Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General. Prime minister : Peter O'Neill
Population
28,047,938
6,310,129
Life Expectancy
74.080 years
66.460 years
Capital City
Caracas
Port Moresby
Largest city
Maracaibo (population: 2,225,000)
Port Moresby (population: 283,733)
Human Development Index
0.826
0.516
GDP per capita
$12,700 US
$2,600 US
Literacy Rate
93%
57.3%
Corruption Perception Index
1.9
2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
18.6%
0.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
Gustavo Cisneros & family ($3.8bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
8.200%
1.900%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished in practice
Political System
federal republic
constitutional parliamentary democracy
Independence date
5 July 1811 (from Spain)
16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship)
Religions
nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%, other 2%
Roman Catholic 27%, Evangelical Lutheran 19.5%, United Church 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, Pentecostal 8.6%, Evangelical Alliance 5.2%, Anglican 3.2%, Baptist 2.5%, other Protestant 8.9%, Bahai 0.3%, indigenous beliefs and other 3.3% (2000 census)
Languages
Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total)
Exports
petroleum, bauxite and aluminum, steel, chemicals, agricultural products, basic manufactures
bolivars (VEB) per US dollar - 2.147 (2008 est.), 2,147 (2007), 2,147 (2006), 2,089.8 (2005), 1,891.3 (2004) note: On 1 January 2008 Venezuela revalued its currency with 1000 old bolivares equal to 1 new bolivar
kina (PGK) per US dollar - 2.6956 (2008 est.), 3.03 (2007), 3.0643 (2006), 3.08 (2005), 3.2225 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.200%
1.400%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
0
Location
Northern South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, between Colombia and Guyana
Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia
Area
912,050 km sq
462,840 km sq
Coastline
2,800 km
5,152 km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation
