's socioeconomic policies on oil sales and importing goods resulted in large amounts of debt, no change to corruption in Venezuela and culminated into an economic crisis.

In the subsequent decade, the government was forced into currency devaluations.

These devaluations did not improve the situation of the people who rely on imported products or locally produced products that depend on imported inputs, while dollar-denominated oil sales account for the majority of exports.

Profits of the oil industry were lost to "social engineering" and corruption, instead of investments needed to maintain oil production.

Chavez was elected to a third term in October 2012, but was not sworn in due to medical complications and his death was officially announced as 5 March 2013.

Nicolás Maduro was picked by Chavez as his successor, appointing him vice president in 2013.

Maduro became president of Venezuela on 14 April 2013, when he won the presidential election after Chavez' death with 51% of the vote, against Henrique Capriles at 49%. The Democratic Unity Roundtable contested Maduro's election as fraudulent, but an audit of 56% of the vote showed no discrepancies and the Supreme Court of Venezuela ruled Maduro was the legitimate president.

Venezuela's history of devaluation of the hard and sovereign bolívar currency continued and food shortages became widespread.

Since February 2014, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have protested over high levels of crime, corruption, hyperinflation, and chronic scarcity of basic goods due to government policies. Demonstrations and riots have resulted in over 40 fatalities in the unrest between Chavistas and opposition protesters and opposition leaders, including the arrests of Leopoldo López and Antonio Ledezma. Human rights groups condemned the arrest of López. In late 2014, US President Barack Obama's administration imposed additional unilateral sanctions on the Venezuelan officials involved in the crackdown on the protests. In the summer of 2015, the Venezuelan military initiated an operation in response to opposition paramilitary attacks on police and civil society establishments. In the 2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election, the opposition gained a two-thirds majority. The opposition sought to reverse many Chavez era laws, such as the nationalization of telecommunications and news broadcasting, and secure amnesty for imprisoned opposition leaders charged with corruption or leading violent protests. It also considered a recall campaign against Maduro, but this was infeasible since 7.5 million new voters had been registered since the last recall effort, increasing the number of signatures needed for a recall election. The first law passed by the opposition granted amnesty from prosecution for offenses committed since January 1999, including participation in the 2002 coup attempt.

In January 2016, Maduro declared an "economic emergency", revealing the extent of the crisis and expanding his powers. The government established committees to oversee local food distribution, called CLAPs. Government officials blamed economic sabotage by business interests for the economic crisis, citing examples of eggs and milk being destroyed on the orders of business owners. Corruption also played a role, with shortages incentivizing selfish behavior and the exploitation of social programs. Venezuelans, including some Chavistas criticized the government for being too soft on corruption. In July 2016, Colombian border crossings were temporarily opened to allow Venezuelans to purchase food and basic health items. In September 2016, a study indicated 15% of Venezuelans were eating "food waste discarded by commercial establishments". 200 prison riots had occurred by October 2016.

The Maduro-aligned Supreme Tribunal, which had been overturning National Assembly decisions since the opposition took control in 2015, took over the functions of the assembly, creating the 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis. In August 2017, the 2017 Constituent National Assembly was elected and stripped the National Assembly of its powers. The election raised concerns of an emerging dictatorship. In December 2017, Maduro declared opposition parties barred from the following year's presidential vote after they boycotted mayoral polls.

In August 2017, US President Donald Trump's administration imposed more economic sanctions against the PDVSA and Venezuelan officials. US sanctions against Venezuela would escalate over the next two years as part of the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" strategy against the Maduro government. Sanctions in 2017 disallowed US citizens from buying Venezuelan debt and blocked dividend payments to US nationals, crippling PDVSA finances. Another round of sanctions in 2018 and 2019 amounted to an embargo on gold, oil, finance, defense and other public and private entities. $22 billion worth of Venezuelan assets held overseas were frozen. The Trump administration pressured non-US entities to reduce their purchases of Venezuelan oil and intimidated European financial institutions into dropping Venezuelan clients. Francisco Rodríguez (Venezuelan economist) said that sanctions were responsible for 59% of the decline in Venezuelan oil production after August 2017. Sanctions have resulted in international banks blocking payments for medicines, fearing retribution from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Maduro won the 2018 election with 68% of the vote. The result was challenged by Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, France and the US, which deemed it fraudulent and recognized Juan Guaidó as president. Other countries continued to recognize Maduro, although China, facing financial pressure over its position, began hedging by decreasing loans, cancelling joint ventures, and signaling willingness to work with all parties. In August 2019, Trump imposed an economic embargo against Venezuela. The EU and Canada also sanctioned Venezuela. The sanctions froze more than $7 billion in additional Venezuelan assets and embargoed Venezuelan petroleum. Between 2014 and 2020, Venezuela lost 99% of its foreign currency income. Due to the impact of the sanctions, Maduro's government had to implement anti-blockade policies that increased the confidentiality of business transactions with the government, and allowed it to make deals in contravention of constitutional prohibitions on private majority shareholders.

