FAX: (2) 975-6710

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), blue, and red with the coat of arms on the hoist side of the yellow band and an arc of seven white five-pointed stars centered in the blue band

Venezuela Economy

Economy - overview: The petroleum sector dominates the economy, accounting for roughly a third of GDP, around 80% of export earnings, and more than half of government operating revenues. Venezuelan officials estimate that GDP grew by 3.2% in 2000. A strong rebound in international oil prices fueled the recovery from the steep recession in 1999. Nevertheless, a weak nonoil sector and capital flight undercut the recovery. The bolivar is widely believed to be overvalued by as much as 50%. The government is still rebuilding after massive flooding and landslides in December 1999 caused an estimated $15 billion to $20 billion in damage.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $146.2 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.2% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 5%

industry: 24%

services: 71% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: 67% (1997 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 1.5%

highest 10%: 35.6% (1995)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 13% (2000)

Labor force: 9.9 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: services 64%, industry 23%, agriculture 13% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate: 14% (2000 est.)

Budget: revenues: $26.4 billion

expenditures: $27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries: petroleum, iron ore mining, construction materials, food processing, textiles, steel, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly

Industrial production growth rate: NA

Electricity - production: 81.215 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 32.16%

hydro: 67.84%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 75.53 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: corn, sorghum, sugarcane, rice, bananas, vegetables, coffee; beef, pork, milk, eggs; fish

Exports: $32.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Exports - commodities: petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures

Exports - partners: US and Puerto Rico 57%, Colombia, Brazil, Japan,
Germany, Netherlands, Italy (1999)

Imports: $14.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports - commodities: raw materials, machinery and equipment, transport equipment, construction materials

Imports - partners: US 53%, Japan, Colombia, Italy, Germany, France,
Brazil, Canada (1999)

Debt - external: $34 billion (2000)

Economic aid - recipient: $35 million with more assistance likely as a result of flooding (1999)

Currency: bolivar (VEB)

Currency code: VEB

Exchange rates: bolivares per US dollar - 699.700 (January 2001), 679.960 (2000), 605.717 (1999), 547.556 (1998), 488.635 (1997), 417.333 (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Venezuela Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 2,600,000.00; however, 3,500,000 were installed (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 2 million (1998)

Telephone system: general assessment: modern and expanding

domestic: domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations; recent substantial improvement in telephone service in rural areas; substantial increase in digitalization of exchanges and trunk lines; installation of a national interurban fiber-optic network capable of digital multimedia services

international: 3 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 PanAmSat; participating with Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in the construction of an international fiber-optic network

Radio broadcast stations: AM 201, FM NA (20 in Caracas), shortwave 11 (1998)

Radios: 10.75 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 66 (plus 45 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions: 4.1 million (1997)

Internet country code: .ve

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 16 (2000)

Internet users: 400,000 (2000)

Venezuela Transportation

Railways: total: 584 km (248 km privately owned)

standard gauge: 584 km 1.435-m gauge

Highways: total: 96,155 km

paved: 32,308 km

unpaved: 63,847 km (1997 est.)

Waterways: 7,100 km

note: 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 and harbors: Amuay, Bajo Grande, El Tablazo, La Guaira, La
Salina, Maracaibo, Matanzas, Palua, Puerto Cabello, Puerto la Cruz,
Puerto Ordaz, Puerto Sucre, Punta Cardon

Merchant marine: total: 36 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 490,160 GRT/897,694 DWT

ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 10, liquefied gas 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 8, short-sea passenger 1 (2000 est.)

Airports: 371 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 124

over 3,047 m: 4

2,438 to 3,047 m: 12

1,524 to 2,437 m: 32

914 to 1,523 m: 59

under 914 m: 17 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 247

1,524 to 2,437 m: 10

914 to 1,523 m: 97

under 914 m: 140 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2000 est.)

