The 'Demographics of
Venezuela' are the condition and overview of
Venezuela's peoples.
Demographic topics include basic education,
health, and population statistics as well as identified racial and religious affiliations.
Background and overview
Venezuela's cultural and historic populating background shows and imprint indicating
Spanish and
Italian, African and Amerindian influences.
[Britannica] The South American nation also shares the multiplicity of regional cultures like
Brazil and
Mexico.
Most of
Venezuela's people are descended in part from forebearers of
Europeans,
indigenous Venezuelan Amerindians, and Africans transported as slaves.
.
The Venezuelan people comprise a combination of heritages. The historically present Amerindians, Spanish colonists, and African have all contributed to varying degrees. Later, waves of European groups (Italians, Portuguese, and Germans) migrating to Venezuela enriching the South American culture imprinting multicultural incluences that are nevertheless evident in many aspects of Venezuelan life, including its culture, language, food, and music.
According to most sources, about two-thirds of the population is of racially mixed origin;
mestizos (European/Amerindian),
mulattos (European/black African) and
zambos (Amerindian/Black African). Around one-fifth is said to be White European and one-tenth black African. The remaining Amerindian population is statistically small.
Other ethnic groups include relatively small numbers of east Asian (mostly
Chinese and
Japanese), South Asian (
east Indians and
Pakistanis), and Middle Eastern (
Lebanese and
Syrian Arabs) nationalities, also arrived in later decades of the 20th century to Venezuela.
About 85% of the population live in urban areas in the northern portion of the country and currently resides in the urban conglomerations (
Caracas,
Maracay,
Maracaibo,
Valencia, ''et cetera'') that are concentrated in Venezuela's northern coastal mountain strip. Nearly half of Venezuela's geographic area lies south of the
Orinoco River; however, this region contains only 5% of the Venezuelan population.
Population
Population data on Venezuela (Year plotted vs. total population (in thousands)). Chart shows the total population between 1961 and 2005; the steady upwards trend is particularly notable. Data is from 2005
FAO reports.
Overview
The July 2005
[Venezuela World Fact Book. CIA] estimate puts Venezuela's total population at '25,375,281' inhabitants. It should be noted that many Venezuelan government officials, statisticians, and activists consider this a gross underestimate. Notably, the 2005 INE estimate is 26,577,423 inhabitants. Additionally, over the past five years, Venezuelan society's general age structure has been trending towards the homologous structure found in Cuba, Western Europe, Japan, and other healthy and rapidly aging societies. Notably, there has been a significant increase in the proportion and gross numbers of elderly Venezuelans (aged 65 and up), as well as a corresponding drop in the total fertility
Total population
★ According to the Venezuelan National Institute of Statistics, It has a population of 27,250,414 inhabitants by 2006.
Life expectancy at birth
| Group | Longevity
(years) |
|---|
| Total population: | 74.54 |
| Females: | 77.81 |
| Males: | 71.49 |
Population growth rate
★ 1.38% (2006 estimate).
Birth and death rates
★ 18.71 births per 1,000 population (2006 estimate).
★ 4.92 deaths per 1,000 population (2006 estimate).
Total fertility rate
★ 2.23 children born per woman (2006 estimate).
Infant mortality rate
★ 21.54 deaths per 1,000 live births (2006 estimate).
Age structure
| age group (years) | % | male | female |
|---|
| 0-14: | 29.9% | 3,909,876 | 3,667,958 |
| 15-64: | 65% | 8,287,255 | 8,209,599 |
| 65 and up: | 5.1% | 590,236 | 710,357 |
Sex ratio
| Age | Ratio
(males/females) |
|---|
| Total: | 1.02 |
| At birth: | 1.07 |
| Under 15: | 1.07 |
| 15-64: | 1.01 |
| Over 65: | 0.83 |
Net emigration rate
Net emigration rate is zero (2006 estimate) according to the CIA world fact book
.
Literacy and education
The accepted formal and demographic definition of the
literacy rate is that proportion or percentage of the Venezuelan population ''older than age 15'' that can ''both'' read and write. The below are 2006 estimates from the
INE.
| Population group | % |
|---|
| Total population: | 95.1% |
| Male: | 95.4% |
| Female: | 94.8% |
Ethnic and religious affiliations
Ethnic affiliation
According to the CIA's World FactBook
, Venezuela's main ethnic affiliations are Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Arab, African, indigenous people.
Religious affiliation
The overwhelming majority of Venezuelans denote themselves as adherents of
Catholicism; this is true nominally if not in practice.
| Religion | % |
|---|
| Roman Catholic: | 96% |
| Protestant: | 2% |
| Others: | 2% |
Others include Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Orthodox Christianity.
References
★
★ Acosta, Maruja. "Urbanizacion y clases sociales en Venezuela." ''Revista Interamericana de Planificacion'' Bogota , 7, No. 26, June 1973, 22-44.
★ The article contains a statistical reference from the Wikipedia public domain
[1](2006).
★
See also
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