In March 2020, the US Department of Justice indicted Maduro and Venezuelan officials on charges of drug trafficking, narcoterrorism, and corruption. In May 2020, Venezuelan dissidents backed by Silvercorp USA attempted to infiltrate Venezuela by sea and overthrow Maduro in Operation Gideon. The owner of Silvercorp, an ex-US special operations sergeant, said he met with Trump administration officials about the plan. In 2021, American and European financial institutions blocked Venezuela's payments to Covax, preventing it from acquiring COVID-19 vaccines. Sanctions also prevented Venezuela from obtaining oil dilutants, which are needed to turn the heavy crude it produces into an exportable petroleum product. A 2021 deal with Iran gave Venezuela access to dilutants that allowed it to marginally increase its oil production.

In June 2020, a report documented enforced disappearances that occurred in 2018–19. Some 724 enforced disappearances of political detainees were reported. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), between 2016 and 2019, Venezuela's security forces killed over 19,000 people for alleged "resistance to authority". HRW stated that evidence showed that many of the killings were extrajudicial executions. The report states that Venezuelan security forces had subjected victims to torture and that the government used enforced disappearances to silence opponents and other critical voices.

Maduro ran for a third consecutive term in the 2024 presidential election, while former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia represented the Unitary Platform (Spanish: Plataforma Unitaria Democrática; PUD), the main opposition political alliance. Polls conducted before the election indicated that González would win by a wide margin. After the government-controlled National Electoral Council (CNE) announced partial results showing a narrow Maduro victory on 29 July, world leaders predominantly expressed skepticism of the claimed results and did not recognize the CNE claims with only some exceptions. Both González and Maduro proclaimed themselves winners of the election. The results of the election were not recognized by the Carter Center and Organization of American States due to the lack of granular results and were disputed by the opposition, which claimed a landslide victory and released access to vote tallies collected by poll watchers from a majority of polling centers as proof. In the aftermath of the announcement of results by the election authorities, protests broke out across the country.

Following the growing geopolitical and electoral tensions of 2024 and 2025, the United States' Trump administration began preparing an intervention against Nicolás Maduro's government, officially accusing it of running a narco-terrorist network and conspiring to flood the United States with cocaine. In January 2026, the US launched airstrikes across the coastline of Venezuela as part of Operation Southern Spear. US president Donald Trump announced in a post on social media that Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. Legal experts believe the military intrusion by the United States is likely a violation of the UN Charter's article 2(4). Article 2(4) requires respect for other countries' sovereignty. Article 2(4) also prohibits the use of military force without UN authorization with the exception of self-defense. In a later post, Trump said that the United States will "run" Venezuela until a safe transition of the country's leadership can take place. However, as of 4 January 2026, the government formerly led by Maduro remains in control, with Vice President Delcy Rodríguez having been appointed acting president. Rodríguez would then launch a purge of Maduro-era loyalists.

On 23 January 2026, Venezuelan lawmakers gave their initial backing to open the oil sector to private investors, paving the way for the return of US energy companies.

In May 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump twice expressed interest in making Venezuela the 51st state of the United States, citing the country's oil reserves as motivation. He reiterated the proposal in a Truth Social post that included a map of Venezuela filled with the U.S. flag. Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodríguez responded that Venezuela had no plans to become a U.S. state, saying the country is "not a colony, but a free country," though her remarks were notably more restrained than previous Chavismo-era responses to similar U.S. statements. Commentators noted that under the U.S. Constitution, statehood cannot be unilaterally declared by the president and would require congressional approval as well as the consent of Venezuela.

Since the intervention, Venezuela has been described as a puppet state of the U.S., with several aspects of its domestic finances, foreign policy, government appointments, revenues, and oil reserves overseen by the U.S. Department of State under Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Venezuelan government now conditionally receives its export revenue through the Department of the Treasury, with the Department of State determining which businesses operate in Venezuela through sanctions and business licences they issue, vetting personnel, foreign policy statements, with Rodriguez’s public appearances even being dictated at times by the Executive Office of the President.

Venezuela is located in the north of South America. Geologically, its mainland rests on the South American Plate. It has a total area of 916,445 km2 (353,841 sq mi) and a land area of 882,050 km2 (340,560 sq mi), making Venezuela the 32nd largest country in the world. The territory it controls lies between latitudes 0° and 16°N and longitudes 59° and 74°W.