Venezuela Military

Military branches: National Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Nacionales
or FAN) includes Ground Forces or Army (Fuerzas Terrestres or
Ejercito), Naval Forces (Fuerzas Navales or Armada), Air Force
(Fuerzas Aereas or Aviacion), Armed Forces of Cooperation or
National Guard (Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperacion or Guardia Nacional)

Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 6,524,809 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 4,701,062 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 246,185 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $934 million (FY99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.9% (FY99)

Venezuela Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo (river); maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium for the international drug trade on a small scale; however, large quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana transit the country from Colombia bound for US and Europe; important money-laundering center; active eradication program primarily targeting opium; increasing signs of drug-related activities by Colombian insurgents on border

@Vietnam

Vietnam Introduction

Background: France occupied all of Vietnam by 1884. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by communist forces under Ho Chi MINH, who took control of the north. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later North Vietnamese forces overran the south. Economic reconstruction of the reunited country has proven difficult as aging Communist Party leaders have only grudgingly initiated reforms necessary for a free market.

Vietnam Geography

Location: Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of
Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia

Geographic coordinates: 16 00 N, 106 00 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area: total: 329,560 sq km

land: 325,360 sq km

water: 4,200 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than New Mexico

Land boundaries: total: 4,639 km

border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km

Coastline: 3,444 km (excludes islands)

Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM

continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

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

Elevation extremes: lowest point: South China Sea 0 m

highest point: Ngoc Linh 3,143 m

Natural resources: phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower

Land use: arable land: 17%

permanent crops: 4%

permanent pastures: 1%

forests and woodland: 30%

other: 48% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 18,600 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding

Environment - current issues: logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban

Vietnam People

Population: 79,939,014 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 32.13% (male 13,266,585; female 12,415,384)

15-64 years: 62.44% (male 24,357,343; female 25,556,187)

65 years and over: 5.43% (male 1,722,094; female 2,621,421) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.45% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 21.23 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 6.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female

total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 30.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.56 years

male: 67.12 years

female: 72.19 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.49 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.24% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 100,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 2,500 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural)

adjective: Vietnamese

Ethnic groups: Vietnamese 85%-90%, Chinese, Hmong, Thai, Khmer,
Cham, mountain groups

Religions: Buddhist, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, Christian (predominantly
Roman Catholic, some Protestant), indigenous beliefs, Muslim

Languages: Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 93.7%

male: 96.5%

female: 91.2% (1995 est.)

Vietnam Government

Country name: conventional long form: Socialist Republic of Vietnam

conventional short form: Vietnam

local long form: Cong Hoa Xa Hoi Chu Nghia Viet Nam

local short form: Viet Nam

abbreviation: SRV

Government type: Communist state

Capital: Hanoi

Administrative divisions: 58 provinces (tinh, singular and plural),
3 municipalities* (thu do, singular and plural); An Giang, Bac
Giang, Bac Kan, Bac Lieu, Bac Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Binh
Dinh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Ca Mau, Can Tho, Cao Bang,
Dac Lak, Da Nang, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Hai Duong,
Hai Phong*, Ha Nam, Ha Noi*, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hoa Binh, Ho Chi
Minh*, Hung Yen, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong,
Lang Son, Lao Cai, Long An, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ninh
Thuan, Phu Tho, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang
Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son La, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thai
Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien-Hue, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen
Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai

Independence: 2 September 1945 (from France)

National holiday: Independence Day, 2 September (1945)

Constitution: 15 April 1992

Legal system: based on communist legal theory and French civil law system

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Tran Duc LUONG (since 24 September 1997) and Vice President Nguyen Thi BINH (since NA October 1992)

head of government: Prime Minister Phan Van KHAI (since 25 September 1997); First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan DUNG (since 29 September 1997); Deputy Prime Ministers Nguyen Cong TAN (since 29 September 1997), Nguyen Manh CAM (since 29 September 1997), and Pham Gia KHIEM (since 29 September 1997)

cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the proposal of the prime minister and ratification of the National Assembly

elections: president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for a five-year term; election last held 25 September 1997 (next to be held when National Assembly meets following legislative elections in NA 2002); prime minister appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by the prime minister

election results: Tran Duc LUONG elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - NA%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Quoc-Hoi (450 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

elections: last held 20 July 1997 (next to be held NA 2002)

election results: percent of vote by party - CPV 92%, other 8% (the 8% are not CPV members but are approved by the CPV to stand for election); seats by party - CPV or CPV-approved 450

Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president)

Political parties and leaders: only party - Communist Party of
Vietnam or CPV [Le Kha PHIEU, general secretary]

Political pressure groups and leaders: none

International organization participation: ACCT, APEC, ARF, AsDB,
ASEAN, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission:
Ambassador-designate Nguyen Tam CHIEN

chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036, Suite 400

telephone: (202) 861-0737