Study, Work or Volunteer in Venezuela

The Republic of Venezuela is the sixth largest country in South America. The country is also the sixth-most populous country in Latin America, after Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Peru. Venezuela lies at the northern extreme of South America, bordered by Colombia to the west, Brazil to the south, Guyana to the east, and the Caribbean Sea to the north. The country of Venezuela is just over 900,000 and divided into 23 states. There are fine stretches of the Andes, huge areas of Amazonian rain forests, fertile plains known as Ilanos, miles of Caribbean shoreline, and even a small desert. The country has a few geographical superlatives, including the world’s highest waterfall and the biggest lake in South America.

Venezuela has the richest oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere. Thanks to the oil, it is one of the most modern and industrialized countries in Latin America but still nearly half of the population still lives below the poverty line. Widespread unemployment, underemployment, and crippling poverty spur some high levels of crime and violence, especially in Caracas and other urban areas. More than 11,000 murders were reported in 2003 as compared with only 2,000 in 1991.

The constitution of December 15, 1999 changed the name of the country from the Republic of Venezuela to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The ideological cornerstone of President Hugo Chavez’s “Bolivarian” foreign policy is to build a “multipolar” world with regional alliances that would counterbalance U.S. domination of world affairs.

Because of its proximity to the Equator, Venezuela experiences few climatic variations. There are only two seasons: dry and wet seasons. The wet season lasts from May to November while the dry season from December to April. The average temperature is about 27°C, but cooler temperatures prevail at higher elevations, especially in the Andes, where jackets are needed.