Shaped roughly like a triangle, Venezuela has a 2,800 km (1,700 mi) coastline in the north, which includes numerous islands in the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean. Most observers describe Venezuela in terms of four fairly well defined topographical regions: the Maracaibo lowlands in the northwest, the northern mountains extending in a broad east–west arc from the Colombian border along the northern Caribbean coast, the wide plains in central Venezuela, and the Guiana Highlands in the southeast.

The northern mountains are the extreme northeastern extensions of South America's Andes mountain range. Pico Bolívar, the nation's highest point at 4,979 m (16,335 ft), lies in this region. To the south, the dissected Guiana Highlands contain the northern fringes of the Amazon Basin and Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall, as well as tepuis, large table-like mountains. Venezuela's center is characterized by the Llanos, which are extensive plains that stretch from the Colombian border in the far west to the Orinoco Delta in the east. The Orinoco with its rich alluvial soils binds the largest and most important river system. The Orinoco Basin is one of the largest watersheds in Latin America. The Caroní and the Apure are other major rivers.

Venezuela borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south. Caribbean islands such as Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Curaçao, Aruba, and the Leeward Antilles lie near the coast. Venezuela has territorial disputes with Guyana, formerly United Kingdom, largely concerning the Essequibo area, and with Colombia concerning the Gulf of Venezuela.

Venezuela is entirely located in the tropics over the Equator to around 12° N. Its climate varies from humid low-elevation plains, where average annual temperatures range as high as 35 °C (95.0 °F), to glaciers and highlands (the páramos) with an average yearly temperature of 8 °C (46.4 °F). Annual rainfall varies from 430 mm (16.9 in) in the semiarid portions of the northwest to over 1,000 mm (39.4 in) in the Orinoco Delta of the far east and the Amazon rainforest in the south.

The precipitation level is lower from August to April. These periods are referred to as hot-humid and cold-dry seasons. Another characteristic of the climate is this variation throughout Venezuela by the existence of a mountain range called "Cordillera de la Costa" which crosses Venezuela from east to west. The majority of the population lives in these mountains. Meanwhile, the unique geography of and around Lake Maracaibo causes mountain-valley and land-sea breezes that causes the most frequent lightning anywhere in the world, also known as Cataumbo lightning.

Venezuela falls into four horizontal temperature zones based primarily on elevation, having tropical, dry, temperate with dry winters, and polar (alpine tundra) climates, amongst others. In the tropical zone—below 800 m (2,625 ft)—temperatures are hot, with yearly averages ranging between 26 and 28 °C (78.8 and 82.4 °F). The temperate zone ranges between 800 and 2,000 m (2,625 and 6,562 ft) with averages from 12 to 25 °C (53.6 to 77.0 °F); many of Venezuela's cities, including the capital, lie in this region. Colder conditions with temperatures from 9 to 11 °C (48.2 to 51.8 °F) are found in the cool zone between 2,000 and 3,000 m (6,562 and 9,843 ft), especially in the Venezuelan Andes, where pastureland and permanent snowfield with yearly averages below 8 °C (46 °F) cover land above 3,000 meters (9,843 ft) in the páramos. The highest temperature recorded was 42 °C (108 °F) in Machiques. The lowest temperature recorded was −11 °C (12 °F), reported from an uninhabited high altitude at Páramo de Piedras Blancas (Mérida state).

Venezuela lies within the Neotropical realm. Large portions of the region were originally covered by moist broadleaf forests. One of 17 megadiverse countries, Venezuela's habitats range from the Andes Mountains in the west to the Amazon Basin rainforest in the south, via extensive llanos plains and Caribbean coast in the center and the Orinoco Delta in the east. They include xeric scrublands in the extreme northwest and coastal mangrove forests in the northeast. Its cloud forests and lowland rainforests are particularly rich.

Animals are diverse and include manatees, three-toed sloth, two-toed sloth, Amazon river dolphins, and Orinoco crocodiles. Of the 1,417 bird species, 48 are endemic. Important birds include ibises, ospreys, kingfishers, and the yellow-orange Venezuelan troupial, the national bird. Notable mammals include the giant anteater, jaguar, and the capybara, the world's largest rodent. More than half of the avian and mammalian species are found in the Amazonian forests south of the Orinoco.

For the fungi, an account was provided by R.W.G. Dennis which has been digitized and the records made available on-line as part of the Cybertruffle Robigalia database. That database includes nearly 3,900 species of fungi, but is far from complete, and the true total number of fungal species already known is likely higher, given the generally accepted estimate that only about 7% of all fungi worldwide have so far been recorded.

Among plants, over 25,000 species of orchids are found in the cloud forest and lowland rainforest ecosystems. These include the flor de mayo orchid (Cattleya mossiae), the national flower. The national tree is the araguaney. The tops of the tepuis are home to several carnivorous plants including the marsh pitcher plant, Heliamphora, and the insectivorous bromeliad, Brocchinia reducta.

Venezuela is among the top 20 countries in terms of endemism. Among its animals, 23% of reptilian and 50% of amphibian species, including the Trinidad poison frog, are endemic. 1,334 species of fungi have been tentatively identified as endemic. Some 38% of the plant species are unique to the country.

Venezuela is one of the 10 most biodiverse countries on the planet, yet it is one of the leaders of deforestation due to economic and political factors. Each year, roughly 287,600 hectares of forest are permanently destroyed, and other areas are degraded by mining, oil extraction, and logging. Between 1990 and 2005, Venezuela officially lost 8.3% of its forest cover, which is about 4.3 million ha. In response, federal protections for critical habitat were implemented. For example, 20% to 33% of forested land is protected. Venezuela's biosphere reserve is part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Five wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.

In 2003, 70% of Venezuela's land was under conservation management in over 200 protected areas, including 43 national parks such as Canaima National Park, Morrocoy National Park, and Mochima National Park. In the far south is a reserve for the Yanomami tribes. Covering 32,000 square miles (82,880 square kilometres), the area is off-limits to farmers, miners, and all non-Yanomami settlers.

Venezuela was one of the few countries that did not enter a nationally determined contribution at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Many terrestrial ecosystems are considered endangered, specially the dry forest in the northern regions of the country and the coral reefs in the Caribbean coast.

Venezuela is made up of three river basins: the Caribbean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Valencia, which forms an endorheic basin and drains a small area. Most of Venezuela's river waters drain to the Atlantic. The largest basin in this area is the extensive Orinoco Basin whose surface area, close to one million km2, is greater than that of the whole of Venezuela, although it has a presence of 65% in the country. The Orinoco gives rise to a flow of some 33,000 m3/s, making it the third largest in the world and one of the most valuable from the point of view of renewable natural resources. The Brazo Casiquiare is unique in the world, as it is a natural bifurcation of the Orinoco that, after some 500 km in length, connects it to the Negro River, which in turn is a tributary of the Amazon.

The Orinoco receives directly or indirectly rivers such as the Ventuari, the Caura, the Caroní, the Meta, the Arauca, the Apure and many others. Other Venezuelan rivers that empty into the Atlantic are the waters of the San Juan and Cuyuní basins. The Amazon River receives the Guainía, the Negro and others. Other basins are the Gulf of Paria and the Esequibo River.

The rivers which empty into the Caribbean Sea are usually short and of scarce and irregular flow, with some exceptions such as the Catatumbo, which originates in Colombia and drains into the Maracaibo Lake basin. Among the rivers that reach the Maracaibo Lake basin are the Chama, the Escalante, the Catatumbo, and the contributions of the smaller basins of the Tocuyo, Yaracuy, Neverí and Manzanares rivers.

Of the rivers, a total of 5400 km are navigable. Other rivers include the Apure, Arauca, Caura, Meta, Barima, Portuguesa, Ventuari and Zulia. Lakes include Lake Maracaibo—the largest in South America, open to the sea through the natural channel but with fresh water—and Lake Valencia. Other noteworthy bodies of water are the Guri reservoir, the Altagracia lagoon, the Camatagua reservoir and the Mucubají lagoon in the Andes.

The landscape is the product of the interaction of tectonic plates that since the Paleozoic have contributed to its current appearance. On the formed structures, seven physical-natural units have been modeled, differentiated in their relief and in their natural resources. The relief has the following characteristics: coastline with several peninsulas and islands, adenas of the Andes mountain range (north and northwest), Lake Maracaibo (between the chains, on the coast); Orinoco Delta, region of peneplains and plateaus (tepui, east of the Orinoco) that together form the Guyanas massif (plateaus, southeast of the country).

The oldest rock formations in South America are found in the complex basement of the Guyanas highlands and in the crystalline line of the Maritime and Cordillera massifs in Venezuela. The Venezuelan part of the Guyanas Altiplano consists of a large granite block of gneiss and other crystalline Archean rocks, with underlying layers of sandstone and shale clay. The core of granite and cordillera is, to a large extent, flanked by sedimentary layers from the Cretaceous, folded in an anticline structure. Between these orographic systems there are plains covered with tertiary and quaternary layers of gravel, sands and clayey marls. The depression contains lagoons and lakes, among which is that of Maracaibo, and presents, on the surface, alluvial deposits from the Quaternary.

Coastal Mountain Range

Also known as the Cordillera de la Costa, stretches along Venezuela's northern coast. This region is known for its lush tropical rainforests, stunning coastal views, and a rich variety of flora and fauna. The intermountain depressions, or valleys, between the mountain ranges are often home to fertile agricultural land and vibrant communities. These valleys offer a stark contrast to the rugged mountains that rise dramatically from the coast.

Lara-Falcón Highlands

Situated in northwestern Venezuela, the Lara-Falcón Highlands exhibit a terrain defined by plateaus and rolling hills. These highlands provide a significant contrast to the surrounding lowlands and coastal areas. The relief is characterized by gently sloping plateaus that support agriculture, including coffee and cacao cultivation. This region's semi-arid climate and picturesque landscapes make it an important agricultural and tourism center.

Lake Maracaibo Lowlands

Encompass the basin of Lake Maracaibo and the plains surrounding the Gulf of Venezuela. This region offers two distinct plains—the northern one is relatively dry, while the southern one is humid and dotted with swamps. The relief is primarily characterized by flat terrain, with the exception of some elevated areas near the lake. Lake Maracaibo sits in a depression, surrounded by oil-rich lands and productive agricultural areas.

The Andes

The Venezuelan Andes, part of the broader Andes mountain range, offer a striking relief with towering peaks, deep valleys, and fertile intermontane basins. Dominated by these corpulent mountain ranges, including Venezuela's highest peak, Bolívar Peak, the region's rugged and picturesque landscapes are defined by its high-altitude terrain.

The unique relief of this area finds its origins in the Last Glacial Period, where the interplay of repeated glacier advances and retreats sculpted the landscape, shaped by the cold, high-altitude climate. This glacial heritage has left a lasting imprint, with glaciers carving deep valleys and polishing rugged peaks, while sheltered intramontane valleys offer fertile soils and temperate microclimates, creating ideal conditions for agriculture and human settlement.

Los Llanos

Los Llanos, or "the plains", are expansive sedimentary basins characterized by predominantly flat relief. The eastern Llanos feature low-plateaus and the Unare depression, created through mesa erosion, adding diversity to the terrain. This region is subject to seasonal flooding, transforming the flat plains into a vast wetland during the rainy season. The relief influences the region's unique ecosystems, including extensive grasslands and abundant wildlife.

Guiana Shield

This region encompasses peneplains, rugged mountain ranges, foothills, and the iconic tepuis, or table-top mountains. The tepuis stand as isolated, flat-topped plateaus that rise dramatically from the surrounding terrain. This unique relief contributes to the region's remarkable biodiversity and scientific significance.

Orinoco Delta

The Orinoco Delta's relief is characterized by a complex system of lands and waters. It consists of numerous channels, islands, and shifting sedimentary deposits. While the relief may appear relatively uniform, it conceals a dynamic environment influenced by seasonal flooding and sediment deposition. This complex deltaic relief supports diverse aquatic life and the livelihoods of indigenous communities adapted to its ever-changing landscapes.

The valleys are an important type of landscape in the Venezuelan territory, not because of their spatial extension but because they are the environment where most of the country's population and economic activities are concentrated. Fluvial valleys are the most common, with glacial valleys restricted to the highest parts of the Andes. Moreover, most glacial valleys are relics of a past geologic epoch, which culminated some 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.

The deep and narrow Andean valleys are very different from the wide depressions of Aragua and Carabobo, in the Cordillera de la Costa, or from the valleys nestled in the Mesas de Monagas. These examples indicate that the configuration of the local relief is decisive in identifying regional types of valleys. Likewise, due to their warm climate, the Guayana valleys are distinguished from the temperate or cold Andean valleys by their humid environment. Both are, in turn, different from the semi-arid depressions of the states of Lara and Falcón.

The Andean valleys, essentially agricultural, precociously populated but nowadays in loss of speed, do not confront the same problems of space occupation as the strongly urbanized and industrialized valleys of the central section of the Cordillera de la Costa. On the other hand, the unpopulated and practically untouched Guiana valleys are another category this area is called the Lost World (Mundo Perdido).

The Andean valleys are undoubtedly the most impressive of the Venezuelan territory because of the energy of the encasing reliefs, whose summits often dominate the valley bottoms by 3,000 to 3,500 meters of relative altitude. They are also the most picturesque in terms of their style of habitat, forms of land use, handicraft production and all the traditions linked to these activities.